Licata voted YES on his own attorney’s bills…another clear ethics violation.

At the July 21^st meeting, Joe Licata voted YES for Lodi to pay his attorney’s bills.  At the start of tonight’s meeting, he tried to change his vote to an abstention as the minutes from last month were being approved.  The minutes should reflect that he voted YES, period.  That is what happened.  Lodi should be tired of Licata’s “do overs” and his blatant ethics violations.

I asked Joe Licata the following question tonight:

“You spent $5,000 of Lodi tax dollars on an attorney to try to get your ethics complaint dismissed.  Why couldn’t you answer that ethics complaint on your own?”

Joe Licata smirked and said he had a “statutory right” to an attorney.

I told him that Board members throughout the State answer ethics complaints without using attorneys and without wasting tax dollars.  I stated that it was optional and why did he choose to waste tax dollars?

Licata smirked and said he chose to.

Good News Page: No injuries or safety incidents at the Lincoln School Building in the last 9 months.

I asked the following question to Joe Licata tonight:

“At the November meeting, you said this building isn’t safe.  You said you don’t want it on you if someone gets hurt meeting in the next room.  Nine months later, you are still using the building.  We are here tonight. 

Are there any reported injuries in the last nine months?

Are there any reported safety incidents in the last nine months?”

Joe Licata answered “No” and “No”.

Once again, the Lodi taxpayers have to question Joe Licata’s motives for rushing through a $7.5 million project and lying about it for the last nine months.

The SAT Exam is still very important, but not to the Lodi BOE.

If elected, improving college readiness and raising SAT scores will be a top priority. The SAT is still of great importance and most often used as the deciding factor in college acceptance decisions.

The most recent report card (2014-15) on the Department of Education website shows Lodi performing below the State average, and even below the peer average for SAT scores.  It also shows Lodi’s SAT participation rate is 10 points below state average.

The only "college and career readiness indicators" met on this report card was for participation in the PSAT.

The SAT is very different than the PSAT.  The PSAT is used to prepare.  The SAT actually counts.  One is not a reliable predictor of the other.

Why is Lodi placing a greater importance on PSAT “participation” than on SAT achievement?

Why is Lodi placing a greater importance on PSAT participation than SAT participation?

The Lodi BOE is giving Frank Quatrone a merit bonus to increase PSAT participation for 9^th graders by allowing 80% of them to take the test at no expense. Then a supposedly new PSAT curricula will be submitted to the Board.

Why only 80% and not all 9th graders?   


Why would he deserve a bonus for that?  


Enough data already exists to create a new PSAT curricula?


How Lodi operates, the "new PSAT curricula" probably already exists.

Why isn’t his bonus being tied to actual SAT results?