No matter how the district attempts to spin their narrative, the actions make this so very very clear. Results speak volumes about the care of our kids. So clear in fact, their empty words are not good enough. I want to see actions to correct this. Just like I saw the actions to gut this program. Eyesight is a power tool to determine right and wrong.
August 2019 - Coach Vinuela begins his harassment by meeting with several members of the boys team privately in his classroom to damage the female coaches and cause conflict between the boys and girls. Vinuela was not a coach at this time. He was using his teaching position to harass female coaches and players. Echo Aquatics was not operating or even a thought during this time, hence there was no club swim as they claim the conflict stemmed from. See above photo of the not sustained allegation regarding this. Their explanation claims the conflict arose from non-FHS activities such as club swimming, see above photo. Where is the explanation about the same patterns of harassment Coach Birkle experienced???? HE WAS NOT A COACH NOR WAS THE CLUB OPERATING WHEN HIS FIRST ROUND OF HARASSMENT OCCURRED. COACH BIRKLE DID NOT RUN ECHO AQUATICS, WHERE IS THE EXCUSE FOR THE SAME PATTERNS USED ON HER?! THE CLUB WAS NOT LAUNCHED UNTIL THE WINTER OF 2019, AFTER A FULL SEASON OF HARASSMENT HAD OCCURRED. THIS IS SOMETHING EASILY IDENTIFIED HAD THE TIMELINE BEEN CORRECT.
June 2021 - Coach Lopez reaches out to FAMM president to accommodate adjusting the student athletes practice, not to hinder the adult clubs practice. Coach Lopez is VERY student- centered. Since this was an uncommon occurrence a memo of understanding (MOU) had made it to the CRO for approval. Email communications verify this.
June 2021 - FAMM president, Natalie Clark connects with FUSD CAO Kim Mecum, to discuss her club's use of the FHS pool. Kim Mecum then forwards this to FHS principal Laettner. Email communications verify this.
June 2021 - Principal Laettner meets with FAMM president regarding use of the FHS pool. A donation to entice the principal to meet with her was used in the email. Email communications verify this.
June 2021 - Minutes after the above meeting Principal Laettner calls Coach Lopez to place restrictions on her club to ensure FAMM is accommodated. Phone records verify this and an email justifying the Echo demographic verify this.
July 2021 - Coach Lopez and her team are locked out of the facilities for over a month by an outside swim club. This had never happened before. Photo’s, emails, and text messages verify this, along with my eyesight.
July 2021 - Coach Vinuela leaves two kids in Santa Cruz. He wanted to get home to watch a 4 minute fight on tv. He endangered kids to watch tv!! Roughly sixteen firsthand accounts verify this. Email confirmation of Coach Birkle again asking FHS administration to help (ignored) has been verified.
July - October 2021 - Coach Vineula’s harassment reaches a new open level. Anger outburst. Intimidating kids if they spoke to or sat near the girls coaches. Openly degrading female coaches in front of student athletes. Roughly twenty firsthand accounts verify this, emails confirming this have been verified.
August 2021 - Fed up, Coach Lopez sends her resignation to FHS administration. Email communications verify this.
August 2021 - Coach Birkle sends an email to FHS administration asking for help dealing with the harassment stemming from Coach Vinuela. No corrective action taken. Coach Vinuela’s behavior would get worse and more open. Email communications verify this.
September 2021 - A parent sends a letter to district and site officials sharing her concerns regarding Coach Vinuela and the current scoreboard. Coach Vinuela put his hand in her son's face and held it there while he was talking on the phone. An open and degrading gesture by him. Email communications verify this.
October 2021 - A very public donation from the club locking out Coach Lopez was made to the principal's general fund. To make a statement they held a press conference and invited a local politician and district official to be photographed with the giant check. A clear statement of who would take priority at FHS. Photographs, the press release, social media posts, and the power of eye sight verify this..
October 2021 - an unknown month in 2023 - The donation check hung in the FHS administration building. A consistent reminder to student athletes of why they lost their program. See photo above.
October 28, 2021 - Coach Vinuela openly stomps past Coach Lopez and Coach Birkle. Stares at Coach Lopez the entire 30 minute girls game as she coaches the girls for the last time. He then moves very close to the only open exit to exert his perceived dominance over Coach Lopez and Coach Birkle. This game was played at Roosevelt High School. I am sure video footage could be reviewed. Roughly fourteen firsthand accounts verify this.
October 28, 2021 - Coach Vinuela instructed the bus to head back to FHS...Leaving behind at least two female athletes. The bus had to turn around to pick them up. This has not been verified with hard evidence, but does fit his patterns of neglect.
October 2021 - Coach Lopez officially departs her FHS coaching position.
October 2021 - The day after Coach Lopez was no longer with FHS, Principal Laettner emailed Natalie Clark to let her know she could have more pool time. Email correspondence verifies this.
November 2021 - The first round of speakers gain the courage to openly approach the FUSD school board. There would be four board meetings that would have speakers approach the FUSD board. Board meeting recordings can be found on the FUSD website.
November 2021 - June 2024 - There have not been enough female athletes for a full team, the boys team is not much better. The power of eyesight verifies this.
December 2021 - Echo Aquatics is no longer able to operate out of FHS. They move to McLane. Email communications verify this.
December 2021 - Coach Vinuela is given more yet more power, a head swim coach position. Another clear indicator the former FHS administration would not be prioritizing kids. Email communications verify this.
January 2022 - Coach Birkle officially departs her FHS coaching position. She lists her reasons for her departure when she gave her notice. Email communications verify this. Personally I can not wait for this to be published.
January 2022 - A FAMM coach (the other club that made a donation) is announced as Coach Lopez’s replacement. Her hiring would later be deemed a discriminating hiring. Email communications verify this.
August 2022 - A formal complaint is filed against Coach Lopez’s replacement, Coach Knutson for telling a student athlete “mornings are for masters” when he asked to have morning practice during the water polo season. FUSD spun the narrative to claim the athlete “misunderstood” (lying). We know he wasn’t lying as the statement is easily understood and yet again fits in with the results of this situation. Email communications verify this.
August 2022 - The last aspect of this program, Echo Aquatics stops operating. McLane removed access to simply keep the pool open. Email communications verify this.
November 2023 - I start this petition. What you are reading and the power of eyesight.
December 2023 - FHS board Trustee Andy Levine, proudly poses for a photograph at Edison high school regarding legislation to help prevent drownings. Legislation that will not have the impact this program did. An open statement reminding us Trustee Levine will not be helping resolve the issues that resulted from not just poor decisions, but outright illegal decisions. The press coverage obtained confirms this.
May 2024 - One of the people spreading outrageous lies about Coach Lopez is identified. She is a FAMM supporter and neighbor and friend to multiple FAMM coaches. Screenshots confirming their identity and her connection to FAMM coach have been obtained.
June 2024 - Coach Lopez meets with the FUSD attorney. No action to fully correct this. It is also concerning the same law firm that managed the investigation and consequently the determinations made off of incorrect information is the one who met with Coach Lopez. How do we know they are not one of the roadblocks to this being corrected? It’s not a good look for them that the information used to make determinations has easily verifiable holes, like the basic timeline.
Between the hard and circumstantial evidence it’s clear what happened and who is at fault. Actions speak louder than words. The results of those actions make it clear the intent by the former FHS administration from the beginning. The anger stemming from this runs deep and will drive the quest for the change our kids deserve. Too many people saw it unfold. The FUSD system has failed us and continues to fail us by not correcting the cruelty of this. Every single drowning situation that is released to the media feeds the growth of this cause. Every single kid that does not have the opportunities that this program provided, feeds our anger.