YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 20, No. 5
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City’s finances stable
Calling All Guys, Dolls
Idol stars shine
by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
The City of Brentwood released optimistic statistics on the state of the municipality’s finances during a recent budget update. “The general fund had a strong year in fiscal year 2016-2017, with revenues exceeding budget,” said Christine Andrews, assistant director of finance and information systems. The city, which completes its operating budget in two-year cycles, saw revenue during the 2016-2017 fiscal year of about $1.5 million higher than expected, which can be attributed to strong development activity, Andrews said. In addition, $1.2 million in one-time funds came in from the state, about half of see City’s page 30
Brentwood Teen Theater offers rendition of the iconic musical “Guys and Dolls.” Page 10
New Bilingual Content Photo courtesy of Summer Rodriguez
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iberty Idol contestants along with winner Tori Gregory, left, gather for a photo following last week’s annual Liberty Idol sing fest. Tori sang “Look At Me” by Carrie Underwood for her first song and “Love On Top” by Beyoncé in the finals. The event raises money for local community projects, and this year the Liberty Transition Garden will benefit from the proceeds.
Special education group orders school district to cease and desist by Aly Brown Staff Writer
Amid claims of discrimination, retaliation and defamation, a local advocacy group has filed a cease and desist claim against the Brentwood Union School District’s (BUSD) special-education director. According to the members of Partners in Education Advocacy, the district and many parents of special-needs children have a lengthy history of discord, and its current issues revolve around Director of Special Education Jeff Weiss. The cease and desist letter outlined specific claims against Weiss and demanded corrective actions. “(Weiss) intimidates, bullies and harasses parents into submission or into fear of retaliation,” said special-education parent advocate Adrienne “Cookie” Guinn, who helped write the cease and desist letter.
“ (Weiss) intimidates, bullies and harasses parents into submission or into fear of retaliation.
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Adrienne Guinn special-education parent advocate Guinn also said that Weiss discourages parents from seeking the services of paid advocates during Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. “A lot of parents come to us because they don’t have the time or wherewithal to learn all the laws,” she said. Weiss said he and the district understand that parents have the right to have an advocate at
an IEP meeting and said that the district’s Special Education Parent Advisory Counsel (SEPAC) could provide advocates. Marie Fajardo is the mother of a child with disabilities and assistant director of special-education law for the Law Offices of Nicole Hodge Amey. She is also a previous SEPAC member and co-author of the cease and desist letter. She believes that SEPAC is a district-sanctioned entity and would not offer parents an unbiased advocate. “We had a chance to have these questions out in open dialogue during our town hall meeting, and we talked about this,” Weiss said of the Jan. 11 meeting. “Really, I was meaning to say there is a difference between advocates who work for attorneys. By the nature of a special-education attorney, people who serve in that position
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February 2, 2018
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Trail Challenge www.thepress.net/news/webextras
East Bay Regional Park District celebrates 25 years with a free trail challenge.
Local Oakley teen shares feature story in both English and Spanish. Page 14
Heading To The Top
Freedom soccer girls score on Pittsburg High School to stay on top of BVAL standings. Page 21 Calendar................................31 Classifieds.............................26 Cop Logs................................29 Entertainment.....................11 Food........................................12 Health & Beauty....................8 Milestones............................15 Opinion..................................20 Pets.........................................18 Sports.....................................21
Fire Update
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ECCFPD Chief Brian Helmick outlines district’s recent accomplishments.