Home › Blogs › No Issues Left Behind
« October 2006 | Main | December 2006 »
November 29, 2006
Childhood poverty and Education
From Blogger in Residence Scott Blough...
In 2005, The United Nations Children’s Fund released a report looking at child poverty rates in the industrialized nations of the world. While Denmark and Finland had rates under 2-3%, rounding out the bottom were the United States and Mexico with child poverty rates of 20% or more.
There is no doubt poverty has a major effect on educational opportunities and scholastic achievement of students throughout the US, but recently the Escondido Union School District was awarded a prestigious Golden Bell award for an innovative program to help students with homeless parents.
The article says, “The program's goal is to provide homeless children with equal access to school and necessary services to ensure that they have the same opportunities to succeed in school as other children.”
While many of us will just dismiss reality through mere liberal or conservative ideological prisms, is it an admirable position to haggle over such labels while people are suffering?
What is and what isn’t being done on child poverty in your school and community?
I welcome your thoughts
Scott Blough
Blogger In Residence
Posted by Tim Keaney at 07:17 PM
November 28, 2006
The $6 Billion windfall...
"Think Strategically?" "What does it cost to educate a child?" "Higher teacher pay?"
From the Ventura County Star...
Falling enrollment, rising state revenues to bring $6 billion school bonus
By Lynda Gledhill, San Francisco Chronicle
November 28, 2006
SACRAMENTO — California schools are in line for a $6 billion windfall over the next five years, and interest groups are already lining up to get their share, promoting ideas like improving high schools, paying teachers more and helping urban districts with severely declining enrollment.
The money is anticipated because K-12 enrollment is expected to drop while the state's general fund revenues continue to increase. Several factors are contributing to the declining enrollment: children of baby boomers are exiting the 5-to-17 age group, fewer people are moving into the state, and there has been a decline recently in the state's birthrate.
School funding has been a thorny issue in recent years. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger borrowed school funds to help bridge the state's budget gap in 2004 and was condemned by school groups the next year when he reneged on his promise to pay it back.
The strength of the education lobby, coupled with voter rejection last year of a Schwarzenegger plan to tinker with the constitutional education funding formula, leaves little doubt that schools will be able to keep the expected windfall. Schwarzenegger himself said last month that he has no desire to change funding formulas for education.
The state's nonpartisan legislative analyst recommended that lawmakers begin to consider how to use the money strategically to improve the state's schools.
To do that, lawmakers would have to wrestle with school groups, the governor and their own members, who often have their own ideas about what to do with school money.
"The emphasis on reform and change should be significant," said Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland. "We don't want to use all this money to maintain the status quo. But it is hard because everyone has a vested interest."
This year, 44 percent of the general fund, or $41 billion, is being spent to educate the state's nearly 6 million students. The share of general fund money dedicated to schools declines as enrollment drops but cannot go below 40 percent under Proposition 98, the voter-approved school-funding scheme.
With enrollment expected to drop by 80,000 students by 2010-11, California schools are positioned to get an extra $6 billion over the next five fiscal years when revenue from local property tax collections is figured in.
Perata and others are eagerly awaiting the results of an independent study on the adequacy of the state's school system, which is expected to be released in March. The $2.6 million study by four philanthropic foundations was commissioned by Perata; Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles; Schwarzenegger; and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell.
The idea is to assess — without regard to how schools are currently funded — how much it costs to educate a child in California so that he or she can pass achievement tests and be a productive worker.
"The idea of the adequacy study is to try to put science behind the rhetoric about what it really costs to educate a child in California," Perata said. "Now, these are not tablets coming off the mountain, but an independent source to measure decisions by."
Barbara Kerr, president of the California Teachers Association, said she hopes that the study will provide a common thread that everyone can agree on.
"This is an opportunity to talk about what we need to do and answer the question of what does it really cost to educate a child in California?" she said. "From there, we can look at equitable funding."
Kerr said she believes that more money needs to be spent on education to properly teach every child, and she noted that teachers are the biggest part of the classroom experience. Teacher pay and professional development are issues the union frequently pushes.
Alan Bersin, who is leaving as Schwarzenegger's education secretary in a few weeks, said the state needs to continue its emphasis on school reform tied to achievement tests. He said elementary education has been improved through spending on better instructional materials, teacher training and the professional development of principals.
The California School Boards Association wants, among other things, to see some of the money go toward helping districts that have seen a sharp decline in students. Urban school systems such as the San Francisco Unified School District are experiencing steady enrollment drops. Rick Pratt, assistant executive director of the organization, said school districts get less money as their student population decreases, but that costs do not go down as quickly.
For example, he said, a school could lose five students but still need to have the classroom, pay the teacher and pay for the utilities.
Pratt said his organization would like to see a formula by which school districts lose money over several years. Currently, schools have a one-year grace period before their funding goes down.
Posted by Tim Keaney at 06:12 AM
November 17, 2006
uh...wow?
A tale of two boards - From the Acorn...
Accusations fly at departing members' final meeting
By Avi Rutschman avi@theacorn.com
The Simi Valley School Board passed formal resolutions on Tuesday recognizing the services of Carla Kurachi and Greg Stratton, but much more than thank yous were shared among the trustees.
While board members Debbie Sandland, Janet DiFatta and Rob Collins extended compliments to the two departing members, Stratton and Kurachi used the occasion to both praise and rebuke the board.
"I'm going to tell you about the good, the bad and the ugly," said Stratton, a former Simi Valley mayor.
According to Stratton, the best aspect of the district is the dedicated staff that strives on a daily basis to bring quality education to Simi's youth.
"It's not surprising that we get the best because of the high pay we offer, the low crime in Simi and the great parents that are involved in their kids' learning," Stratton said.
But both the district's efforts and its staff are often hampered by a rigid and bureaucratic culture that dominates the world of public education, Stratton said.
"I've worked at all levels of government and I can't hold a match to what I've seen in the schools," Stratton said. "There is no desire for change, the process of teaching hasn't changed since I was in grade school, and the productivity of the district has not improved."
According to Stratton, this inability to adapt to new problems will lead to disaster for the American education system. American students are quickly being outpaced by foreign learners, and few realize the drastic consequences this can have, he said.
"Not everyone recognizes the importance of education, but the problem with this is that we no longer have blue collar jobs available for these people," Stratton said.
Stratton also feels it's vital for the district to learn to become more efficient and better able to manage its funds.
"We must improve our efficiency to find more money because we won't always be able to depend on Sacramento to send more."
Stratton also called for the district to develop a plan that outlined goals and expected yearly progress, similar to the 2020 plan he created for the city of Simi Valley when he served as mayor.
For Kurachi, who's served on the board for 16 years, the problems with the district didn't lie in the board's inefficiencies, but rather with its collective personality.
"The last two years have been horrible, and I've never been on a board that is so mean-spirited," Kurachi said. "I can relate to the kid who doesn't want to go to school because of bullies. Here we are as adults and its back to the ninth grade."
According to Kurachi, she and Stratton were scorned by the other three board members because they endorsed candidates running against them in the 2004 school board election.
Kurachi also asserted that she was criticized by Sandland, the board's president, when she decided to openly embrace her religion after the passing of her husband.
"You (Sandland) speak of tolerance, but when I embraced my religion on a personal level, you said I was too religious to serve on the board," Kurachi said.
According to Kurachi, for the board to successfully operate in the future it will need to bury its egotism and vindictiveness and focus on creating a quality educational experience.
"You can't have the best interest of the kids at heart when you are too concerned with your own ego," Kurachi said.
While Collins commented that he had witnessed no divisions on the board, Kurachi was quick to point out that it was because of the quiet suffering of Stratton and herself.
"For two years, Greg and I have sucked it up. That's why you don't speak of any divisions," Kurachi said.
According to Kurachi, she is hoping that her critique of the board's operations will prompt them to start properly doing their job. In spite of the comments from
the two exiting members, Sandland said she felt there was little wrong with board.
"I hold my head high, and I'm proud of the accomplishments of this five-member board," Sandland said.
Posted by Tim Keaney at 09:36 AM
November 15, 2006
Scott Blough on Diversity in admissions
Ten years ago voters in California approved proposition 209, which prohibited discrimination or preferential treatment by state or public entities. Specifically, the act, “Prohibits the state, local governments, districts, public universities, colleges, and schools, and other government instrumentalities from discriminating against or giving preferential treatment to any individual or group in public employment, public education, or public contracting on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin.”
Here’s a link to the arguments for and against back in 1996.
This week, behind closed doors, the San Francisco School Board will attempt to narrowly tailor factors of race into their enrollment policy to determine where students will attend within the San Francisco public school system. Proponents argue that San Francisco schools have become too segregated while opponents are arguing that it’s a direct violation of proposition 209 and because it was held behind closed doors, it may violate the Brown Act.
In South LA, the UCLA Chancellor is holding town hall meetings discussing recent changes to UCLA’s admissions process saying they will take a new holistic viewpoint in which a student’s academic record will be viewed in light of personal experiences and challenges. Story here...
The California Teachers Association opposed proposition 209 in 1996 and is generally pro-affirmative action. With recent gains in Congress and a continued majority within the state of California of pro-teacher union interests at the state level, will we see a rewrite of prop 209 soon?
If prop 209 clearly outlines the law, how are these programs getting around the will of the voters?
Are we more segregated now, then we were ten years ago?
Does race still matter in admissions?
Posted by Tim Keaney at 06:07 PM
Change - Texas Style
Austin school district announces $15.6 million grant
Money will go toward implementation of a district-wide high school redesign program
By Laura Heinauer
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Making an announcement he called one of the most important in Austin school district history, Superintendent Pat Forgione said Tuesday that the district has received a $15.6 million grant to implement an ambitious systemwide high school redesign program. He said he hopes the program will become a model other districts across Texas and the United States can emulate.
The grant money, which comes from the Bill and Melinda Gates and Michael and Susan Dell foundations, will be used over the next four years for changes that are being crafted by each of the 11 traditional high schools and for a system to track each school's results.
The Gates Foundation has invested about $1 billion in education initiatives and led a nationwide trend toward creating smaller, more intimate high schools.
This is its first major grant for a Texas school system to make districtwide changes.
"This is a historic day," Forgione told a crowd gathered in front of Austin High School that included board members, principals, elected officials and representatives from community groups. "We are in the process of rethinking, reforming and renewing high school education in our district. . . . This is not for one class; this is for a generation making a difference."
Whether pouring money into schools or adopting the small-schools approach — or redesign, as it's called in Austin — will work is up for debate. Austin officials hope they can avoid problems faced by other districts by letting each school design its own plan.
Reagan and LBJ high schools, both of which failed to meet federal accountability targets this year, will use the money to create "small learning communities" and a mentoring-based program called First Things First. Travis and Crockett will use portions of that program and add components. Other schools, like Akins, with its career-themed academies, are designing their own models for reform.
Over the next four years, experts in high school redesign will be brought to Austin to help create customized models for each school. The experts will also help develop teaching strategies and curriculum changes. Specific areas already in need of improvement, including specialized math programs and literacy programs for English-language learners, will also receive money from the grant.
In addition, there are plans to make improvements in district administrationand provide more professional development opportunities for teachers.
"We came to Austin because of the vision your superintendent, your school board and your community has for its children," said Steve Seleznow, program director of education for the Gates Foundation.
The foundation has worked with some individual schools but has not always seen improvements. As a result, the foundation now focuses on districtwide initiatives. In Austin, Seleznow said, the organization hopes it has found a place where it can make a strong impact.
"This is not a broken school district. We see it as a place where we could have the best chance of going from good to great," he said.
In Austin this year, three high schools, Crockett, Johnston and Reagan, were rated academically unacceptable by the state. The rest were rated acceptable.
Throughout the process, the district will be asked to provide regular updates on graduation rates, test scores, participation in Advanced Placement classes and attendance rates.
Of the $15.6 million, the $2.3 million from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation will go directly to new data systems that will provide principals and teachers information about student achievement.
The money supplements a $1.5 million grant from the Gates Foundation last year that was used to create redesign plans based on what students, teachers and parents have learned about successful programs across the country, a process that included traveling to other cities to see what works and what doesn't.
"I think you're going to see a lot of interest in what we're doing here, and I'm talking increased attention nationwide," said Jeffrey Richard, CEO of the Austin Area Urban League. "People are going to start doing studies and really measuring how we perform. We're in the spotlight now, and it's time for us to shine."
In other districts in the state, efforts to create smaller learning communities have been hampered by budget cuts and campus-level infighting.
In Houston, Joanna Pasternak, a former teacher who now works for the Houston Federation of Teachers, said some teachers in the First Things First program complained that they got to know only a few students, so if they saw a problem in the halls, for instance, they were less likely to know the students involved. Others said time they spent meeting with students took away from time they could have spent on instruction.
"It's just the latest fad that has caught on," Pasternak said. "You still have all the same problems that you have with kids in a large urban school."
Getting the grant was the easy part, Austin school board President Mark Williams said. The greater challenge is to make sure the money is spent wisely.
"This is great news that we got this, but the tough news is that we got this, and now we have to figure out how to do it," he said.
lheinauer@statesman.com; 445-3694
The redesign at a glance
Akins:
Changes include the creation of six small learning communities and enhanced student advisory programs.
Anderson, Austin, Bowie, McCallum:
Changes include a program for teaching improvements for students, the creation of a senior year project, and (except at McCallum) the addition of freshman academy and freshman student advisory programs.
Crockett, LBJ, Reagan, Travis:
Redesign is based on the First Things First model, which involves creating small learning communities of 350 to 400 students. The curriculum is built around themes based on students' career and academic interests.
Johnston:
The school has created three small learning communities: The Academy of Arts and Humanities, the Academy of Scientific Inquiry and Design, and the Academy of Global Enterprise and Information Technology. Other changes include enhanced student advisory programs and block scheduling.
Lanier:
Changes include enhanced student advisory programs, block scheduling and small learning communities.
The Gates Foundation is telling American loud and clear that the direction of our education system is off track.
What do you think of their efforts?
Are they giving money to your school district?
Should they?
What type of grant would you pursue from the Gates & Dell foundations, and for what?
Posted by Tim Keaney at 06:38 AM
November 14, 2006
From the Desk of Bill Gates
Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Monday that the U.S. higher education system is the envy of the world but primary and secondary schools are failing to adequately prepare students for college.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Gates said the experience of being a parent of three kids -- ages 10, 7 and 4 -- has led him to spend more time thinking about schools.
Specifically, he said the U.S. education system needs higher standards, clear accountability, flexible personnel practices and innovation.
Gates, whose children are in private schools, said every state should require students to take three or four years of math and science to graduate from high school -- 25 states currently have such requirements. He wants states to have the power to intervene at low-performing schools.
"Real accountability means more than having goals; it also means having clear consequences for not meeting the goals," he said in a speech earlier Monday to Washington state educators who came to hear the results of an education task force.
Gates said schools should also be able to pay the best teachers better and offer incentives to attract people with rare abilities.
"It's astonishing to me to have a system that doesn't allow us to pay more for someone with scarce abilities, that doesn't allow us to pay more to reward strong performance," he said. "That is tantamount to saying teacher talent and performance don't matter and that's basically saying students don't matter."
He also spoke of some creative school programs -- particularly charter schools run by private companies -- that should be a model for innovation in the nation's schools.
"This nation has to do something very challenging, which is to provide a strong education to almost every student," he said.
Gates will start working full-time in mid-2008 at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which seeks cures for the world's diseases and to improve American education. He said his role at the foundation isn't going to change that much, because he won't be running it.
He said the foundation, which received a $1.5 billion donation from fellow multibillionaire Warren Buffet in June, was discussing ways it could accept donations but that it was not actively seeking them.
Posted by Tim Keaney at 11:37 AM
November 12, 2006
BANNED!
At Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, the student trustees have banned the pledge of allegiance being recited before meetings.
Recently, we’ve scene assaults on the pledge of allegiance regarding removing “under God” from the pledge, but what about a total ban prior to a public meeting?
Is it time to stop pleding allegiance?
Scott Blough
Posted by Tim Keaney at 06:58 PM
November 09, 2006
Letters from a Pittsburgh Jail
This blog has long been defined as one dealing with the educational issues of the day. Many have tried to pigeonhole us into one political stream or another - but frankly, we're here to talk schools; What's going right, what's going wrong. Not what's "right" & "left".
So here is another in a string of guest blog spots from my friend Scott Blough...
---Letters from a Pittsburgh Jail---
A very intelligent person once told me, “When we define our morals and ethics by what the conventional wisdom of the day is, we’re soon to lose our individualism and freedom. We are soon to become dependent on the state to define our common sense.” Recently, the Pittsburgh Public school system began filing truancy cases against parents who chose to send their kids to charter schools instead of public schools. With fines and the threat of jail hanging over parents’ heads, some have defied the rules to keep their children in these charter schools saying it’s in the best interest of their child. Parents have exercised civil disobedience just to choose where their child should go to schools.
Please feel free to click here to read the story
The question I put to this blog is whether it is immoral for parents to choose what is the best school for their child?
Is the decision for the state or the parent or both?
Should we really get to the point in our society where parents who choose against the majority’s conventional wisdom of what a public school is are fined and sent off to jail?
I welcome your thoughts
Scott Blough
Thanks Scott,
I think Scott raises an important question here. We know that political leaders like to talk about the public schools, and then send their kids to private schools.
If you lived in a neighborhood where the schools were hopeless, would you risk it jail to improve their situation?
Posted by Tim Keaney at 07:32 PM
Guest Blog, from Scott Blough
On Friday, I came across an article in the LA Times entitled “Pension Fund Won’t Invest in Big Donors”. Here's the link to the story!
The discussion revolved around how current gubernatorial candidate Angelides and our current state controller Steve Westly steered pension investments toward corporations that were giving them the biggest donations in the Democratic Primary for Governor. It got me thinking a lot about the future of pensions, but more importantly, is there consistency between what teachers and and other public employees’ positions are and what is in the best interest of their retirement investments?
Do public employees even know what CALSTRS or CALPERS are investing in?
Here are just some examples.
• California Teacher’s Association supports Senate Bill 840, which calls for Universal Health Care Coverage, yet over 2 billion dollars in retirement funds are located in the Texas Pacific Group, which supports biotechnology firms that would hinder Teachers’ retirement return if there were no longer profits/returns to be had.
• The California Federation of Teachers supported proposition 87, which encourages cleaner energy by taxing oil & gas company profits, yet CALSTRS currently has 50 million dollars in a Limited Partnership entitled, Energy Spectrum Partners IV LP, which has invested between 15 and 50 million in oil and gas and recently touted a huge venture investment in Forrest Drilling Company LLC. Also, CALSTRS has 25 million invested in Nogales Investors, which has invested a significant portion of it’s portfolios in Alfaleisure, a maker of less than gas efficient Motorhomes.
I don’t mean to pick on teachers at all and I’ve reviewed the portfolio menu for CALPERS as well and have seen investments in FOX news affiliates, Exxon, NAFTA based companies in Mexico and outsourcing firms in China and India.
So, I welcome a discussion on this topic as I am no expert.
Should teachers and public employees insist on consistency of their public advocacy with their retirement dollars?
Should these Boards’ investment decisions be controlled by the political consistency of it’s members?
How would you feel if you were advocating a political position, but your retirement was dependent on the position you opposed?
I welcome your thoughts.
Scott Blough
Posted by Tim Keaney at 02:57 PM
November 08, 2006
So let's discuss it!
What are your thoughts on yesterday's education related election results?
Lundstrom & Davis in Simi Valley...
Dunn is back in Conejo...
Bonds pass statewide...
Kunicki crushes Prenta...
LOW voter turnout for all school board races...
What's next for local schools? Talk about it! Talk about what standard you will hold the newly elected to...
Tell us your goals for your schools.
Posted by Tim Keaney at 06:13 AM
November 07, 2006
Stay tuned for results
County Board of Education - Trustee Area 1
114/114 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - MARY LOUISE PETERSON 11,779 52.41%
NP - CHARLES T. WATSON 8,008 35.63%
NP - DAVID L. NORRDIN 2,334 10.39%
WRITE-IN 353 1.57%
Total 22,474 100.00%
County Board of Education - Trustee Area 4
89/89 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - DEAN KUNICKI 13,376 56.82%
NP - DONNA PRENTA 9,940 42.23%
WRITE-IN 223 0.95%
Total 23,539 100.00%
Community College - Trustee Area 1
114/114 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - STEPHEN BLUM 11,116 49.74%
NP - MEREDITH MCKENZIE 6,702 29.99%
NP - DARREN HAYES 4,221 18.89%
WRITE-IN 308 1.38%
Total 22,347 100.00%
Community College - Trustee Area 2
101/101 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - CHERYL HEITMANN 14,769 61.00%
NP - PATRICK L. EASLEY 9,248 38.19%
WRITE-IN 196 0.81%
Total 24,213 100.00%
Community College - Trustee Area 5
65/65 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - ART HERNANDEZ 7,335 56.22%
NP - LOUISE FRANCO 5,552 42.55%
WRITE-IN 160 1.23%
Total 13,047 100.00%
CONEJO VALLEY UNIFIED SCH. DIST. (VF-3)
78/78 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - PAT PHELPS 12,080 19.04%
NP - MICHAEL A. ''MIKE'' DUNN 10,792 17.01%
NP - TIM STEPHENS 10,760 16.96%
NP - PEGGY BUCKLES 7,184 11.32%
NP - JOHN E. ANDERSEN 6,400 10.09%
NP - GREGORY P. ''GREG'' LENNOX 5,827 9.18%
NP - JOHN A. SHORT, III 5,730 9.03%
NP - TIMOTHY K. PENIX 4,546 7.17%
WRITE-IN 123 0.19%
Total 63,442 100.00%
EL TEJON UNIFIED SCH. DIST. (F. T., VF-2)
1/1 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - ANITA ANDERSON 24 21.43%
NP - MATTHEW HINTLIAN 22 19.64%
NP - CRAIG STOWELL 22 19.64%
NP - DENISE FORRISTAL 17 15.18%
NP - CATHY WALLACE 12 10.71%
NP - JEANNY MARIE ALDRICH 10 8.93%
NP - GARY M. SOKOLOWSKI 4 3.57%
WRITE-IN 1 0.89%
Total 112 100.00%
EL TEJON UNIFIED SCH. DIST. (S. T., VF-1)
1/1 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - KENNETH HURST 27 39.71%
NP - DAVID A. DECKER 21 30.88%
NP - STEVE NEWMAN 12 17.65%
NP - TIM PALMER 7 10.29%
WRITE-IN 1 1.47%
Total 68 100.00%
FILLMORE UNIFIED SCHOOL DIST. (VF-3)
27/27 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - TONY PRADO 1,185 22.55%
NP - LIZ WILDE 1,007 19.16%
NP - DAVID DOLLAR 966 18.38%
NP - RAELENE CHANEY 948 18.04%
NP - BRENDA HAMPTON-ORTIZ 603 11.47%
NP - ROSALINDA FIGUEROA 531 10.10%
WRITE-IN 16 0.30%
Total 5,256 100.00%
OJAI UNIFIED SCHOOL DIST. (VF-3)
31/31 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - RIKKI HORNE 2,832 29.17%
NP - KATHI SMITH 2,650 27.29%
NP - PAULINE MERCADO 2,196 22.62%
NP - JEFF KETELSEN 1,980 20.39%
WRITE-IN 52 0.54%
Total 9,710 100.00%
SIMI VALLEY UNIFIED SCHOOL DIST. (VF-2)
57/57 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - JEANNE DAVIS 5,059 15.85%
NP - ERIC LUNDSTROM 4,955 15.52%
NP - RAYMOND CRUZ 4,197 13.15%
NP - STEVEN GOULD 4,108 12.87%
NP - LARRY KWIATKOWSKI 3,364 10.54%
NP - THURLOW PARTRIDGE 3,186 9.98%
NP - RANDY SUNDEEN 2,731 8.56%
NP - BOB LA BELLE 1,969 6.17%
NP - TIM CAMARILLO 1,908 5.98%
NP - STEVEN LEE BLOORE 317 0.99%
WRITE-IN 126 0.39%
Total 31,920 100.00%
BRIGGS SCHOOL DISTRICT (VF-3)
5/5 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - CHARLES E. ALVAREZ 161 26.83%
NP - KAREN SCHILBRACK 159 26.50%
NP - MINDEE STEKKINGER 144 24.00%
NP - TAMA'A JACKSON 134 22.33%
WRITE-IN 2 0.33%
Total 600 100.00%
OXNARD SCHOOL DISTRICT (F. T., VF-3)
54/54 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - ANA DEL RIO-BARBA 4,657 19.88%
NP - ARTHUR JOE LOPEZ 4,206 17.95%
NP - DEBORAH D. DEVRIES 4,148 17.70%
NP - JOSEPH G. MORENO 3,751 16.01%
NP - JOHN MACARTHUR, III 3,199 13.65%
NP - DICK MASSA 2,081 8.88%
NP - ERIK FARIAS 1,271 5.42%
WRITE-IN 116 0.50%
Total 23,429 100.00%
OXNARD SCHOOL DISTRICT (S. T., VF-1)
54/54 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - AL DUFF, SR. 6,286 58.14%
NP - AURELIO JAUREGUI 4,415 40.84%
WRITE-IN 110 1.02%
Total 10,811 100.00%
PLEASANT VALLEY SCHOOL DIST. (VF-3)
45/45 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - JENNIFER MILLER 6,977 22.82%
NP - RON SPEAKMAN 6,493 21.24%
NP - PATTY LERNER 6,117 20.01%
NP - JOHN ALAMILLO 5,539 18.12%
NP - KIM MARRA STEPHENSON 5,380 17.60%
WRITE-IN 63 0.21%
Total 30,569 100.00%
RIO SCHOOL DISTRICT (VF-3)
30/30 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - ROBERT W. GUILLEN 1,408 30.82%
NP - SIMON AYALA 1,122 24.56%
NP - RON MOSQUEDA 1,047 22.92%
NP - HENRIETTA ''LULU'' MACIAS 940 20.57%
WRITE-IN 52 1.14%
Total 4,569 100.00%
SANTA PAULA SCHOOL DIST. (VF-3)
16/16 100.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - ANTHONY ''TONY'' PEREZ 1,907 30.77%
NP - MICHELLE KOLBECK 1,665 26.86%
NP - DAN ROBLES 1,494 24.10%
NP - M. ANGEL DE LA TRINIDAD 1,099 17.73%
Posted by Tim Keaney at 06:47 PM
November 06, 2006
Who gets your vote?
Tomorrow is election day. Who gets your vote for the local school boards, and why? Candidates - last call to ask for votes on the blog.
Tim
Posted by Tim Keaney at 10:12 AM
November 03, 2006
From the Mike Dunn Campaign
Candidates,
If you want to get your word out in the final days of the campaign, feel free to send releases to tim@timkeaney.org.
This just in From Mike Dunn...
Good morning,
The Star Newspaper is deliberating not telling the truth. The Star will not print my letters correcting their mistakes.
I voted against my (repeat my....not the teachers) pay raise (vote 4-1). I voted for the teachers pay raise (vote 5-0). I voted for every pay raise for the employees of the school district.
When I complain about the slander, the Star refuses to print my letters. The Star has my voting record and knows the truth.
The Star is not telling the truth about the Brown Act and Labor Code complaints. I have not been investigated for anything. The statue of limitations has expired and nothing was done.
I deeply resent the deliberate defamation of my character which the Star is purposely printing. The Star has hurt me, my wife and my family.
"Mike is a strong voice for the rights and wishes of parents and taxpayers including home/private schoolers." Audra Strickland, Assemblyman
I am endorsed by Tom McClintock, Audra Strickland, Tony Strickland, liberals, conservatives, the Ventura County Republican Party......anyone who wants the parents and taxpayers to have more influence in the public schools. These people know the truth about our school board and want some improvements.
See www.mike4schoolboard.com for the truth.
Mike Dunn
Trustee, CVUSD
Posted by Tim Keaney at 10:08 AM
The job keeps getting easier...
Sometimes I think about quitting this blog. Education is a huge, hot button issue that is hard to get people to agree about. But then, I receive gifts, like the articles in this morning's Simi Valley Acorn. Sure the article about Stratton and Kurachi is a good one, and confirms much of what I have been saying over the past 4 years... But it's the OTHER article that paints the clearest picture of SVUSD, and confirms the clear differences between SVUSD and other, more proactive organizations.
The contrast is astounding.
The article is about the Thousands of gopher holes on SVUSD fields. My favorite quote is: "It's an ongoing maintenance issue, but if you can't see them, you don't want to spend money on the problem,"
So let's talk about a couple of things here:
Kurachi and Stratton break their silence this morning to claim their board does no planning, makes odd decisions, mostly in secret and is not workig in the best interests of kids. Read the article here.
Then, you've got another article where the SVUSD is basically playing a district wide game of "Whack-a-mole", while the much smaller park district, with a much smaller budget (and a LOT more ground to cover) claims not to even have a gopher problem, because they are proactive about it.
If the theory goes that: "If you don't see a problem, you don't want to pay for it", then what else is the board, that isn't working well and is dysfunctional - WHAT else aren't they seeing?
If you can't see termites, are they there?
If people don't see most graduates not going to 4 year colleges, is it an issue?
If middle school kids are being ignored and are not learning, does anyone know?
If the library appears closed, does anybody really know it never actually opens?
If a tree falls....
From Kurachi & Stratton iin thew Acorn:
Both board members agreed that part of the problem is the lack of creativity the board displays in devising solutions.
"We used to discuss visions and have board retreats to discuss new ideas, but we don't do that anymore," Karachi said. "We don't do good work, we don't hold special meetings and we don't have parent involvement with committees."
Both officials would also like to see the new members eliminate the shroud of secrecy that the board appears to hide behind.
"They do things in lots of strange places, in strange meetings, at times and places where it is not easily seen. They don't understand the spirit of local government, which is you ought to do things in public meetings with proper public discussions. About 80 to 90 percent of the public doesn't have any idea what's going on," Stratton said.
So readers... What is your take on all of this? Why can the park district get its job done, on time, in budget and take care of their responsibilities. And the school district is a political mess, meets in secret and continues to fail its most important constituencies - the kids.
The word is contrast. Other words that come to mind are excellence (park district) and failure (school district).
Is there a school board candidate that wants to say anything about all of this? If you do, please share with our readers your plan, as opposed to "I will manage the gopher situation more effectively" kind of stuff.
Good morning Simi Valley!
Are pesky rodents ruining Simi's athletic fields?
By Avi Rutschman avi@theacorn.com
UNSAFE FOR PLAY?
A shot of some of the gopher holes that plague high school athletic fields across Simi Valley.
Even though they're more rascally than they are threatening, gophers are burrowing deep under the skin of Simi Valley Unified School District administrators. The subterranean rodents are responsible for creating unsightly damage to a number of athletic fields owned by the district.
"Gophers are a constant battle," said Mel Roop, the assistant superintendent in charge of facilities and property. "There is a lot of open space around our campuses and they seem to like these areas. They're something we've got to fight all the time."
In addition to the aesthetic damage, holes made by gophers also create an unsafe environment for recreational sports.
Debbie Britton, Simi Valley's regional commissioner for the American Youth Soccer Organization, canceled all games at Santa Susana High School after determining the location was unsafe.
"The fields were deemed unsafe by the Regional and Area Safety Director, the Regional Referee Administrator and myself, Regional Commissioner," Britton stated in a bulletin posted on the organization's website.
In spite of AYSO's decision to cancel all games at Santa Susana High School, the field is still used by students.
"The students are currently having physical education classes on the field," said Dirk Minzer, a member of the custodial staff at the school. "We take care of the gopher holes as they pop up, and for us, we're pretty good as far as gopher holes go."
Gophers have been known to cause extensive damage to Simi Valley fields by chewing through irrigation wiring.
"When the irrigation controls don't work, the fields start to die because they don't get watered," Roop said.
The school district has been unable to take a preventive approach to solving the problem and instead relies on addressing the gopher issue once it's poked its head out of the ground.
"It's an ongoing maintenance issue, but if you can't see them, you don't want to spend money on the problem," Roop said.
Gopher abatement consists of laying traps with bait and filling holes with sand, according to Roop. Officials estimate that the district spends between $10,000 and $15,000 a year on supplies to correct the problem. The district also contracts with Ventura Pest Control for rodent removal.
"This has been a problem for as long as I can remember," Roop said. "Once the maintenance teams get behind, they have to work extra hard to catch up."
While the school district appears to be locked in a neverending battle with their underground nemesis, the park district has remained unscathed. "None of our fields are af
fected by gophers," said Jim Keppler, a parks district official. "If there was a problem with our fields, we'd knock it out right away, but there isn't one."
The parks district currently contracts with Animal Pest Management and performs rodent removal twice a week.
"We have a lot of pride in our fields and make revenue off tournaments that are hosted at them, so we need to keep them up. Safety is also a No. 1 priority with us," Keppler said.
Even though gophers may be a nuisance, school district officials are quick to point out that the situation could be worse.
"One good thing is that gophers don't carry diseases like rats and other rodents," Roop said.
AYSO Region 121 did not return calls from the Simi Valley Acorn.
Posted by Tim Keaney at 06:16 AM
November 01, 2006
Smart, or IRAQ?
Ordinarily we don't talk about what's gong on in the national debate, with the exception of NCLB issues. However, Senator Kerry has opened the door for a different kind of debate, and you, the reader, can decide if you want to join in the debate.
Does not being educated mean you are more likely to be in the military?
Here's what Senator Kerry said verbatim the other day:
“You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”
Regardless of what he "meant to say" he said it. If you make an effort to be smart.... etc....
Is it true? IS the military a bastion for the less educated? What about all those college grads, and service academy grads who are in Iraq right now?
Colin Powell? John McCain? If the sentiment is true that the less educated end up at war and in the military, what does that say about the Senator's own military service?
According to MSNBC, democrats are cancelling their appearances with the Senator.
Is it true, what the Senator says, or is this another "I voted for the war before voting against it" kind of moments?
So let's talk about education and the military...
What does education mean?
How does being less educated end you up in the military?
What do we make of very educated people in the military?
Why would a former presidential candidate from TWO years ago even say such a thing?
Is the military a place for the uneducated, or is it the best educated fighting force of all time?
I welcome your thoughts...the story, from MSNBC, is below.
Kerry cancels campaign events after remarks
Senator won't make appearances with Dem candidates following uproar
MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 7:04 a.m. PT Nov 1, 2006
MANKATO, Minn. - The flap over what Sen. John Kerry calls his “botched joke” has prompted the Democrat to cancel a couple of upcoming appearances over the next two days, campaign officials said Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the rhetoric between Kerry and the White House continued to escalate.
Bush’s spokesman pressed Kerry to apologize for a comment Republicans say was disrespectful of U.S. fighting forces in Iraq, saying he “put gasoline on the fire” of an already sizzling midterm election campaign.
“Sen. Kerry may have botched the line, but what he said was insulting to the troops, and what he ought to say is, ‘Look, I botched the line, but I’m sorry for giving offense,’” press secretary Tony Snow said on CBS’s “The Early Show.”
“We’re not the one who whipped this up into a big issue. Sen. Kerry did so yesterday,” said Snow, appearing the day after President Bush and Kerry traded their harshest accusations since the 2004 presidential race.
Kerry fired back on MSNBC-TV, accusing the White House of capitalizing on his misstatement.
“I’m not gonna let these guys distort something completely out of its context solely for the purpose of avoiding responsibility, which is what they’re doing,” Kerry told MSNBC’s Don Imus.
“They’ve taken those words — just like they take words all the time — and they distort them on purpose in order to distract Americans from their policy,” he said. “A hundred young Americans died last month. These guys don’t have a policy.”
Canceled appearances
The Massachusetts senator — and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate — was scheduled to visit Minnesota State University in Mankato to campaign for 1st Congressional District candidate Tim Walz on Wednesday. But the event was cancelled at Kerry's request, according to Meredith Salsbery, a spokeswoman for Walz.
“He wants to make sure the campaign is about the issues we’ve been talking about the last two years,” she said of Kerry’s decision. “It’s important to him that we are able to do that.”
Meantime, in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, candidate Bruce Braley canceled a campaign event scheduled Thursday, saying that the senator’s recent comments about the Iraq war were inappropriate.
Braley, a Democrat, is running against Republican Mike Whalen in Iowa’s 1st District congressional race—a contest considered to be one of the most competitive House races in the country.
Braley spokesman Jeff Giertz said the decision to cancel the event with Kerry was made independently.
Trading jabs
The two parties are searching for any edge amid indications Democrats could take back the House and possibly win control of the Senate in next week’s midterm elections.
Though neither Bush nor Kerry is on any ballot, the bitterness with which they fought each other as 2004 rivals spilled over as both campaign hard for their parties in a race shaped in large measure by public doubts about the Iraq war.
Bush, campaigning later in Georgia, said Kerry’s statement was “insulting and it is shameful.”
“The members of the United States military are plenty smart and they are plenty brave and the senator from Massachusetts owes them an apology,” Bush said during an appearance for a former GOP congressman, Mac Collins, who is trying to oust Democratic Rep. Jim Marshall. There were boos at the mention of Kerry’s name and cheers at Bush’s call for an apology.
‘I apologize to no one’
Kerry, who is considering another run for the White House in 2008, angrily fired back.
At a hastily arranged news conference in Seattle on Tuesday, Kerry said: “I apologize to no one for my criticism of the president and of his broken policy.”
Kerry said the comment in question was “a botched joke about the president and the president’s people, not about the troops ... and they know that’s what I was talking about.”
A Kerry spokeswoman, Amy Brundage, said Kerry’s prepared text had called for him to say: “Do you know where you end up if you don’t study, if you aren’t smart, if you’re intellectually lazy? You end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush.”
Kerry’s remarks came during a campaign rally for California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides. Kerry opened his speech at Pasadena City College with several one-liners, saying at one point that Bush had lived in Texas but now “lives in a state of denial.”
He then said: “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”
© 2006 MSNBC Interactive
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13018908/
Posted by Tim Keaney at 07:05 AM
