01.17.19

• NEWS •
PASADENA | ALHAMBRA | ALTADENA | ARCADIA | EAGLE ROCK | GLENDALE | LA CAÑADA | MONTROSE | SAN MARINO | SIERRA MADRE | SOUTH PASADENA
EXIT, STAGE RIGHT
PASADENA’S MAJOR WILLIAMS TO SPEAK
AT BLEXIT RALLY IN LA SUNDAY TO
ENCOURAGE AFRICAN AMERICANS AND
LATINOS TO LEAVE THE DEMOCRATIC
PARTY
P. 8
THE BIG PAYBACK
FORMER CITY EMPLOYEE
SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS FOR
EMBEZZLEMENT; ALTADENA
BUSINESSMAN AND CO-DEFENDANT
GETS 7 YEARS
P. 8
ATTACK FROM THE
SKY
ISRAEL FIRES MISSILES AT
SYRIAN AIRPORT
P. 8
WEB EXCLUSIVE
TEACHABLE MOMENT
AS LAUSD STRIKES, PASADENA TEACHERS NEGOTIATE FOR LONG OVERDUE RAISES
BY ANDRÉ COLEMAN
As thousands of Los Angeles Unified School District teachers
calling for more pay and smaller class sizes walked off the
job Monday, negotiations between Pasadena teachers and
school district officials grew further apart.
And now, due to a note of caution issued to Pasadena Unified
School District (PUSD) officials by the Los Angeles County Office
of Education (LACOE), agreement may not even be possible.
In a Jan. 9 letter, Candi Clark, LACOE’s chief financial
officer, cautioned the district against giving teachers raises. In
her memo, Clark expressed concerns that potential changes
involving labor contract negotiations have not been incorporated
into projected salary and benefit expenditures of the district’s
budget.
“We are concerned that any salary and benefit increase, if paid
from reserves or other one-time resources, could adversely affect
the financial condition of the district,” Clark wrote to Pasadena
Board of Education President Larry Torres.
The two sides have been in contract negotiations since April.
Union officials are asking for a 3 percent salary increase
retroactive from July 2017, smaller class sizes, new staffing ratios
and better health and other benefits.
Currently, local teachers are not close to striking, according
to Alvin Nash, president of United Teachers of Pasadena (UTP).
More than 100 teachers and full-time employees have been
laid off over the past year in order to balance the district’s
budget.
“Prior to a strike, PUSD and UTP must declare impasse
followed by mediation and a fact-finding hearing,” Nash told
the Pasadena Weekly. “Neither PUSD nor UTP has declared an
impasse, as both parties still are in negotiations.”
In November, LACOE approved the district’s budget for 2020-
21, which contained $10.3 million in cuts and established a statemandated
3 percent reserve. The positive certification means
that LACOE will not take control of the district, but will keep a
county fiscal adviser in place.
Along with approving a budget, also in October PUSD
Superintendent Brian McDonald received a vote of no confidence
from union members.
‘I DIDN’T DO IT’
WOMAN ACCUSED OF MURDER
PROCLAIMS INNOCENCE
FROM JAIL
A homeless woman
charged with choking
a 75-year-old woman
to death declared her
innocence in court and
in a telephone interview
on Tuesday with the
Pasadena Weekly.
Mary Jean O’Connor, 41, is charged with
one count of murder in connection with the
death of Pasadena resident Jeri Douglas.
Douglas’s daughter adopted O’Connor’s
eldest son after the court deemed her an
unfi t parent.
Due to an error by a source close to
the investigation, the Weekly incorrectly
reported last week that Douglas’ daughter
adopted two of O’Connor’s children.
“No, I didn’t do it, but I am not going
to discuss it on a recorded phone line.”
O’Connor said from jail, where she is being
held on $2 million bail.
She pleaded not guilty earlier in the day in
Pasadena Superior Court. O’Connor returns
to court on Feb. 26.
Police performed a welfare check at
Douglas’s home on Dec. 17 after her daughter
was unable to reach her for several days.
O’Connor, who has fi ve children, was
arrested hours later by Pasadena police at
a mobile home she was staying at in North
Hollywood.
O’Connor has a history of encounters
with law enforcement and the foster care
system dating back to at least 2006, when
she was charged with solicitation of prostitution
in Long Beach. In 2008, the Pasadena
Weekly covered her successful battle to
avoid eviction over having too many service
animals.
In 2010, she was the subject of a number
of stories regarding her battle with Los
Angeles County Department of Children and
Family Services (DCFS) over custody of two
of her children. Since then, one other child
has been placed with her mother, another is
in DCFS custody and yet another’s whereabouts
are uncertain to the Weekly.
In 2012, O’Connor and Marjorie McNary
were ordered to vacate an Altadena property
that the owners claimed they were occupying
illegally. Offi cials turned off the water to
attempt to convince the women to move out.
The pair was eventually evicted.
“I miss my kids like hell,” said O’Connor.
WEEKLY WEATHER
THU
59°
FRI
65°
SAT
73°
SUN
72°
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
MON
64°
TUE
65°
WED
67°
— André Coleman
THU
68°
01.17.19 | PASADENA WEEKLY 7