June 16, 2005

SCHOOL SCENEin Almaden Valley

Pioneer seniors honored at ceremony

Pioneer valedictorian Jennifer Merriam, shown here with her mother, was all smiles at Pioneer’s Senior Awards Night on June 9. Photo by Ron Reed

Pioneer High School honored its outgoing seniors for their academic achievements on June 9 at Senior Awards Night, held at the Pioneer basketball gymnasium. Pioneer Principal Barbara Lepiane and a host of other administrators handed out awards to 176 students who are a part of more than 400 seniors comprising the 2005 graduating class.

Lepiane took the time to not only honor the students, but to give praise to the parents who raised them.

“Parents, I applaud you for the support and guidance you’ve given these kids,” Lepiane said at the ceremony. “I truly love this class.”

Among the students honored was 2005 class valedictorian Jennifer Merriam, who was honored for her performance in the Golden State Examinations, achieving high honors in biology, geometry and high school math. Among her laundry list of achievements, Merriam was also honored as a National Merit Finalist and received the Gold Presidential Service Award. To top things off, Merriam was named Student of the Year at the end of the ceremony in part for completing more than 700 hours of community service throughout her four years at Pioneer.

Mike Kaufmann (pictured), along with Stephanie Morales, were honored by the Marine Corps as Pioneer’s Most Distinguished Athletes. Kaufmann was honored for his efforts in basketball and baseball, while Morales was honored for her spirited play in volleyball. Photo by Ron Reed.

“She just has that outgoing, nurturing personality that isn’t always common with the academic ability that goes with being a valedictorian,” Miritz said of Merriam. “We not only got that (academic) part of Jennifer, but she actually has shared with us the helpful, community-service focused side of her personality.”

Merriam will head to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall.

Miritz, who served as the master of ceremonies for the event, said Senior Awards night is a special day for educators at Pioneer to see the fruits of their labor.

“It’s special because it’s the time when these kids who you met when they were 14 or 15, you really start to see them blossom into who they’re going to be as adults,” Miritz said. “It’s fun for me as they’re walking up to receive their award to reflect on how they were when they arrived and actually how they are now as they’re graduating. It’s a very cool thing to see.”

A rite of passage

With great fanfare, and as one might expect, musical accompaniment by the Advanced Band and Showstoppers, Castillero Middle School presented its graduating class of 2005 to hundreds of parents, friends, and family members who gathered at the school on a sultry Monday afternoon. Photos by Kymberli W. Brady

(top left) Renee Palmer gets a warm greeting from her parents, Diana and Kurt Webb, just before she is surprised by her sister Heidi, a Leland graduate, who made the journey from San Diego for the ceremony. (top right) ASB President Stephanie Bastiaans and Vice President Marco Ramos officially presented the class of 2005 to the audience. (bottom left) Lia Soria waves to her daughter, also Lia, as she tries to capture the milestone on video. (bottom right) David Hoyt accepts his certificate from Castillero Principal Sandy Engel during a graduation ceremony Monday afternoon.

Stevie Raczkowski

Simonds fifth grader breaks school record by reading 120 books

At 10 years old, Stevie Raczkowski is like most Almaden Valley boys. He enjoys baseball, video games and golf.

But the one thing that separates him from the herd of fifth grade graduates this year at Simonds Elementary School is his ravenous appetite for reading.

He has read an amazing 120 books this year, with his favorite genre being fiction. Although his initial goal was 400 points, Stevie achieved the highest Accelerated Reader score for all fifth grade classes at the school, with a whopping total of 911 “AR” points.  Due to his outstanding achievement in reading, his fifth grade teacher, Mr. Quigley, awarded him with a Barnes & Noble gift certificate. Next year it’s on to Castillero Middle School and new reading goals!

Almaden Valley Women’s Club announces scholarship winners

By Kimberly Joiner
Special to the Times

They have founded tutoring companies, overseen construction projects, helped create youth centers, organized benefits, and been recognized by city leaders. And they aren’t even out of high school yet.

Pictured, from left to right: Rina Parmeshwar, Nick Matani, Sean Dinno, Jason Stibbe, Scott Powell, Nandita Sriram, Caroline Nguyen. Not pictured, Bill Robowski.

Recently, eight such outstanding students were honored by the Almaden Valley Women’s Club with academic and service awards. The winners were selected based upon academic achievement, school participation, and community service.

Before presenting each with a $1,000 check to use for their higher education, AVWC Scholarship Chair Karen Zimmerman praised the students for their hard work and compassion for others. “These are exceptional students, well rounded, active in the community, and no doubt future leaders.”

Funds for the scholarship program come from the club’s annual fund-raiser, the Almaden Valley Art & Wine Festival. “The club is very proud of its scholarship program,” said AVWC President Linda Bronson. “Being able to award scholarships to students that have shown a strong commitment to the community is one of the guiding principals of the festival.”

This year, the Almaden Valley Art & Wine Festival will be on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2005 at Almaden Lake Park. More details about the festival and the AVWC can be found at www.almadenartwinefestival.com.

Sean Dinno, Bellarmine College Preparatory
Besides being an outstanding student and athlete, Sean is a committed volunteer. His several extra-curricular activities include retreat leader, co-president of the writer’s guild, director of community service programs, yearbook, track, and soccer. Sean has volunteered at Camp Costanoan, Second Harvest Food Bank, and designed and painted a mural at Julian Street Inn. He also participated in an immersion trip to Mexico.

Nikhil Matani, Bellarmine College Preparatory
Ranked eighth in California for extemporaneous speaking, Nikhil is also captain of the speech and debate team, president of the Indian Student Club, and online editor for the Cardinal newspaper. He has more than 700 combined community service hours, volunteering at Good Samaritan Hospital, Sacred Heart Community Center, and March of Dimes.

Caroline Nguyen, Leland High School
Caroline Nguyen is an exceptional student and leader. Her school activities include editor-in-chief of the Charger Account, speech and debate, and student government. She was part of the group that succeeded in getting The Spot Youth Center built. This group was recognized by the city of San Jose with 2003 Good Neighbor Award and the 2004 Star Volunteer Award. In five years she has contributed over 250 hours of to the center volunteering in a variety of programs.

Rina Parmeshwar, Leland High School
A scholar athlete, Rina is co-captain of the varsity tennis team and ranked number one on the varsity badminton team. She received the 2005 Student Achievement award for her outstanding volunteer work at Kaiser Hospital.

Scott Powell, Leland High School
A talented soccer player and student, Scott hopes to be a doctor someday. He spent an entire summer volunteering in the O’Connor Hospital recovery room. His other volunteer work has included the Second Harvest Food Bank, Special Olympics, Milpitas Homeless Shelter, and City Team Ministries.

Bill Robowski, Archbishop Mitty High School
An aspiring leader, Bill has worked hard on and off the field. He has been a two-sport athlete, playing football and baseball, throughout high school. His volunteer efforts include Habitat for Humanity, InnVision, Sacred Heart Community Center, and an Immersion Program in El Salvador. Bill wants to use his skills to make a difference in the world and hopes to follow in the footsteps of his uncle Lou Cobarruviaz, former police chief of San Jose, who has been living and working in El Salvador for the past four years to lower the crime rate.

Nandita Sriram, Leland High School
Nandita excels in academics and the arts. She is president of the speech and debate team (ranked second in the nation), feature writer for the Charger Account, and first violin in the San Jose Youth Symphony. In 2004, Nandita helped organize and performed in an Indian dance benefit that raised $11,000 for Sankara Eye Foundation, an eye charity that treats curable blindness in India.

Jason Stibbe, Bellarmine College Preparatory
Jason is an excellent student, athlete, and leader. He has maintained an impressive academic schedule while being a four-year member of the nationally ranked water polo team. For his Eagle Scout project, he organized the funding and construction of a sound reduction enclosure for a loud water pump system at Almaden Lake Park. He has also built houses with Habitat for Humanity, organized Sunday bingo games at Santa Clara Senior Center, and worked as a lifeguard in Almaden Valley.

Bret Harte former secretary surrenders to police June 11

Judge reschedules arraignment for July 7, increases bail from $300,000 to $500,000

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

After being on the lam for approximately three months, a former Bret Harte Middle School secretary accused of pocketing nearly half a million dollars from a student activity account finally surrendered to police June 11.

Barbara Jo Price Photo by Mike Janes

According to police, Barbara Jo Price, 44, walked into police headquarters last Saturday, at 9:30 p.m., accompanied by family members and turned herself in without incident. She was booked into the Elmwood Correctional Center for Women in Milpitas on a $300,000 warrant for her arrest issued in mid March of this year.

Since then, police had been looking for Price who was believed to have been fleeing authorities and staying with relatives in Texas.

On June 13, Price’s arraignment was postponed until July 7. She’s being charged with two counts of misappropriation of public funds by a public employee and grand theft, both felonies. If convicted, she could serve up to six years in prison, the punishment for one count because she can’t be punished for both, explained Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney John Chase.

On count one she faces a four-year maximum jail sentence. Prosecutors allege she stole $483,000 from the school’s Associated Student Body account by completing fraudulent invoices and writing checks to non-existent businesses by forging Bret Harte Middle School Principal Donald McCloskey’s signature and then cashing them herself and paying her personal credit cards.

Police say Price apparently skipped town with her husband after an official criminal investigation began in January of this year. In April, Price sold her home in the 600 block of Chynoweth Avenue in San Jose.

During her court appearance this week, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Jerome Nadler also increased Price’s original bail amount from $300,000 to $500,000 because at the time the original warrant for her arrest was secured prosecutors had miscalculated the amount they allege she embezzled.

Chase said prosecutors typically set the bail amount in, at least, the amount of the alleged theft. At the time the first warrant was issued, investigators were still looking at the documents, he said.

Chase also said the bail increase was requested because she’s considered a flight risk as she purportedly sent a 14-page letter to him and other involved parties in the case, after leaving the state, indicating that she would not turn herself in until certain conditions were met, such as promising she would receive counseling and no time in prison, said Chase.

Price’s attorney, Stephen P. Nataril, with the Crime Attorneys nationwide law firm, did not immediately return phone calls by the Almaden Times Weekly to respond on his client’s behalf. He could ask for the bail amount to be lowered at the next court hearing.

“There are things in the letter that I’m not at liberty to disclose,” Chase said, when asked to describe what other demands Price made before surrendering.

Price’s daughter, Brandi Price, told the “San Jose Mercury News” that her mother suffered from depression and experienced several nervous breakdowns since her 16-year-old son’s accidental death in a dentist’s chair in 1999.

Asked about the daughter’s claims, Chase said, “If those things are true then she’s had a hard life. I’m not sure it presents a defense to the charge of stealing the money, but maybe it’s something that might persuade the judge that her punishment should be less… It doesn’t really relate to whether she’s guilty or innocent of the crime.
I’m not likely to do a lot of investigation in that regard,” Chase said.

Brandi Price also told the “San Jose Mercury News” that her mother was doing things other people were telling her to do for them at the school. “There are issues of cover-up from within the school,” she’s quoted in the Mercury News as saying.

San Jose Unified School District spokeswoman Karen Fuqua said, “There’s no cover up on the part of the district. The San Jose Police Department has not implicated anyone else other than Mrs. Price. We continue to cooperate with the police department.”

According to San Jose Police Detective Chris Wilson, of the department’s fraud unit, an investigation into the missing funds began when district officials began questioning Price in January of this year after an auditor discovered the discrepancies in the account.

The district hired Price in 1993, when she began working as a campus assistant at the school. She was then employed as a student body clerk and then as a school secretary. She was the only person responsible for the ASB account, according to Fuqua. In 1997, district officials believe she began the alleged illegal transactions, which were discovered in January.

Fuqua has said that Florence Eng, the district’s internal auditor, discovered the alleged illegal transactions after an invoice came into the district’s general fund for reimbursement—money from the school’s student body account is not part of the general fund.

When district officials conducted a site-field audit, many errors were discovered which were reported to district police officers and to the San Jose Police Department, according to Fuqua.

After the district placed Price on administrative leave in January, pending the outcome of the criminal investigation, she sold her home and her whereabouts were unknown, police say. Fuqua said this week the district terminated Price’s employment in March.

Since the incident, Fuqua said the district has implemented additional security procedures to tighten control of public funds against theft and fraud. Random audits will be conducted of all student body accounts at all district middle schools and high schools from now on and the district will continue to conduct its annual audit of student body funds.

Fuqua said the district would also begin requiring more than one person to manage the student body funds, instead of just one, to increase oversight.

Fuqua said the funds are recoverable under the district’s insurance policy against theft. She said the money would equally follow the students it was supposed to benefit as they advance to district high schools. “These are not Bret Harte funds, they’re student funds,” Fuqua said. “These funds will go to the schools where they will attend.”

Anyone with information on the case is urged to call Det. Chris Wilson of the San Jose Police Department’s Fraud Unit at (408) 277-4521. Persons wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 408-947-STOP.

Forget ‘Nanny 9 11’

YMCA offers summer camps for grades 1 –9

For parents who can’t call “Nanny 911” this summer, the six branches of the YMCA of Santa Clara County are offering diverse programs that are challenging and fun for children in grades one through nine. New camps begin weekly starting June 20 through Aug. 22.

“South Valley YMCA offers diverse, age-appropriate programs that are challenging and fun for children in grades one through nine with new camps beginning weekly starting June 13 through Aug. 15,” Executive Director Rick Valdez says.

“Our traditional day camps are divided into two groups for campers entering grades one through three and entering four through six. Both camps are held at Allen Elementary,” he adds.

“Campers are about to meet new friends and express their growing independence under the supervision of qualified and caring YMCA camp staff. Activities include games, sports, filed trips, environmental education, crafts, songs, skits and some water activities,” Valdez says.

Day camps for youngsters entering grads one through six at Terrell Elementary have a different theme each week. Campers will explore their community through camp activities, guest speakers, and local field trips.

Specialty camps vary from Bowling Camp and Skate Spectacular, which features roller-skating, ice-skating, in-line skating and skateboarding with a highlight trip to Dennis the Menace Park in Monterey.

A new specialty camp this year is “Rock-It Science—Machine Madness,” which allows campers to explore simple and complex machines on a grand scale and concludes with a Highlight Trip to the Discovery Museum.

Sports camps include gymnastics and softball camps for girls only and a baseball camp for boys only. “Y-World of Sports” is a co-ed camp that teaches the fundamentals and strategies of soccer, basketball and baseball with instruction on proper techniques and a mini tournament in each sport.

The South Valley YMCA program is accredited by the American Camp Association and offers children positive developmental experiences that surround them with support, empowerment, boundaries, expectations and constructive use of time.

YMCA membership and programs are open to everyone, and financial assistance is available to those who need it through confidential arrangements.

For more information call (408) 226-3324 or online at www.scvymca.org/southvalley.