The union admits that Conners secretly taped a meeting of the Morrill School Site Council after several members, including Adams, expressed support for Manning. There are several days in court coming up. The Berryessa Teachers Association filed an unfair-practices charge against Manning with the state Public Employment Relations Board, charging her with interfering with union activities, although Conners says there is a possibility that the charges will be dropped now that Manning has been fired. Another inquiry has been instituted by the state Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, reacting to a complaint by Manning. And the state Department of Education has begun an investigation into Adams' charge that the Berryessa schools are improperly spending funds earmarked for remedial education and English as a Second Language.
People fear retaliation if they speak up against the regime.
They have been threatened. On advice of her lawyer, Manning declines to talk further about the issue. Wadley acknowledges that test scores in his district are declining, but denies that the district is neglecting the problem. I am not offering an excuse. We're pursuing it aggressively.