Wait a minute! This guy's getting praise because he realized he's pulled one-too-many bamboozles on his constituents and now understands he can't get away with it anymore??? Isn't that called " a confession"? Or maybe his "greatest bamboozle"??

Better than the local people in ventura County that when caught never admit it is wrong. Worse yet, they know the other people are walking scandal time bombs but still support them.

Where is more corrupt happen? Santa Barbara or Ventura County? Where is more bad scandal shady?

There is a brewing scandal in Ventura County that will be made public in weeks, not months. As far as Santa Barbra it has limited impact or connection so I don't know.

Stay tuned scandal mongers!

I think I know what "scandal" Fact Sheet is referring to and I would tell all readers not to hold their breath.

I am glad that we have much more honest politicians locally then they do in Los Angeles or where this guy was from.

I seem to remember some other local politicians figuring a way to pocket cash from special interests in direct conflict with the spirit of almost all campaign finance rules or ideas.

The "brewing scandal" sounds like somebody is making bad beer or something. That would be an outrage.

I am sure that Katie Teague would say as a good Republican what Tony and Audra Strickland have done to build the party is worth any of the attacks the liberal media like The Liberal Angeles Slimes throws at them. They are a dynamic duo and are at the cutting edge of a new generation of leaders.

P., I assure you that Katie Teague as a Republican would say no such thing.

What she would say is that all citizens in Ventura County deserve leaders that are interested in developing and supporting legislation for the good of the community at both the state and federal level. We also deserve leaders that are willing to debate and participate in panel discussions.

I agree with Teague. Do we have any ideas for the Republican Assembly primary in 2008? I look forward to electing someone that can get something done. Too bad Richman is termed out!

Brian,
You should do a blog on how according to the LA Times the war in Iraq means the U.S. military is scaling back their anti-drug efforts. This means the failed Bush policy in Iraq is also increasing the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S. meaning Bush and Iraq have added more illegal drugs and the associated violence to US streets. Also a story today on a guy who wrote a letter to the editor critical of Bush and Iraq and the Secret Service was sent out to kick in the guys door and to question him. Gee, maybe this is why no one uses their real name on your blog Brian.

At the LA TIMES, Michael Ramirez used to be a zealous and near-rabid protector of the president until one day he got a knock on his office door and found a team of federal agents asking about one of his cartoons. You've surely seen his drawing of the Dems pointing a handgun at Our Fearless Leader's head, a parody of the famous VietNam street execution photo, presumably to show how Georgie Porgie's wonderful plans and policies were being targeted for destruction by the terrorist-loving liberal traitors of America. Anyways, the TIMES legal staff rushed to Ramirez's aid and refused to allow the pencil-pusher to speak to them.

But since then Ramirez's cartoons appear to be shying away from political issues and now deal more with...wel, mediocrity. I didn't care for his editorial messages but I always considered what he had to say...until Bush's praetorian guard got to him.

If a Bush-supporter with the resources of the LA TIMES can be muzzled...so can we.

GS
You are so correct! I think history will paint W in a terrible light. Twenty brave US service men and women died yesterday in Iraq, and for what? So Halliburton can pay Cheney a nice end of the year bonus? What service man or woman will be the last to die for a failed policy in Iraq? GS what do you think about Bush's failed Iraq policy now putting more illegal drugs onto US streets?

America sold its vote for a $300 rebate back in 2000 and what we're seeing in Iraq, on the drug corners of our streets, in the classrooms and at the gas pumps are the true cost of that decision. We voluntarily turned America over to a bunch of self serving incompetents (and that's a best case scenario). History may judge BabyBush poorly but ours might just go on record as he Worst Generation.

Maybe we should focus on the mistakes happening locally. We have a couple of people at least that are enriching themselves off of public money.

Steve-O! Nothing wrong with getting rich off public money....BigBizzes like Exxon, GE and even Tutor-Saliba, McDonald's, Viacomm do it all the time. (Do you know that McDonald's gets millions of taxpayer $$$ each year to subsidize their overseas advertising and marketing efforts? Did you know that Viacomm and the other broadcasters get free use of the public airwaves to make their 10s of billions $$$ profits and then charge us viewers fees to intercept those airwaves?) But so do people like Dick Cheney, Ken Lay, Ross Perot, Papa Bush & BabyBush. However, if someone taps into the public trough illegally...that's another matter and it should be dealt with swiftly.

Which two locals do you think are skimming the trough? Or do we even want to get such a dialogue started? Think carefully before you answer because you'd better have evidence to back up any accusations.

I would say that the innovative ways of former Assemblymember Strickland and current Assemblymember Strickland qualify. I don't know anyone that denys the charges in The Los Angeles Times Article. They pay each other with campaign donations. That means they can have money donated to them from special interest groups and move the money into their own accounts.

I don't call it money laundering because that makes it seem like it is a secret or covertly done. What they do it not illegal as much as it is destroying public faith in our system of government.

I think their voting record is decent on many issues. I am just troubled by the games they play. I don't think ti changes their public votes, but it eats away at what little faith people have in the system.

Then tell me....are you willing to overlook what appears to be unethical (but legal) behavior and yet support the Stricklands because of the way they vote? Can you see yourself voting for ANY unethical (yet legal) politician because of their vote?

The only wrongdoing is lowering public faith in government. Nobody has tied a vote to campaign cash. A long term goal of conservatives is to undermine faith in government so I would say they are enriching themselves while promoting conservatism. What is wrong with that?

GS
In the news today is the latest public opinion on Bush which is down to 28% with 65% saying they disapprove of his job performance. I don't think Nixon even got that low. Also the Special Prosecutor announced today that Cheney was deeply involved in the leak of the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame, why are they not charging Cheney with crimes against the constitution?

GS
Also in the news today the CEO of The Gap was fired because his company is doing poorly and so is the stock price. His punishment for this poor performance? A 36 million dollar severance package! Why does Corporate America keep rewarding poor performance at the publics expense?

Inre: Cheney & the Leak. I'm all for prosecution of malfeasance and misfeasance (locally and nationwide) and doing so in a manner that holds the culprit up as an example to all others that such acts will never be tolerated. We need to establish to ourselves as well as the world around us that the Rule of Law is inviolate in America, by placing such culprits on public trial. But there is a greater danger to the Republic if we allow such prosecutions to move forward without absolute evidence, after careful investigation, otherwise we risk turning the technicalities of the Law into political tools of persecution...as the GOP did throughout most of the 1990s.

My conern is that Washington will decide the Nation couldn't bear the strain of an investigation & prosecution of White House wrong-doing and would instead bury all the outstabnding issues in an act of "national reconciliation"...which is a euphemism for letting the bad guys get away scott free. Maybe what America needs isn't another revolution (as Jefferson proposed) but a public trial and, if warranted, a public punishment.

Inre: Corporate Masochism.

My guess is the GAP board approved the severence package when they originally threw the dice and made him CEO. That's all the equities market is...a crapshoot. This time the throwers came up short and were stuck with a $36M buyout. Now the shareholders have to take the hit, maybe investigate the deal and perhaps sue the Board...or forget about it.

I was listening to my employee's favorite radio show, AirAmerica and was amazed to hear two commercials almost side by side. They sounded as if they were made by the same crew and there was very little difference in the way the subject matter was presented. But it also made a lot of sense. The first was an ad to learn how to day trade, from home, in the stock market. The second was an ad offering to teach you how to play on-line poker from home and make money. Unbelievably frightening that there's enough of a market out there to justify such ads.

GS
Ironic that the same guys who cried about the minimum wage going up a buck say nothing when the Gap CEO walked away with 36 million for having done a crappy job. They say Bush will announce a huge tax increase tonight mainly affecting those in New York and California to give tax breaks to some for health insurance.

The Old Shell Game! It started way back but was perfected by Team Bush. Think about it: Every taxpayer got a $300 refund and a promise of more to come. They got little more in the way of a tax break but what they did get was about $700 MORE in fees and lost deductions PLUS increased costs in higher property and sales taxes, assessments, education & health care costs AND higher interest payments due to a rising deficit and a shakier economy. That $300 tax break cost my family about $3500 MORE each year due to Bush's inept policies.

GS
Even sadder is that over 3,000 American kids have died in Iraq because Bush is inept. Instead of watching the State of the State tonight I have decided to watch Benny Hill reruns on the BBC channel.

I have heard that Mr. Gallegly has paid his wife to work on his campaign. Isn't it hypocritical to praise Doolittle and not attack Gallegly? What is the difference between the two?

Honestly, I don't see a problem with one's spouse being a paid campaign worker...as long as that spouse is actually providing valued service for that pay. Am I missing something?

I fired my wife because it creats the impression of wrong doing. When a special interest group wanted to be on my good side they could "donate" to my campaign. My wife was paid out of these funds.

That means I was able to deposit money from a group with business before me into my checking account.

Why do you think it is illegal for me to deposit the money into my account, but my wife can deposit the same money?

The mob was never this brazen.

One more problem. I almost never had someone really running a race against me. Special interest groups were pauing for my lifestyle while my wife was working for me even though i didn't really need her. With California's gerrymandered districts most members are in the same seat. I call on all members to stop paying their families.

We wouldn't accept Laura Bush working for an oil company. And we shouldn't accept her working for the Bush campaign that was being paid for by an oil company. It is worse for members without opponents or no name opponents ho can't even claim to need a large campaign.

Anyone that claims to be a fiscal conservative but pays people thousands of dollars to run a campaign against a challenger like Brett Wagner is either loose with money or something else.

Dennert Bloggers:

Please note: I agree that pocketing money simply to enrich personal wealth without the exchange for any useful service or product is questionable. What is worthy of payment and what worth do we place on public service?

Haven't we made running for office a private enterprise and invite this kind of scandal? How can an individual with little personal wealth run for office without seeking donations from any number of organizations and individual?

If we want real campaign reform, it seems to me that we need to provide candidates access to newspapers and the airwaves for free, not just a couple of times during the campaign but
regularly -- let's say one day a week -- answering
questions and offering position papers.

The Doolittle scandal and others prompt me to ask the following questions:

I am wondering what would be a legitimate role for
spouses of elected officials?

Is making government work well legitimate work?

What if an elected official had a spouse who is
competent, even exceptional, in a particular public policy area or in the administration of a partiuclar public policy?

Should that spouse do that work for free?

How many families could have one spouse work for
free?

It seems that a spouse would need to hurdle a higher threshold in order to be a paid employee.

It also seems that a spouse should avoid working
directly for her/his spouse who is an elected official. Many companies have clear policies regarding this. Perhaps we need stronger conflict -of-interest policies regarding spouces or relatives in positions in direct relations to the areas over which the elected official has direct or even indirect influence?

How would that be defined?

It seems citizens could begin to affect these kinds of changes more effectively at the local level. We have easier access here because we
can actually attend meetings and go to offices and ask for documents. In California, we recently passed a strong Freedom of Information Act that allows us faster and better access to government documents.

I am wondering what is the interest in this discussion and doing research and posting documents on this site?

ML,

Do you believe your Board needs campaign reform, you have the power as a Board to impose campaign contribution limits. Why does a school board need to have unlimited campign contributions when our County Supervisors and other public offices have spending limits. Your fellow Board members have received questionable contributions.

ML...you seem to be lumping two issues together. There's the issue of an elected official hiring a spouse with taxpayer funds and there's the issue of a candidate hiring a spouse with campaign donations.

We like the idea we can deposit a check in a congressman's banking account and allow him to enjoy the pleasant parts of life. Sadly because of silly laws we must launder the money by paying the candidates wife to "work" on his campaign even when their opponent is but a token.

This Peterson woman has a point. How can a congressman and his family live off a $150,000 a year job. We aren't barbarians people.

I have seen this "Gallegly pays his wife with special interest money" thing before but where is the proof?

A QUOTE FROM GALLEGLY TO PROVE HE UNDERSTANDS HOW IMPORTANT KEEPING YOUR CHARACTER CLEAN:

"What gets you in as much trouble around here as a conflict is the appearance of
a conflict," said Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), who has adopted that
approach.

Machiavelli: Are you fundamentally misinformed, or are you knowledgeable, but find that the truth doesn't quite make for effective polemics? When Cheney stepped down from Halliburton, he chose a deferred package that pays him in fixed installments each year, regardless of how Halliburton is doing financially. Although I fully understand why you would write what you do, it's a nice propoganda lie - "Cheney is looking out for Halliburton's bottom line so that he can get a fat check." And let me guess, the Jews drink the blood of Palestinian babies - that also has a good ring to it. On a sidenote, since you're implying some sort of unethical relationship between the executive and Halliburton, Clinton gave them no-bid contracts also.

Have you not heard the, the Plame scandal is over. It was Armitage, an enemy of the President and the war in Iraq, who leaked the name - not Libby, not Cheney, not anyone linked to Bush. Fitzgerald knew it all along. Now that it turns out to be an Administration critic, the media has pretty much dropped the issue. Moreover, it was never a crime to begin with. A bad idea, yes, but not criminal.

GS: I agree that we may well go down as the Worst Generation. We are so self-obsessed that when faced with a group of people who's sole mission is to slaughter innocents, we're blinking and slapping the mat, in the hopes that they'll kill someone else fist.

Corporate welfare is a liberal idea, tied up in the idea that government should undertake social engineering. As regards the economy, it is simple protectionism - supporting companies that the government thinks, for one reason or another, should exist. It is fundamentally not a conservative idea, which would advocate for the market alone determining which enterprises are profitable.

Rule of Law, GOP using law as a political tool of oppression during the 90's? What about Clinton pardonning his brother? What about Paula Jones "coincidentally" being audited by the IRS when she went public about Clinton's sexual harrasment? You act as if the Rethuglicans are pure evil and the Democrats pure goodness. Whoever is in power tends to use that power to their own benefit, regardless of party affiliation.

Steve-O: You seem obsessed with the Stricklands. Having been away for the past nine years, I am quite ignorant of local politics. However, if the worst corruption problems we have are people taking money from companies, fully declaring it, and then passing it on to other politicians (yes, even one's spouse), then we live in a fantastically wonderful place.

On a tangential note, lots of campaigns use family of the candidate to do work, and get paid. As long as the work is at a fair market value, it's considered acceptable. I certainly understand the way that it looks, but the solution, as always, is transparency. If it's all out in the open, I'm don't really find a problem with it.

Practically, how on earth are we to decide what a reasonable campaing donation is? Who sets up the rules for that and applies them? It's just not worth doing. As we learned from a comment on another thread, just sending out mailers can be quite expensive. There's a good international parallel here. The "President" of Belarus, Lukashenko, can easily win reelection without any funny tricks. For better or worse, the people love him. But he still, before any election, goes around locking up opposition politicians and rigging the ballot counts. Why? Because it is impossible to be absolutely, 100% sure of the outcome of any election. In the same way, a politician will want to raise as much money as possible, because no matter what the polls say (Gore, Kerry, Dean, etc.), they can never be sure - so they take and spend. Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, they can often roll the money over into successive campaigns for the same or different offices.

GS:

Yes, I did lump them together. Didn't mean to.

I am always surprised when relatives are put on the campaign payroll. Sons, daughters, a son-in-law here and there, etc.

With our current system in place, money is needed for campaigning. I have not seen one campaign reform work. And money alone does not always work.
Checchi had more than Davis a few years back and didn't win. Finestone was also well-healed. Remember Huffington, Ariana's ex?

I think it is important for groups to organize forums and encourage/highly motivate candidates to put position papers out on relevant issues and encourage newspapers and radio and tv outlets to make them public.

I am still inclined to think that without this, money directly to a candidate and/or organizations controlled directly or indirectly by the candidate
make its way and influence elections.

Also, there is always the next election.

And many ways for citizens to influence policy directly and through multiple organizations and levels of government.

On $150,000: Please read Chief Justice John Roberts argument for an increase in wages for Federal Judges. We are not able to recruit enough
highly qualified jurists because the pay is too low.

How are we to make democracy work (government) if one must be independently wealthy to be a policy maker or a jurist or be a public administrator, in short, enter public service?

On recent VCBE race: After the final 2006 Election
disclosure January 31, 2007, I will analyze them
and discuss them with my colleagues on the board.

I ask that Dennert bloggers look at all the disclosure forms from all their respective local
candidates and discuss them, without an axe to grind.

$150,000 is too low for a judge? I know they should be compensated for their education and talent but isn't part of their job public service?

$150K is ONLY too low because federal appointees are recruited from the smallest imaginable labor pool: retired or near-retired wealthy career jurists, to whom such money is mere tip change. Broaden the recruitment pool and you'll find that $150K is more than adequate.

What income is considered too high for public service has been a reality check for me.

Thanks.

Ml care to clarify?

What?:
Yes, the questioning of $150,000 for pubic service
for the exampled position of a judge, a position
requiring qualifications that would allow an individual to make 2 - 3+ fold in the private sector gives me pause.
Wouldn't you agree that for many public sector positions it takes years to acquire depth ofknowledge?
If we pay too little for certain public sector positions, such as judgeships, then it seems that we are setting up a system that invites those who have been in an yearlier related positions, been
successful enough to be pretty much independently
wealthy and can take enough of a pay cut (John Edwards, John Roberts, etc.) to have a second career in public service. That scenario really limits the field, perhaps too narrowly?

That may be good for high profile, national-level service, but when we are trying to make local and state level of government work, it seems that that narrowing pool of potential highly qualified experienced professionals in any given field may create problems in making government function well.

When I stated "reality check," I am thinking that I will have to do much more research and thinking about this.

The balking at $150,000 led me to reflect upon the issues of the increasing income gap and how Ventura County may be losing our middle-income "brain trust" because the high cost of housing.

I also thought about national attention to this widening gap. I am thinking, in particular Op Eds by Paul Krugman (liberal) and Ben Stein (conservative), both in the New York Times: "Graduates versus Oligarchs," February 27, 2006 and "Executives Gone Wild," December 2005.

Your thoughts?

If a judge wants to make $500,000 a year I don't think justice is his first issue in his life.

If a congressMan wants to make enough he is willing to take money from special interests and launder it through his family he also has other issues than public service.

Supply and demand are laws of nature, not virtues.

Survival of the fittest is also a law of nature, not a virtue.

I really wish one public servant at least would speak out when they see other law makers ruining the public trust.

Something. . .: Where did the $500,000 come from?
Ditto on your sentiments regarding supply et al.
From my own experience and observations, I have found that when one begins to question a practice of a colleague -- a practice that may undermine public trust -- then there is the accusation of being "self-righteous" or "contentious." Sometimes it is best to change behavior by example rather than reprimand? Also, what behaviors constitute "ruining public trust"?

Journalists and watchdog organizations need to make public and citizens need to enforce at the polls those standards that help maintain public trust. Please do not stop communicating with public officials after an election. Please right them, asks questions, follow up, stay informed in just one area that you care about and have time for. If each of us took one area, documented that area, followed up by writing the official and our local newspapers, we would all benefit. For what it's worth, from my perspective.

Per ML "I have found that when one begins to question a practice of a colleague -- a practice that may undermine public trust -- then there is the accusation of being "self-righteous" or "contentious." Sometimes it is best to change behavior by example rather than reprimand?"

Does this mean that you will not be confronting your colleagues on their campaign financing indiscretions? It seems you are setting yourself up for an exit plan from confronting the VCBOE Trustees. It reminds me of how a rape victim has to argue their virtue. You are placing the responsibiliity on the public to defend virtue "writing the official, newspaper etc." not the trustees to defend theirs.

I have stated that I will discuss campaign financing with my colleagues. We all have a responsibility to be well informed. Accusations of "indiscretions" are just that, accusations. As I stated before, I will look at the financial disclosures and will ask our board to take this issue seriously.

The analogy to the rape victim seems off. Who is the rape victim? The voters? If that is where you are going, then, yes, the voters should file their greivance. That I am requesting voters to take action is not a way to back out, but a call for all of us to participate, to be responsible, and to be as fair as possible.

I have been contentious and have been wrong. I have been contentious and have thought to be right. Making accusations, confronting, is a delicate matter; I have learned from some hard lessons that it requires some care and humility.

You are invited to VCBE meetings: please see www.vcoe.org for the schedule to make your voice heard re: this issue there.

Dean Kunicki was removed from the Simi Valley planning commission for alleged ethics violations. Maybe it is untrue. Can you ask him to talk about it?

From what I have personally learned, Mr. Kunicki WAS NOT REMOVED FROM THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR ETHICS VIOLATION.

He is a developer, and Mr. Kunicki was involved with a controversial project: a high density project in a rather rural area.

Ventura has had its share of development controversy, so I understand the strong feelings regarding someone who is strongly identified with development. For some, developers, by definition, are unethical. I am not in that category. They do have a high threshold to establish credibility. For some, Republicans who are currently on the VCRCC, by definition, are unethical. I am not in that category, either. I question his judgement on that, however.

The allegations lodged against Mr. Kunicki, from what I have seen to date, are unfounded.

Those making the allegations have an obligation to present documentation or an official eyewitness account. It is irresponsible to hurl these kinds of accusations without that. I am willing to be corrected if there are facts;otherwise, I prefer not to continue to be part of an intraparty battle of rumors.

It seems Mr. Kunicki has been swift-boated, unsuccessfully.

Mr. Kunicki and I have differences, and we are working to find common ground so we can work on pressing education needs.

How about discussing the financial implications on declining enrollment to schools?

Santa Susana High School is a tremendous success.
I am wondering if much of their budget requires
private donations to close any expenses?

What kind of jobs do you think students need to prepare for if they want to live in Simi when they get ready to start a family? buy a home?

C'mon, aren't those questions more intriguing?

Thanks ML Peterson for speaking up on behalf of your colleague.

I think it's great that Kunicki has support from a wide variety of people in the community despite what the "sour grapes" crowd yaps about it here.

The voters spoke in November and we still have a few who can't concede. Instead, they keep up the innuendos to try and publicly discredit someone who a majority of voters chose.

That is pure arrogance in the face of the voters' choice and you people should be ashamed.

The only shame Chillery is that Kunicki tries to pass himself off as someone who gives a damn about anything but his own bottomline. Kunicki could careless about kids and their education, he never even meets with the voters. He was put on the Board to carry out the wishes of the Strickland's and his developer overlords, deal with it!

Thank you ML for asking about SSHS and talking about issues regarding education. aAlthough I do not believe it belongs on this thread I will answer your inquiry because it is relevant.

Reader beware this is a bit lengthy!

Why has Santa Susana High School Been Successful? Many Reasons!
One Parents Perspective and Recollection.

Why has SSHS been so successful? I believe one of the main reasons is the sense of ownership and pride that many who attend, teach and support the school have. The entire community came together to make SSHS the success it is today.

Our school board was not in total agreement about the school in the beginning, to their credit they did a great job of turning the school over to the community and sought their input. I believe the entire Board is quite happy with how the school developed over time.

To understand the history of SSHS it is good to understand the school's initial development and chronology. When SSHS was proposed as a magnet school the SVUSD high school's were from grades 10 to 12. The desire was to turn our HS's into four year schools. I believe this is particularly important for students who may be on a college track. The problem was this would result in overcrowding to our present High School's and under enrollment in our middle schools. The other challenge was how to attract students to a HS that did not offer sports, so it was decided to make it a magnet that could blossom with the facilities that were already there.

The concept of SSHS magnet school was not broadly accepted in the community in the beginning. I was appointed to the planning committee to help establish and develop the SSHS magnet school. Surveys were sent out to families to inquire which areas of study were of interest to students that may be unavailable at other high schools. The community at large pointed the school in the direction of technology and the performing arts. Those that were committed to the concept of a Technology and Performing Arts Magnet School were passionate and they had a vision. I seem to recall that a magnet for math and science was also suggested, but majority ruled. There are many people in the area that are involved in the performing arts industry and they offered their skills and crafts to help build the school. They demonstrated to the Board and the community the significance of marrying technology and the arts and made the public aware of the need to feed into the technology and entertainment industry. Vocational opportunities in the industries were also addressed such as stagecraft.

I think the most significant contributing factor to SSHS students and their success... students choose to attend the school. When students have a choice there is buy in and ownership. Students need to own their education and take responsibility for their success.

The more intimate and smaller setting makes it easier for the staff to know each student and their uniqueness. The teaching staff does a great job of developing and identifying students' potential and directs them to areas of study that help them to fit in and flourish. I worked as an instructional aid at the school during it's inception in 1996-1997. I observed students working well, collaborating and mutually respectful of each other regardless of what "clique" they may identify with.

It seems the school has it's "groove on" now and is working like a well oiled machine. SSHS's reputation has crossed the boundaries of SV and they are attracting students from the SFV which is helping declining enrollment issues for SVUSD.

Another contributor to the success of the school is the fact that the initial teachers had a great sense of ownership as well and were able to direct the school from it's infancy. A number of teachers had recently entered the teaching field and had previously worked in the technology or entertainment industry so they brought a fresh perspective. One person that stands out was Irene Silbert that originally was on the community planning committee and she worked in the entertainment industry, I believe she won an Emmy. She volunteered for years at SSHS and eventually became a teacher there. Another example is Craig Levy, a math teacher that had worked in the technology industry. I seem to recall his mom had been a teacher in SVUSD. SSHS offered him a challenge and an opportunity to teach, he was instrumental in keeping parents involved via e-mail and accessing a web page to check on homework as far back as 1999, I believe he taught computer related classes as well.

My oldest son Scott was a member of the first graduating class (2002) to attend four years straight at SSHS. When Scott attended he was into "skating" which included making videos of skate stunts. He did a four year Senior project that included making a skating video. I was EXTREMELY impressed. The video production teacher, Anne Frankel did a great job of teaching the students how to make their movies, edit them on the computer, add graphics, animation, audio etc. That is the beauty of SSHS teachers, they help students find their interest and direct them into using them in productive ways. Scott went on to work for the school district and is studying to be a teacher. I think it speaks volumes when a school produces alumni that desire to become teachers.

My third son Alex graduated last year (2006) with a certificate from the Technology Academy, with an emphasis on computer animation. He received a Certificate for Computer Repair from the ROP. His ROP Computer teacher Gary Vale helped him find an internship his senior year which helped him to build a resume and confidence. He is attending Moorpark College and is pursuing an Music and Art Degree.

I give the teachers of SSHS full credit for initiating and advocating for a highly successful Regional Occupation Program on location at their school.

My daughter Laura, is now in attendance at SSHS as a student of special education. We chose SSHS for her partly because of the exceptional peer tutor program. SSHS peer tutors have consistently been awarded scholarships by the Special Education Advisory Committee for their exemplary leadership skills for helping the peers with special education needs. Many peer tutors have chosen to pursue an education or vocation working with people with disabilities, including special education teachers, speech, physical and occupational therapists. The SVUSD has hired a number of students from the peer tutor program when they graduated HS some are employed at SSHS.

When I visit SSHS I feel a very strong sense of community among the students. The school feels "safe." I witness students building each other up and encouraging each other. My impression is that the individual and their unique gifts and talents is more important to the student body than an image they may try to project.

To answer your other question about donations and funding.

The SSHS teachers and parents themselves are great at volunteering their time to seek out public and private grants, locally, statewide and nationwide. Yes, they are also good about fundraising but I believe that is a much smaller part of SSHS's success.

It was teachers, students and parents that volunteered and lobbied the VCOE on their own time to have the ROP program at SSHS. These programs have resulted in internships for students as I have illustrated in my previous post.

I've personally known dozens of students for over a decade that have seamlessly found employment in the technology and entertainment industries upon graduation from SSHS.

You see, it is not just about money, it is community.

I have found Simi Valley community members to be generous across the board to all our school's, not only their own child's school. This community makes sure that Title 1 School's have fundraising assistance as well.

Wonderful Organizations that support all Schools:

SV Education Foundation
Amanda McPherson Fondation
Rotary Clubs
Kiwani's
Special Education Advisory
...to name a few

Thanks Donna for the background.
I would still be interested in learning about the difference between the public investment and private.

While money is not the single and only denominator that contributes to a school's or a district's success, it matters.

While sweat, brains, good planning, coordination, and luck can sustain any enterprise for the short term, if money is lacking, it will not be able to sustain itself for the long term.

When a company is successful, it can, if private, go public and offer shares to finance its growth.

Why don't voters see our taxes analogous to that?

Why is it that so many would never discount the value of increased revenue for healthy growth in business but do so when it comes to education?

It would be informative to compare school budgets and see if there is as little connection to money
as is too readily purported.

When you say "private investment" what do you mean? There may be "private donations" from the families, communities, service organizations and possibly employers of students parents. do you mean investment in students or the school's profitability? Local businesses are also generous in supporting (donating)to our school's because they have a special interest in helping groom their workforce and giving back to the quality of life of the community in order to recruit workers to the area.

ML,

What does the District IV Rep. have to say about SSHS, have you asked him?

I am sure that you are up to speed on school's in your district. What are your thoughts of the Foothill Technology School and their success?

I can almost guarantee that Principal Pam Carter of SSHS 520-6800 would love to share with you their forumla for success.

I volunteer 20-30 hours a week for our schools, I think it is the responsibility of our elected officials to educate themselves about our programs, don't you?

Donna,
Thank you for Ms. Carter's phone.

I am particularly interested in school finance
and am interested in trying to nail down
what really is the "actual" cost of funding adequacy.

There is a statewide effort through the California School Board Association, the Education Coalition,
and private foundations to work on increasing school funding.

I agree with you that elected officials should educate themselves about all our programs.

I have spoken to the District IV rep re: this.

When I asked those questions on this blog, they were meant to be rhetorical. . . This exchange seems more productive than one focused on rumors, innuendo, and character assassination, don't you think?

Would you be interested in joining a countywide group that looked into creating a county stream
of revenue that would be reliable, sustainable, and would stay here rather than up to Sacramento and then redistributed on a categorical basis?

ML, Maybe you and I are missing the point.

This thread started because people are discontented with politicians and shady special interest contributions. The people are losing faith in our leaders at all levels. Hence that is what bloggers were discussing.

People are tired of those in high places benefitting personally and financially at the cost of others, whether it be our elected officials, corporate smoothies with stock options or land developers who are not concerned about overcrowding schools and hurt our environment and infrastructure.

I also agree that there are developers that are good people with a desire to build healthy communities, they are not evil people. In a free enterprise the role of government on what an individual does with their own property or development of said property should be limited.

We want solutions from our leaders, developers and businesses that is beneficial for the future of all concerned.

We want a return to civility and fairness, not hiding behind gray areas and wabblers in the FPPC.

To be fair I want to add that special education advocates tend to have a strong sense of entitlements and demands which can appear that their only concerns is their special interest and not those of the entire population. This is an area that I am always working on with parents... building bridges and making reasonable demands, understanding the financial and physical limitiations that our schools work under. I also encourage them to lobby their elected officials and become involved in supporting those that can influence budgets and legislation for our schools etc.

We need to all come to the table and realize that we are all in this together to find the solution that will be fair and beneficial to all concerned

If the subject had been on education or financing of such I am sure discussion would not have turned to the campaign ethics whether legal or not or those that are in elected positions.

You should be able to discern that people are frustrated and they want to know what someone's motivation is.

Educating our children should never be about partisan politics.

Possibly I am naive, but it seems that party priorities and narrow agendas are over shadowing the holisitc issues affecting our children's and ultimately all of our futures.

Many of the bloggers that are venting their frustrations I have no idea who they are, so please do not make assumptions of who any of the anonymous bloggers are. You have my phone numer ML and you know I am always available to talk.

I have been involved at a County level volunteering for over fourteen year, with no financial gain. I have been instrumental in bringing 15-20 million in fuinding to programs in our County that have helped our students and schools.

The voters made their choice and it is up to their current rep. to be their champion. I will continue to work with people from the SELPA and Ventura County Behavioral Health on advocating for students educational programs and overall well being, I have never waivered from this position

I will volunteer on a more individualized level locally where the politics fade away and the focus is more to children in my community.

Let's discuss rather than vent.

I think this topic has exhausted itself.

ML PETERSON ADMITTED THAT DEAN KUNICKI IS AND WAS A DEVELOPER AT THE TIME HE WAS REMOVED!

MAYBE SHE MISSED IT BUT MOST PEOPLE THINK IT IS RATHER SLIMY TO HAVE A DEVELOPER ON A PLANNING COMMISSION. THAT IS LIKE A TEACHER BEING ON A COMMITTEE ON TEACHER SALARY.

IT IS A CLEAR CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

THANKS ML FOR CLEARING IT UP.

I think ML deserves a lot of credit for being willing to come here, as an elected official, and engage in constructive discussion and debate on education issues.

To expect her to come here and trash her fellow board members is not only unrealistic, but does nothing to encourage other electeds to engage in public forums.

Leave the trashing to Party hacks and anonymous spear thowers. I can trash Kunicki, Bates, Valenzano and Matthews all day long, if you're really up for some shooting fish in a barrel type entertainment.

ML cannot and will not. She's made this very clear.

Donna: I was in 10th grade when Santa Su was founded, and I had no idea what was going on. After your explanation, it seems like a fantastic decision, and I'm glad to know that we are building up such resources in Simi.

Admits It: I think it would eminently appropriate to have a teacher on such a committee. Who else would have experience nearly as commensurate with its mission. Likewise, a developer would have an extremely important perspective on planning. Would you prefer that Law Enforecment personnel have no say on policing policy? What about medical professionals on healthcare? Should Military officers butt out of war planning?

Laura: If trashing is for Party hacks, and you are more than willing to trash, are we to assume, transitively, that you are a Party hack?

Wasn't there recently a student caught with an explosive device on campus a few weeks ago?

Sense of community aside at SSHS, a HAZMAT had to be called out and the school had to be evacuated.

Not to worry, I'm sure that student will be back on campus very soon. The ACLU members on the school board wouldn't want the rights of kids with explosive devices on campuses to be infringed.

SSHS, which used to be a middle school, also forces middle schoolers into packed classrooms all so we can import kids from out of the area to pad our ADA funding.

Why should Simi middle schoolers be packed into Valley View while we bring kids in that don't live here, so non-Simi students can take woodworking?

I also have spoken with neighbors that surround the school. For the longest time, the district never put in high school parking areas for their new high school and it's caused major headaches in the surrounding neighborhoods.

I'm sure they have great programs, but on the whole, the middle schools are overcrowded because of it and both Simi High and Royal High maintain many of the same programs as SSHS.

Owen:

How can you say the schools are worse than 50 years ago and be a product of public schools?

Are you saying your not as educated as students were 50 years ago at this point in your life?

You can trace the decline of California's (and the Nation's) public schools back to the point our leaders convinced us all to think of the cost of education as "spending" rather than "investment" and that would be sometime in the late 1960s/early 1970s.

Brian,

Maybe this needs to be another thread.

Chillery,

When the switch to 9-12 HS's was being planned I was very actively attending School Board meetings. My thinking at that time was that we should build a third HS on the land that the school district owned by City Hall but everyone told me it would never become the political will of the community. I also thought our students should have at least one performing arts auditorium built in our school district that could be shared. My sons were in band and we would travel to competitions throughout the County. I couldn't understand why Moorpark and Oxnard could have such a great performing Arts auditoriums and SV students put on concerts outside (I attended one when it was raining).

I was not thrilled about the course that the school Board was taking at the time so I became involved in the process. I felt very bad for the students and families that were in the boundaries of Sequoia Middle School when it was converted to SSHS. I was not thrilled about the result of the overcrowding at Valley View either. When it was a done deal I came on board, I was not one of those that had pushed the Performing Arts/Technology Magnet, I leaned towards science.

Parking was discussed a lot and was extremely controversial. I agree there is a problem with students parking in the neighborhood north of the school. That issue needs to be addressed. Parking is also an issue at all the the elementary schools as well, spilling into residential neighborhoods. I would like to see more students using public transportation. My sons took the bus to school. Possibly this is a "green issue" that we could make popular for all students in SV.

This planning took place many years (1995) ago and we have all learned a lot about the problems of passing bonds in our school district oversight, staying within budget etc.

I agree RHS and SVHS have similar programs and they also have many success stories. I have volunteered and worked with teachers from RHS and SVHS and I have a lot of respect for the other schools. Let's not forget Apollo HS they are doing a great job as well.

I've had the honor of attending Senior awards night at all four HS's for the past five years when I present scholarships. I am always impressed with the accomplishments of our students throughout the community and very proud of them. The majority of the community is supportive of all our schools.

Yes, there was a scare at SSHS a couple of weeks ago where some hazardous liquid was found. Unfortunately these problems exist at all our HS's.

SVUSD expels an average of 70 students a year.
I have advocated to bring a County Schools-Gateway school to East County for students that have been expelled. There used to be a Gateway school in Moorpark but it was closed by the VCBOE a couple of years ago, Our students would need to commute to Camarillo if they are expelled, many of them give up and drop out of school. I don't think it makes our community any safer to have troubled students that have been expelled with no place to go. What about students that are unable to commute. Shortly after the VCBOE approved closing the only Gateway school in District IV, The Vista Real Charter Schools proposed opening a school in SV for at risk students that were not being served, HMMM?

Bam Bam: I'm being unfair in trying to pin all the blame on public schools. Teachers aren't parents, and we shouldn't expect them to be. What's striking is that we have the chance today, through modern technology, to be much better educated than fifty years ago, but our culture doesn't seem to value education as much as in the past. Additionally, in many aspects we've given up on expecting students to learn, and instead babysit them, promoting kids even when they fail. If one has the desire to learn, of course the situation is better today than fifty years ago.

Owen:
We really don't have "social promotion" anymore.

I agree with your assessment that through technology students have within easy reach more information than ever before.

Information through reading or through films and music (lyrics, etc) are only a few ways of learning, wouldn't you agree?

What is needed for a person to be "educated," to be prepared to be an active citizen in a republic and a contributing member of her/his community, and to be prepared for the 21st century local economies within a global context?

Donna:
Thanks for all the background info. provided.
I agree with what you advocated originally for SVUSD. It seems that the new political wave
at that time were magnet schools. I think the kind of energy and work we see at magnets are also happening in our comprehensive high schools. I also believe that resources would have been more equitably distributed, that includes "small learning" environments, if we had focused on improving comprehensive high schools. The "political will" in my view was of a few ambitious political players who wanted quick "success" stories.

That is one of the unfortunate consequences of having so much education policies being directed by Sacramento and those who want to be part of that political circle.

I am sorry more did not listen to you at that time.

VCOE is working on tracking students who have been expelled.

The closing of the Gateway program in Simi Valley
did not happen as a directive of VCBE. We learned of it after-the-fact. We are currently in the process of trying to create a much more collaborative structure so that these kinds of things happen with much more community input.

Joe Mendoza is working to make sure that at-risk students have much more guidance than they had before.

I will ask him where those 70 students are. I am guessing they are in a SVUSD program.

With declining enrollment, all districts are trying to keep as many students enrolled in their respective district programs as possible. The loss of Gateway may only mean that SVUSD has created its own program to address the needs of expelled students.

It is my understanding that Dean Kunicki has extended an invitation for you to work with him on the issues you raised. I would also like to extend that invitation.

We have a board meeting this morning. I will ask that the issue of tracking expelled students and the process of opening and closing Gateway campuses be put on as future agenda items.

Owen:

You said our culture doesn't value education anymore. That's a pretty general statement. Care to back that up? ML, Donna, "Chillery" and others seem to be talking a ton about education. Polls tend to put education very high on the list in this country. Parents often pick where they live based on how good the schools are.

Are they not part of American culture?

Dean Kunicki asked me to "share my knowledge with him." You have got to be kidding!

I do not believe it is my responsibility to train Kunicki on the programs that he is overseeing and governing. Dr. Weis has an outstanding staff that can train him. I received some of my training from SELPA Staff.

I invest my time training stakeholders.

I am hosting a training February 13th in SV at the Sinaloa Middle School for students in our County on how to create an Individualized Transition Plan for special education students, transitioning to adult services. This training is a collaborative with the SVUSD, Special Educaiton Adviosry Committee, SELPA, Dept of Rehab, Social Security, Tri-County Regional Center, Ventura County Behavioral Health, Colleges, Work Training Programs and Association of Retarded Citizens.

ML,

Do you have something against public magnet schools.

Moorpark Unified has done an excellent job with their magnet schools, Walnut Canyon Elementary-Performing Arts and Flory Academy-Science.

Do you think is is better to have a charter magnet school?

You mean to tell me that the VCBOE does not know beforehand when a school/program is closed such as Gateway!

You should contact Rob Collins regarding students that have been expelled, he has some great ideas on how to track them and help them. Currently, SVUSD students are NOT enrolled in other SVUSD programs if they are expelled.

I went to Lenny Dystra's car wash for the last time this morning. They have raised the price of all their car washes by $5 and they were still slow and the place is like a ghost town! Has anyone tried that new $5 California Speed Wash place on L.A. and Madera? Is it any good?

Maybe the school district's should hand out car wash employment applications to students when they expel them to make sure Lenny's car is clean.

Donna:

At last Friday morning's meeting, I asked that we place on the agenda a report re: expelled students. I will be working on THIS because I see it as a NECESSARY PREREQUISITE on any work on improving gang prevention and intervention. Our board voted unanimously to place this on the agenda for discussion. I will post it on this site when we get a definite date.

I will get in touch with Rob re: this, as well.

Yes, regarding the Gateway in Simi. Our Board is
working on tightening up the accountability between the Superintendent and the Board. We are working on setting up better approval and reporting processes.

Re: Magnets
Yes, those in Moorpark are excellent. I do not know of a magnet that isn't.

There should be no surprise in that. From my persepctive, magnets are a consequence of not having the available funds to provide the excellent science, art, and other more expensive programs throughout a school district. By concentrating them in only one school, rather than throughout the district, districts can concentrate the needed fundraising to support excellence at that site. These kinds of excellent programs should be offered more widely and not have limited access based on lottery.

The kind of choices referred to when speaking of
magnets and charters might have been developed
within classrooms and even school sites. So much
learning needs to be cross-disciplinary AND opportunities for students to explore and develop
depth in more than one area of great interest. I believe environments where students have access to excellence in more than one concentration is better.

As schools are currently underfunded and classes are very large, it is easier for districts to concentrate very motivated parents who have the time and means to do above-average fundraising in a couple of sites with programs that center on one discipline. This increases the likelihood of very successful fundraising. The combination of highly motivated parents and great fundraising are powerful combinations to close the funding gap to support excellence in schools.

On the cheeky question re: charter magnets: Once districts approved magnets, I did not see it
intellectually honest to obstruct charters, especially when it is parent-teacher driven.

I prefer neither. Rather than celebrating learning differences and providing better individual attention to student learning needs, I believe that current school funding and unreasonable teacher workload contribute to the continued fragmentation of schools and communities by limited specialization.

Magnets and charters are here to say. I am learning and exploring from our Board's work how we might address what is gained and what challenges remain or emerge as the result. I find myself often reconsidering these views.

ML,

I applaud your willingness to respond, address the issues and make yourself available to the public. I wish the other VCBOE Trustees would follow your leadeship in this area.

Donna,

Thank you. I hope to continue to report what
our Board is doing and how each individual Board
member is contributing to that work. Each of our Board members is working hard in their respective educational field of interest. Their leadership
will be apparent in the progress we make in a few but very vital areas of education.

Your continued attention to that work keeps everyone involved in Ventura County education
alert.