More women have come forward to accuse Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson of sexually molesting them when they were teenagers. Two were students in Johnson’s charter school, St. Hope. Johnson is the husband of Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of the DC school system.
Johnson once seemed likely to run for higher office, either governor or senator. After the accusations began, Johnson announced he would not run for a third term as mayor of Dacramento.
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Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh about this tragedy of criminality, but I can’t help it. Just a little: Rhee hee hee hee hee! Alright I’m done. Thanks, I needed that.
Here’s a good video that sums up Johnson:
I wonder what Campbell Brown has to say about this?. I suspect stone silence .
Exactly. Crickets. Why isn’t she outraged and calling for his castration?
Exactly. Mandy Koba. The two new girls. They were all students, and Campbell has always proffered herself as the protector and avenger of students abused by teachers or, in Johnson’s case, a school official.
However, if the abuser is the husband of a fellow corporate education reformer (Michelle Rhee’s), her get a pass with Campbell. Those damaged kids are just collateral damage. Ignore them and move on.
On the other hand if the abusers (or alleged abusers) are teacher union members, you get ridiculous displays like this:
I’m not a big fan of some of what UFT President Mulgrew does, but I have to give him his props here. He flattened her.
Wow, Donna. Hope I stay on your good side!!
The silence on this issue from the supporters and defenders of corporate education reform that visit this blog has been, and is, deafening.
😒
LOL Duane. I was channelling her Majesty Campbell.
With the Kevin Johnson accusations mounting left and right, I am curious has any company or jurisdictional entity has tried to collect on the City of Sacremento?
Oh heck. What a jerk
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Am I misremembering or didn’t people once upon a time have the decency to at least resign to “spend time with my family”?
Would you want to spend time with Michelle Rhee?
Didn’t Betsy DeVos acolyte Campbell Brown claim she got into the neoliberal corporate education project to “protect kids.” The lies, deceptions, and sick perversions from these reformers never ends.
I am confused. If a teacher is accused , they must be removed and possibly fired – guilty or not. Yet if you are mayor or higher up on the food chain then you have to beat Bill Cosby before anyone cares.
Sean “Diddy” Combs will be opening a Harlem charter school in the fall. Dr. Evil Steve Perry will be in charge through his own organization. Confusingly Perry’s old school in Hartford, organization, and new school in Harlem are all called Capital Prep(aratory). Perry had an acrimonious departure from the Hartford school in 2015.
http://www.courant.com/education/hc-ap-p-diddy-steve-perry-20160328-story.html
I worked St. HOPE’s Sacramento Charter High School the year before some of the alleged incidents took place. It is heartbreaking. I worked with many of the people involved, both the adults and the students. Though some of the comments here have implied humor, this is not a laughing matter to me. This is not a time of rejoicing for those who are against charter schools or for those who dislike Ms. Rhee. It is tragic that there is such a division among educators regarding charter schools and those that support them that some fall prey to what appears to be spitefulness and glee in the face of heartbreaking accusations. I am no longer in contact with any of those involved, and every time I see publicity about this issue I worry about the alleged victims, and fervently hope that this hasn’t derailed their education or their lives. But most of all, I worry, because Ms. Rhee has two daughters from her previous marriage. Everyone involved, from the accusers to the accused, had much to contribute to the world. My heart breaks for what allegedly happened, and for all that might have been.
Rhee’s daughters live with their father, so-called reform meister Kevin Huffman, presumably because he doesn’t want them under the same roof as a serial child abuser.
All so-called education reform is a type of child abuse, but Johnson and Rhee are an especially foul instance.
I honestly believe that being in a charter is what kept these girls from stepping forward.
Allison (above) writes, “I honestly believe that being in a charter is what kept these girls from stepping forward.”
That is incorrect. Somewhat.
The student did come forward a short time after the alleged incident and told one of her teachers. I believe that the teacher then called Child Protective Services, who referred the teacher to Sac PD, as CPS only deals with familial abuse. So the teacher then called the police.
At some point, it is my understanding that the girl was summoned, and I believe she was summoned from class during the school day, and went into a meeting with Mr. Johnson and his personal lawyer and possibly a police officer. It is also my understanding that the student had no prior knowledge beforehand that she was going into such a meeting. I don’t know if she had an adult or anyone with her to support her. I don’t know if anyone told her about her rights, or that she could refuse such a meeting, or request that an adult that she trusted be present to support her. It is my understanding that she went into the meeting alone, though I am not 100% sure. What I do know is that during the meeting, she recanted her story. The teacher to whom she originally came forward, who happens to be one of the most gifted teachers I have ever met, and someone who I respect immensely, immediately resigned, midyear, in protest.
I was no longer working for St. HOPE/Sac High, having left at the end of the previous year. I am not a lawyer, and I don’t know anything about what constitutes unethical conduct for lawyers or the conditions under which a lawyer should be disbarred. However, assuming that the above is true and correct, I believe that Mr. Johnson’s lawyer, Kevin Hiestand, has a lot of questions to answer regarding his own professional conduct. I personally view it as unethical, and taking advantage of the student’s inexperience, lack of knowledge of the legal process and her rights.
The story has been covered in The Sacramento Bee, and these details came out a number of years ago. A more recent allegation came out regarding an adult female who has been a long-time employee of St. Hope. To my knowledge, there have not been any legal proceedings regarding the alleged conduct of either Mr. Hiestand or Mr. Johnson.
So, Allison, the student did step forward. The teacher to whom she reported the story did exactly what he was supposed to do and reported the alleged incident. But if all of the details are true, somewhere along the line, the system failed to fully support this student.
Johnson may be a uniquely difficult person to reach because he’s both a well-connected politician and a former professional athlete.
Both of those industries/occupations will do just about anything to protect a brand. Professional sports may actually worse than politics, incredible as that sounds.
Our country is now run by the football player mentality.
..and that also covers the basketball player mentality
SomeDAM Poet
March 29, 2016 at 8:10 am
Our country is now run by the football player mentality.”
I remember during the height of the ed reform nutty period- 2008 to 2010- Michelle Rhee was always complaining about “everyone getting a trophy”. Kids getting participation ribbons at soccer games was a matter of Great National Import and indicated how our standards has declined from the (supposedly) high standard days of yore when all of these people went to school.
It’s that horrible adult mindset that has absolutely ruined sports for kids, where people are screaming at 3rd graders to win at all costs. It makes me ashamed of my fellow adults when I see it at a game and I see it at every game. It gets worse every year. Mine stay away from team sports completely – they play tennis or swim- because the adults have lost their minds 🙂
Yes, Chiara, and this monstrous woman spoke on this topic before an audience containing her children, making her point by saying that they “sucked” (her words, not mine) at soccer, yet received trophies anyway.
There’s an interesting class/case study to be done someday as to why so-called reformers are invariably such nasty pieces of work, either in-your-face vicious, a la Rhee or Michael Bloomberg, or vapid, insipid and cunning, a la Cory a Booker or Wendy Kopp.
I’ve often thought the same thing, M. Fiorillo. A less atruistic bunch would be hard to find.
That is normal over here