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Doug Krikorian / Viewpoint

When Is LBUSD Superintendent Jill Baker Going To End Her Calamitous Lockdown That Has Caused So Much Chaos And Heartache And Disruption Among 70,000 Students?

Mr. Krikorian, an award winning journalist and author of two books, earned multiple awards in his 22 years of writing for the Long Beach Press-Telegram and 22 years for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. He is happily retired.



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(Dec. 2, 2020, 4:30 p.m.) -- I get tired of beating the same besmirched drum in these columns. It's become a cloying sameness for me, and, at rare times, I've even digressed from the usual condemnation of the ceaseless stream of gaffes committed by our civic leaders.

Yes, honestly, cross my heart and hope to depart this vale with your pleasing my ghost by forgiving a sinner and winking at a homely gal, but I actually have said a few nice things here about our illustrious mayor, Robert Garcia, in the stellar assistance he and his cohorts provided for restaurateurs in regard to the Parklets.

But, alas, the gentleman has made a disproportionate amount of bad decisions during his controversial regime.

I don't want to go into his many unpopular tacks again -- from the Memorial Day stand-down order to his police chief that resulted in 231 Long Beach businesses being looted to his backing the latest lockdown of LB dining spots to countless other nauseating acts of idiocy -- but I do now once again, grudgingly, feel obligated to turn my attention to someone who I think has been just as disruptive to our local community this year as Robert Garcia.

And that, of course, would be the superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District, Jill Baker, who should be ashamed of herself for the widespread chaos she has created in this city among students from elementary schools, middle schools and high schools with her intemperate lockdown of the entire system back in September.

Earlier this week, the most influential national figure in the Covid-19 Pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, came out publicly said kids should be back in school.

It's been the overwhelming feeling here that schools never should have been closed down in the first place, since even back in March there was no definitive data to indicate that school-age students were in serious danger from Covid-19. And, of course, there still isn't.

Indeed, in a state like California with more than 40 million residents, there have been only two deaths among those 18 and under and in another sizable state, New Jersey, there have been none in the same age category.

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I came across a veteran Long Beach teacher the other day, and asked her the reason students aren't being allowed to attend schools in this city.

She shook her head and grimaced.

"Please, don't ask that question because I get tired of hearing it and tired of asking it myself," she said with emotion. "It's absolutely ridiculous. I have children, and they're attending school. Why? Because we live a few minutes away in Orange County where the kids are allowed to go to school.

"This is terrible what's now going on in Long Beach. Thousands of kids and teenagers are being deprived of the entire in-school experience that is so important to their growth.

"I know grades have cratered for so many students throughout the school system. I also know a lot of kids aren't even participating in the virtual learning on computers. And a lot of kids are having emotional problems. And why wouldn't they be? This is not natural what we're making them endure. I think this is the first time in American history that we've closed schools for long periods. Even New York City and its wacky mayor, William de Blasio, recently reopened its schools. But Long Beach? Not now."

Indeed, Jill Baker has stated the earliest the LB schools will reopen is Jan. 28 -- and even then there's no certainty Ms. Baker will do the right thing.

Why?

The usual response I hear is that the powerful Teachers Union is responsible for the closure -- oh, sure, its teachers are in serious danger of getting Covid-19 from those disease-spreading kiddies! -- but its stand certainly hasn't had an impact on Orange County, or San Diego County, or a few other reasonable-thinking, independent counties in California.

Of course, Los Angeles County long has marched in perfect sync with whatever radical agenda Governor Gavin (Do What I Say, Don't Do What I Do) and the Teachers Union desire -- and it's not exactly stunning that the LA schools are now shuttered.

But Long Beach didn't have to follow suit except, well, Jill Baker, much like her like-minded colleague, health department boss Kelly Colopy, won't dare deviate from their narrow group-think training in which, unfortunately, they are in whole-hearted agreement with the hollow policies espoused by numbskulls like Mr. Newsom.

I'll give Kelly Colopy a pass since she spent studying, if not being hopelessly brain-washed, at two of the most doctrinaire educational institutions in America -- Smith College and Duke University -- and she is instinctively immersed in blinkers when it comes to rational, open-minded thinking.

But Ms. Baker -- she's married to the long-time popular Virginia Country Club assistant golf pro Trevor Baker -- comes from shall we say a more relaxed, less structured academic background, having attended UC-Irvine, Long Beach State and USC.

She has been a long-time resident of Long Beach, and has to be feeling the mood of the community whose sentiments towards her at the moment aren't exactly brimming with rapture.

Yet, she has been every bit as hidebound as Kelly Colopy when it comes to dispensing intolerant edicts -- and her lockdown of Long Beach schools and its more than 70,000 students has been an absolute disaster.

Does she not know it? Does it bother her conscience that so many of her beloved students are failing grades at a record pace? Are having emotional problems. Are having their educational growth stunted. Are feeling betrayed by their so-called leaders.

When Jill Baker gives one of her empty, dreary speeches, she goes on and on and on about how much she cares about her students.

Well, when is she going to actually start earning some of her annual $340,000 salary -- by comparison, the New York mayor, William de Blasio, makes a measly $258,750 -- and actually showing that she does care about her students by doing something positive for them?

When is Jill Baker finally going to lift her calamitous lockdown and reopen the Long Beach schools?

It should be immediately!


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Previously by Mr. Krikorian:

Krikorian Notes: From Councilman Rex Richardson Displaying Courage To Show Up At A Long Beach Restaurant Association Meeting To The Countless Millions Lost On Unoccupied LB Buses To LB Health Czar Kelly Colopy’s Latest Mean-Spirited Edict To the Irritating Silence Of LB City Manager Tom Modica To LB Mayor Robert Garcia Ignoring His Constituents For Political Reasons To Bob The Black Labrador Parading Down The Peninsula Boardwalk Holding A Large Palm Limb In His Mouth


How Many Long Beach Restaurants Will Be Forced to Close After Latest Lockdown Lunacy?
Where's Krikorian? Temporarily On "Injured Reserve List" Recovering From Shoulder Replacement Surgery
Krikorian Notes: From Nico's George Mlouk Praising LB Mayor Robert Garcia For Working To Help LB Restaurateurs To A Plea To LB Health Czar Kelly Colopy To Restrain Her Overzealous Sleuths To Lakers Deserving NBA Title To LeBron James Turning Anthony Davis Into Passionate Competitor To Vital Contributions Of Lakers Coach Frank Vogel And GM Rob Pelinka To Sadness Of Passing Of The Great Joe Morgan And Its Impact On Maury Wills' Hall Of Fame Chances
Famous Long Beach Restaurateur Phil Trani Days Of Joyful Memories And Pandemic Miseries
Krikorian Notes: From The Irritating Silence Of The Long Beach Politicians In Not Supporting Their Citizens To The Whereabouts Of LB Mayor Robert Garcia To The Whistles Favoring The Lakers Against The Nuggets To The Greatness of Patrick Mahomes To The End Of A European Vacation Streak That Started In 1989
LBUSD Superintendent Jill Baker’s 70,000 Student Online Virtual Teaching Miscalculation A Disaster!
Krikorian Notes: From The 9 Unworthies Of The LB City Council To The LB Upstick In Shootings And Speeding To Restauranteur John Morris Horseback Riding On A Wyoming Mountaintop To The Walking Adventures Of Earth Man
Jeff Cozart's Time Of Torment: Will His Belmont Athletic Club Survive Gavin Newsom’s Latest Lockdown?
Krikorian Notes: A Labor Day Elegy For Those In The Long Beach Business Community Who Were Violated In The Memorial Day Looting Frenzy To The Palm Tree Limbs Littering 2nd Street To The Scooters Littering The Belmont Shore Bridge To The Virtual On-Line Spectacle At Big Mike O'Toole's Household
Krikorian Notes: From Long Beach Mayor's Ascent To Dem Stardom Because Of Lockstep Embrace Of The Party's Policies To The Enchanting Parklet Dining On 2nd Street To Tearing Down The Hoops in Belmont Shore To Greg Silver's LB Departure To Huntington Beach To Bob Rice Protecting Me From Isiah Robertson
Don Kramer Was A Character Like No Other With His Zaniness, Goofiness, Joyfulness, Kindliness Who Left All Who Knew Him With Lasting Memories Of Slapstick Antics And Mirthful Anecdotes
Krikorian Notes: From Majority Of LB Teachers Skipping Classrooms For The Comforts Of Home To Dr. Jill Baker Becoming Another Maria Montessori To Terry Antonelli Discussing Resurrection of L'Opera To Mayor Robert Garcia Touted By MSNBC's Brian Williams As A Future U.S. Senator To Kershaw's Magical Transformation
Long Beach's Renaissance Man, Chuckie Miller, Reflects On His Entrepreneurial Life And On Racial Inequity
Krikorian Notes: From LB's Elected Leadership's Reimagining Delusions To the Gaslamp's Outdoor Wall Video Band Show To The Ghastly USC Coach, Clay Helton
FDR's Grandson, Delano Roosevelt, Talks Democratic Party, JetBlue, Long Beach And His Life
LBPD Chief Robert Luna: Stand Up For Your Fifty Ousted Cops!
What Next From Long Beach Health Boss Kelly Colopy, Hazmat Suits For Our Restaurant Servers?
Sadly, Our National Pastime No Longer A Pastime For Me
Parklets! Three Cheers For Long Beach Politicians!
Memo To LBUSD Sup Jill Baker: Return The Kids To the Classroom!
A 2 1/2-Hour Commute To Work A Joy To This 86-Year Old Gentleman
Long Beach Politicians Once Again Fail Long Beach
Is Long Beach Destined to Become the City That Never Sleeps?
I Never Thought I'd Live To See These...
Ben Goldberg Exits Long Beach, Now Nearby Refugee In OC
Long Time Long Beach Resident Dave Lopez Climaxes Storied 48-Year TV Career
From Krikorian's Notebook: When Will LB Police Chief Luna Come Clean About May 31 Downtown Long Beach Looting Frenzy?
From Krikorian's Notebook: (1) LBUSD Mgm't Mulls Keeping K-5 Kids Indoors Without Normal Access To Playground, Cafeteria, Auditorium Activities; (2) And More...
Will LB's New School Sup't Allocate Untimely Pay Raise To Serve Students?
Awaiting Governor's Dictate To Decide Fate Of This Year's (July 3) "Big Bang On the Bay"
Mayor/Council Sounds Of Silence After LB Cops Let Some Pillage Our Village
Excuses By Long Beach Police & Politicians Dishearten Damaged LB Businesses
Hallelujah! LB Mayor Pleads For Sac'to Permission To Lift Closures That Needn't Have Occurred
Speak Up, Mr. Mayor, On Governor's Unwise Edicts. You Can Do That And You Should
My Beloved Long Beach: A Victim Of Irrational Government Overreach Beyond Reasoned Response To Virus
Support really independent news in Long Beach. No one in LBREPORT.com's ownership, reporting or editorial decision-making has ties to development interests, advocacy groups or other special interests; or is seeking or receiving benefits of City development-related decisions; or holds a City Hall appointive position; or has contributed sums to political campaigns for Long Beach incumbents or challengers. LBREPORT.com isn't part of an out of town corporate cluster and no one its ownership, editorial or publishing decisionmaking has been part of the governing board of any City government body or other entity on whose policies we report. LBREPORT.com is reader and advertiser supported. You can help keep really independent news in LB similar to the way people support NPR and PBS stations. We're not non-profit so it's not tax deductible but $49.95 (less than an annual dollar a week) helps keep us online.



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