CERRITOS : Board Member Tells of Ties to Union Leader

ABC Unified school board member Cecy Groom has drawn criticism from some of her fellow board members after revealing that she and a former head of the district teachers’ union have business ties.

Groom disclosed April 4 that she and Don Saul, who was co-president of the teachers union at the time, were shareholders in Via Largo Travel in Cypress. Groom said she has since stepped down as secretary of the company and has sold her shares, but remains a consultant.

Two days after Groom disclosed the business relationship, Saul issued a statement saying he had resigned as union co-president. He would not elaborate.

School board member Jim Weisenberger said Groom’s financial ties with Saul were inappropriate because the seven-member school board and union have been involved in contract negotiations. In a closed session during the April 4 meeting, the board voted 4 to 3 to tentatively approve a 2% pay increase for teachers, Weisenberger said. Groom voted for the increase.

The board is scheduled to vote on the proposed increase at its meeting Tuesday.

Groom said her business relationship with Saul is not a conflict because she does not stand to benefit financially by giving the teachers a raise. “I have never profited from anything I have done as a public servant,” Groom said.

The school district’s attorney issued an opinion saying Groom’s relationship with Saul does not constitute a conflict of interest but “may create an appearance of impropriety.” As a result, “it may be advisable for her to abstain from certain decisions” affecting Saul, attorney Steve J. Andelson said. The opinion, which Groom said she requested, did not refer to a vote on teachers’ salaries, and Andelson would not comment further.

Groom said she plans to vote for the teachers’ pay raise at the meeting Tuesday. “I don’t see any conflict,” she said. “If I don’t vote May 2, it will require a lot more explaining.”

La Raza Raising Funds for Immigrant Students

A Cal State Long Beach Latino rights group is raising funds to help illegal immigrants pay for college.

La Raza has so far raised $4,500 in scholarship money, group leaders said.

“We want to spread the word: ‘Although you are undocumented, you can still go to school,’ ” said Fatima Castaneda, La Raza chairwoman.

Though exact figures are unavailable, California State University officials estimate 50 to 90 undocumented students attend the Long Beach campus. La Raza members said they know of about 150.

The scholarship fund was started after a state appellate court ruled in January that students who are not legal residents must pay out-of-state fees. Fees for non-residents are $5,780 a year. State residents pay $1,780 a year.

Christine Helwick, an attorney for the state university system, said the court decision requires colleges to charge students the higher fees if they decline to state whether they are legal residents on admission applications.

Some undocumented students were paying the lower resident fees because they attended high school in California. Now, all undocumented students must pay the higher rate, Helwick said.

Castaneda said students who attended California high schools have a right to a state college education. “They’re coming from (U.S.) high schools, not from Mexico,” she said.

A 19-year-old undocumented student who requested anonymity said she cannot afford the higher fees and will drop out if she doesn’t receive scholarship money. The freshman, who was born in Mexico, went to high school in East Los Angeles.

“This is where I consider home,” she said. “East L.A. is my home.”

La Raza, which means “the race” in English, has so far received about a dozen scholarship applications. The number of awards given in May for the fall semester will be determined after fund-raising efforts are complete, said Francisco Heredia, a La Raza member for which the scholarship is named.

Heredia said all applicants and recipients will be kept confidential to protect the undocumented students.