Here is the text of the resolution:

Disclosure: I am a Simi Valley public school teacher. That stated I don't always agree or disagree with the opinions of the school board.

The Simi Valley Unified School District Board passed a resolution in favor of putting the tax extension proposals on the June ballot. It is a strange time for school budgeting because that means the school board must prepare two seperate budgets and prepare for the worst.

That means the school board must give out reduction in force notices (RIF Notices) in March and fire teachers for the next school year in April but potentially rehire those teachers after the election.

Simi Valley School teachers have voted to accept furlough days and added costs to healthcare plans. The school district has cut total staffing and positions. I am not sure what would be cut next. The Simi Valley Educators Association is going to be asking their members if they want to lose positions, cut pay, or take more furlough days. This school year Simi Valley had many less furlough days than other area districts.

I support the tax extensions. I don't see alternative plans to adequately fund education next year without them being passed. I also support furlough days instead of cutting positions. I would reduce my pay to protect the careers of some of the newest hires to the district. Beyond the immediate problems I also support merging the different required tests students take to reduce costs.

In related news former Simi Valley School Board candidate Josie Hirsch posted on Facebook that she plans to run again in 2012. She believes the district does not need the added money from the proposed tax extensions and could reduce costs without major impacts in the classrooms. Find her on Facebook to read her explanations for yourself.

I am interviewing Simi Valley School Board candidate Arleigh Kidd tonight using the comments section of this blog entry. Click on continue reading later to read the interview. Arleigh Kidd is a personal friend of mine and I am supporting him. But that doesn't mean I'm not planning on asking him tough questions. I am going to ask him about charter schools, tenure, budget priorities, and more. After the interview let me know how I did.

Read his website to find out more about him:

http://arleighkiddforschoolboard.com/

You can also read a past guest blog entry Arleigh Kidd wrote years ago:

http://blogs.venturacountystar.com/dennert/archives/2005/09/guest_blogger_v.html

There are a few weeks before the election ends. Send me an email if you want to schedule an interview.

I have a new contest where candidates send in pictures for readers to guess where in Ventura County they were taken. This picture is in Simi Valley but a much more specific answer is needed to win. I'm not looking for an address but instead an approximate location including which way the camera is directed in.

You don't need to register to comment, but keep it classy.

School Board candidate Arleigh Kidd is a personal friend of mine. Because of his background in education, including teaching at Valley View Middle School in Simi Valley, I know he will make a strong addition to the School Board. He is the parent of one student that graduated from Royal High School and another student currently at there. Anyone that knows him knows he is a very passionate defender of public education. If you ask him a question on education he gives very specific answers. I haven't always agreed with him but I have come to deeply respect his dedication.

He has been endorsed by the Simi Educators Association and 4/5 of the current school board members including Jeanne Davis, Janice DiFatta, Debbie Sandland, and Rob Collins.

I am going to be interviewing him a week from this Thursday night on my blog. Read over his website and then send or post some suggestions for questions.

School Board Member Rob Collins, Past School Board Member and his wife Diane Collins, and education activist Donna Prenta are putting together a meet and greet event this weekend for three of their favorite local candidates. Here is the flyer for the event:

Although the candidates are appearing together that doesn't mean they have all endorsed each other. Arleigh Kidd posted this comment on Facebook:

I plan to be at this event to take pictures and to interview the candidates briefly. I have interviewed Jeanne Davis a few weeks ago and I will be interviewing Arleigh Kidd soon. I am personal friends with Arleigh Kidd and I am supporting him. He has been a teacher in Simi Valley and has a passion for public education.

I am helping to raise money for the Simi Valley Education Foundation. If you like what you read on this blog please consider donating to this worthy cause. The money is used to fund their enhancement grants that teachers in SVUSD can apply for. Grants have been funded in the past for classroom materials and teacher training.

If a candidate donates, or someone donates on behalf of a candidate, I will recognize them here on my blog. I won't post how much someone donates unless they as me to include that information.

Jeanne Davis is running for a second term on the Simi Valley School Board. In the last election she beat a candidate endorsed by the union representing Simi Valley teachers. This time she has their endorsement and she has wider name identification. She worked in SVUSD as a teacher and as an administrator until she retired. There are four candidates running for the two positions on the school board. Only two candidates filed candidate statements, and she is one of them. Her campaign isn't taking chances though and has been working on getting their message out. All of those factors combine to show she is very likely to retain her position.

Thanks for helping me raise money Jeanne.

Go to the foundation's page to see a great group of people helping to raise money for local schools.

Click on the image below to donate:


( Note: I didn't write my bio statement. Thanks for the kind words and help for local schools goes to the Education Foundation.)

Click on continue reading to see Jeanne Davis playing drums in her rock band.

Simi Valley School Board candidate Josie Hirsch donated to help my fundraising drive for the Simi Valley education Foundation. The SVEF runs great programs for local schools including a grant program available to all SVUSD teachers.

If you like at least a little of what you read here please consider it a form of tipping to donate to our local schools. I will recognize candidates that donate with an entry on my blog. I won't say how much you donated unless you request that I include that information. So for as little as $5 you can get some publicity for your campaign.

I interviewed Josie Hirsch about her qualifications and plans for the district last week on my blog. Read through the interview and let me know what you think. Thank you Josie for helping me raise money for local schools. I teach at Royal High School and I can tell you the grants are very valuable resources in our classroom. A teacher applied for a grant for a class set of books called "The World That Trade Created" that I use in my classroom frequently.

Click here to donate to the Simi Valley Education Foundation.

On Thursday nights I interview candidates running for office in Ventura County. From Harbor Commissioner to park board, no position is too small for me to interview. Send me an email if you are interested. Candidates get coverage on the most read political blog dedicated to Ventura County politics.

Tonight I am interviewing Josie Hirsch about her campaign for the Simi Valley School Board. I will be asking her about education reform, the school board's priorities, and how she decided to run for school board.

Full Disclosure: I am volunteering for my friend Arleigh Kidd who is also one of the candidates running for the two available seats.

Josie,

Click on continue reading for your first question.

I don't write much about my personal life but outside of being a blogger I am a teacher at Royal High School in Simi Valley. Before that I was a teacher at a Catholic High School in Los Angeles for four years. Few issues stir a passion in me as much as education reform.

I have gone to protests against budget cuts organized by our union and I have also have been at a union meeting where almost every speaker has turned against me for supporting education reforms. I see education as a great engine for social mobility and opportunity.

The Simi Valley Education Foundation has asked me for help raising money for their programs. We all know that public education budgets have been cut which makes their grant programs even more important. Their grants fund supplies and field trips that otherwise wouldn't be available to students. If you want to see a great group of people go to their page to see who is on their board.

This blog doesn't pay much. If you appreciate at least some of my blogging I am asking for you to show your appreciation by donating as little as $5 to the education foundation.

And to show my gratitude every candidate that donates to the foundation will get recognition on the front page of my blog with a link to their campaign website. I won't publish how much you donated unless you specifically ask me to so don't worry if your budget is tight.

For those of you not running for office I will post a funny education story for every donation.

Go to their website to donate.

http://svef.org/jail/brian_dennert_page.html

Thanks for reading my blog.

Do you remember the controversy over Harry Potter books in Ventura County Schools? The issue for some conservative parents was sorcery. You have to read the article for some outlandish quotes.

Click here for the article.

Well, it isn't nearly as exciting but a former Simi Valley School Board Member was reading the Ventura County Star and noticed that a club for Republican women donated books in honor of First Lady Laura Bush's efforts to promote literacy. He looked up a review of the book on Amazon.com and wasn't pleased with the results.

Click here to see the story from the Ventura County Star.

To see his guest entry on the subject click on continue reading.

I like libraries to be appealing to many different students and to hold a wide variety of views. I don't teach elementary school and I am not sure what the guidelines for books are at that level.

I don't like to comment on books that I haven't read and I won't be fitting this book into my schedule anytime soon so I will reserve most of my comments to myself.

But I will say that a way to see if this argument is moot is to find out how many kids checked out the book. Remember that card in the front of books? If kids aren't interested enough to check out the book then the issue seems rather small.

UPDATE:

Here is the purpose of the book according to the author:

"The book is designed to educate young girls about being a Republican Woman and to help recruit the next generation of of NFRW members".

Stephen, if that doesn't would you consider this book a fair compromise?

In his guest blog entry you will see the school district was responsive and had a clear policy to deal with the issue.

To see Stephen Hogg's guest blog post click on continue reading. But remember the opinions expressed are his and not necessarily mine.

If you would like to write a guest blog entry send me an email.

( Rep. Barney Frank wielding the gavel.)

Do you read the letters to the editor in local papers? This letter from former Simi Valley School Board Member Greg Stratton was in The Acorn and in The Star.

What goes around comes around. So Janice DiFatta and Debbie Sandland are shocked that Debbie was passed over for president of the Simi Valley Unified School District board. Obviously, their definition of "recent memory" does not go all the way back to 2004, when they broke protocol and denied me and Carla Kurachi our turns as board president and clerk. They taught Rob Collins well that the leadership decision is purely political. I'm sure he remembers back that far.
By the protocol, Eric Lundstrom should have been clerk last year. Apparently, they forgot that part of it then, but now they conveniently remember the rules. I don't know how they each can make the statements they made without being afraid of being struck by lightning for twisting the truth.
It gives me some hope to see the board escape from the path those two have chartered. We have a good district, but it needs leadership to make it what it can be -- a great district. That means change, and the two of them have been there so long they don't even understand the need for change. They have become so embedded in the status quo that they take any suggestion for change as a personal affront. Well, times have changed, and the district needs to as well.
So, congratulations to President Lundstrom, and keep up the good work. You can now chart a new course for the district that will improve it for years to come. Good luck.
-- Greg Stratton, Simi Valley
(The writer was a board member from 2002 to 2006. -- Editor)

As a matter of disclosure I am a teacher in Simi Valley. That being said I really don't know how who is the president or clerk of the School Board influences local schools. I haven't paid attention to this issue jut as I don't normally pay attention to who the Mayor Pro Tem of a city is currently. I guess it helps people when they run for office and want a title to put by their names, but what else is there to the title?

Mayor Stratton, ( I assume, like president you get to keep the title) can you fill us in? In your letter you said : "So, congratulations to President Lundstrom, and keep up the good work. You can now chart a new course for the district that will improve it for years to come. Good luck." How does a board president chart a course for the district? Is there something in the bylaws, special committees they are assigned to, or do they become the go to person for staff?

Anyone else know the powers of a school board president and clerk? If they are running a meeting it seems they would work with the other board members on schedules and the like anyway. If the position was truly powerful, why would it be rotated anyways?

None of this should be construed to say I have a strong opinion on who the board president should be.

Click here for Mike Chandler's opinion on the issue. Mike writes the blog votesimivalley.com. He blogs often about Simi Valley. If you know something that needs to be covered send him a message.

The email below came in from Brad Jashinsky, former School Board candidate, regarding a problem he is facing in his neighborhood. He lives a few blocks away from a nightclub in Simi Valley along the route of an exit from the place. He is going to speak to the Simi Valley City Council this Tuesday night. I have not investigated the accuracy of the claims, nor do I know the full story. But I am look forward to hearing from all sides in this case.

Here is the email from Brad Jashinsky:

At 2am on Saturday November 29th I heard a loud explosive noise, and ran outside to see what had happened. I came out to see my sister's car in the condition above with the obvious drunk driver getting away up the street. Since the accident my anger has turned to outrage as I learned of more neighbors who had their driveways blocked, a brick wall hit by a driver, and a driver go across their lawn. Despite all of these accidents the CandleLight Night Club, where we assume these drunk drivers are coming from, has refused to help with the investigation. We found parts from the other car and tracked them down by serial number to belonging to a Mercedes c230, but CandleLight refuses to hand over surveillance tapes or drivers license records they have from that night. This information would almost certainly lead to an arrest, criminal prosecution, and civil prosecution. Without their help a presumed drunk driver continues to drive the Simi Valley streets believing that they won't be caught, and we have to foot the bill for a few thousand dollars of repairs. Going beyond this one incident our city and citizens are in danger from being more serious cases. This Tuesday, December 8th, I will be speaking to the city council, and I hope if you have a similar concern to share you will be there to show the city council that Simi Valley Citizens will not stand for this behavior by a business in our community

Brad, I know you obviously spoke to the police at the scene, but who else have you spoken to at the city, the police station, or the nightclub? What response have you been given?

( The candidates discussing an issue that doesn't seem to come up much in Simi Valley: Vouchers. The question is more of an ideological litmus test when you consider that this isn't going to be on the agenda of the board. A more pertinent question would be about expanding charter schools or relations with the Ventura County Board of Education. 4 of of the 6 candidates were clearly against vouchers. What questions do you want these candidates to answer?)

I went to the Simi Valley School Board debate tonight at city hall.

First, sorry about getting the time wrong. It was at 5PM. I apologize if I caused anybody to miss it.

On the way in I saw Ray Cruz's bus and van in the parking lot. Here is a photo:

As I got closer I snapped a photo of some Ray Cruz supporters standing outside with his signs:

Inside city hall chambers it was a pretty tame affair. Nothing too unexpected was said from the candidates.

Here is a brief run down of a few statements or ideas from each candidate:

Brad Jashinsky:

We need new technology. Schools are archaic and look like something out of the 1950's or 1960's. Brad spoke about schools using webgrades ( which some schools do ) and posting homework online ( which some schools do ) as a way of connecting schools and families. He is a strong supporter of protecting and expanding programs at Santa Su High School.

Rob Collins:

Ron said he has the experience we need and this is no time for on the job training. The current board is working together unlike it has in the past and wants to continue as a team. Really against vouchers.

Janice Difatta:

The current board has worked together on many issues and looks forward to working with them. Grimaced a few times at statements from other candidates, including Brad's comments about a "new" energy savings plan. I put new in quotes because they disputed how long the district has been doing it. I know there has been an energy czar position for a few years, but I don't know if he was talking about something else.

Debbie Sandland:

She has been on the board for many years and would like to continue with the current board and is thankful for the opportunity it has given her. She takes many trips to see the many schools in the area. She is strongly against vouchers. Debbie also explained that she is in favor of the current options for 6th graders. She ran in an earlier campaign when that was a top priority.

A candidate that didn't get his candidate statement in:

I will put in his thoughts when he gets his candidate statement sent into me. The program for the night said he didn't submit a statement. Maybe I am being harsh, but if you want to have us take the time to discuss your policy views, then show us you are taking this seriously. I will post your candidate statement, website URL, and any videos you have as soon as you send them in. I look forward to posting them for you. You have many talents that will serve you well in life. Make sure to stay involved after the election.

Raymond Cruz:

Ray has refocused his campaign from divisive social issues like creationism that came up in the last election and is instead focusing on the drop out rate and the expulsion rate. He does support vouchers and was criticized by many of the other candidates for this position. He brochure mentions his involvement in Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley and the endorsement of the Ventura County Republican Central Committee.

I found it odd he hasn't switched the words he uses like much of the conservative movement in America. Many supporters of teaching creationism now call it "intelligent design" and many supporters of vouchers now call it "school choice".

I spoke with Ray outside the event very briefly and although we likely don't agree on very many policies, he is very friendly. His involvement in church life shows in his daily life. In his last election I took a few videos of him that I have posted below.

Ray did show up with the most supporters by far. The parking lot had a bus, a van, and more vehicles with his campaign signs on them. He looks like he is putting much more effort into his campaign this time.

I talked to a few candidates about campaign finance and they directed me to the county government website to learn more. Click here to see some of the campaign finance reports. I tried using it to look up current information but I am done with it for now. The information seems to be out of date and not organized in an easy to use way. The most recent report has been downloading for a few minutes and at this rate I will finish the entry before it is done. What's wrong with html reports? If you find anything interesting in there let me know.

There were many responses to questions I am not going to write about. If you went to the debate and want to share what I left out, by all means post a comment. I saw a few people that post on my blog there including Mike Chandler of VoteSimiValley.com. Mike, I know your video quality is much higher than mine. I use a digital camera with a video feature whereas you actually have proper equipment. Do you have the ability to post the debate in full? I am going to leave it up to you and others to share their thoughts on the debate. My report is not meant to be conclusive.

Do you know how you are going to cast your three votes? This is a unique blog entry. Instead of a writer trying to convince you to support a cause or a candidate I am asking you to convince me.

I have my thoughts on the different candidates and I am familiar with most of the issues that they bring up. But I haven't finalized my three votes. Please leave your suggestions and picks as a comment. Make sure to explain how you are going to vote and why.

Thanks for the help.

I like to look at the bumper stickers on cars in the parking lots of debates. I don't know if they were attending the debate but I saw this Mike Judge supporter's vehicle which included a McCain/Palin sticker, a NRA sticker, and a Mike Judge sign showing his unique URL: JudgementSV.com

Mike, feel free to put up a link to the entry where you answered questions here on this blog.