I have a question on last night's debate as I was able to watch a bit of it on TV.

In his opening remarks Eric Lundstrom said the reason he is running is because he has a wife who works in the district and also he has a child.

First, why would the school unions endorse someone who has to abstain on any union contract vote as it would be a conflict of interest to vote for a raise for his wife and ultimately himself?

Second, what exactly does that mean when you say the only reason your running is for your family?

Jeanne Davis, Randy Sundeen, Ray Cruz Tim Camarillo, and Thurlow Partridge, seemed very knowledgable on the topics.

Of course, Mr. Gould is top on the ballot, so the rule of thumb for me is he's the favorite right now.

For some reason, people always vote top of the list when itn comes to school board.

You're frightenly close to the mark, Scott. Far too many people DON'T know who they're voting for and DON'T care. I always thought that a way to fix the country is to hold national the next Election on a Monday night...and let see what happens when mothers and other women choose the candidates and issues.

By the way, Jeanne Davis was the only candidate that had something concrete to say about our schools' elective programs. As some of the other candidates agreed, "it's hard" balancing both the state cult of NCLB AND electives but Davis sounds prepared to tackle that difficult issue. For that, and for what it's worth, she gets my vote and that of anyone else I can talk into supporting her.

TO MR. CRUZ;

YOUR BALLOT STATEMENT SAYS YOU ARE A TEACHER. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT? I THINK HAVING TEACHERS ON THE SCHOOL BOARD IS FINE BUT THEY SHOULDN'T VOTE ON THEIR OWN SALARIES!

I was also at the forum. I think there is a conflict of interest on some of the candidates:
Lundstrom= wife is a teacher so how can he be objective; Partridge is endorsed by teacher's union so he will vote in favor of salaries, etc;
Ray Cruz has a wife who works for the district, and Jeanne Davis works as a substitute teacher with Simi district. Tim Camarillo works in head start program at Berylwood Elementary. Gould works for L.A. school district so he doesn't have special ties to special interest groups and will make objective decisions .

Lundstrom and Partridge and Davis all won hands down! Cruz is not a teacher! He does not make his living as a teacher or have a California Teaching Credential, as he admitted at the forum. He only put teacher on the ballot to try and get votes. Not the kind of person we want on the Board. He also wants the forced teaching of Creationism, he did not say where the money would come from to fight the lawsuits however!

Hi Watchdog even before I considered running I thought there might be a conflict of interests, so I consulted with the Human Resource Department and talked with an Executive at the Child Development Resources of Ventura County. They both told me that there was no conflict of interest if I ran. They gave me their blessings and because of Federal funding, I could not organize the families I work with or my fellow teachers in my campaign. It used to be you could not run for political office if you worked for the federal government or received funding from them. But the laws were changed to let individuals with these ties to run for local government i.e.; City Council, School Boards etc. So many of my fellow teachers and parents do not know I am running except for a few teachers who saw me on cable television during the Simi Valley School Board Forum. It's small price to pay to run for and be an advocate for the things you believe in.

Yes I do work at the Berylwood HeadStart/California State Preschool at Berylwood Elementary School and The Simi Head Start Program at Sycamore Elementary School. From what I know both sites like the First Five and other Nonprofit Organization school sites in the Simi Valley School District are donated in-kind to help serve the needs of students and families of the District.

I am not paid from the Simi Valley Unified School District. My salary comes from a mixture of Federal and State funding that is given to CDR of Ventura County to run Head Start and State Preschool Programs in this County.

I would like to expand Early Childhood Education programs like the ones conducted by the Los Angeles Unified School District. So in some ways I am trying to eliminate my job for quality Early Childhood Education for all. Like any other School Board Member, If I am elected I can still disclose any possible conflict of interests and abstain from voting. I know I can still be advocate for Early Childhood Education, even if I cannot vote if a situation should arise.

Enclosed is website explaining do's and don'ts for running for non partisan office. The Website is http://www.osc.gov/ha_state.htm#state_do

Thank you again,
Tim Camarillo

Hi Tim:

Thanks for explaining your position in head start and why it's not a conflict. It's clear that you thought to research this out, but I fear some in the race have not.

I do have a question about head start. I have seen the longitudinal studies on head start. Students who attend head start clearly do better over the life of their education career than students that do not.

With that being said, my major concern is why the state is in the business of raising kids? Wouldn't the program be better suited if run by local organizations rather than Federal government mandates?

Hi Scott I think the number one reason why Head Start is so successful is because of it's emphasis on parent involvement. Parents volunteer hours, follow recommendations by teachers about enriching activites they can do with their children, Parents conduct and run parent meetings, and attend parent workshops.

Head Start in turn offers a comprehensive enriched compensatory pre-school education to children before they enter kindergarten. Each child receives Medical, Dental, Nutritional, Psychological, Social Services and Disability Services.

As Head Start Teachers we conduct initial home visits, administer Briggance Evaluations, conduct parent surveys, maintain anecdotal notes on indivdual children, make referrals if there are signs for developmental delays and provide inclusion for children with special needs. We are building relationships between families and schools that will last a lifetime.

We are not in the business of raising kids but providing services to families and their children. Head Start is run locally through Child Development Resources of Ventura County. The State is involved because there is need for these services by families living in poverty. Good nutrition and comprehensive services give these children a Head Start in life. CDR of Ventura County is one of the best Head Start programs in the nation. Head Start is a poverty level program as you know and was started to fight the war on poverty here in the United States. Here is a brief history of Head Start.

HEAD START HISTORY

In 1964, the Federal Government asked a panel of child development experts to draw up a program to help communities meet the needs of disadvantaged preschool children.. The panel report became the blueprint for Project Head Start.

Project Head Start, launched as an eight-week summer program by the Office of Economic Opportunity in 1965, was designed to help break the cycle of poverty by providing preschool children of low-income families with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs. Recruiting children age three to school entry age, Head Start was enthusiastically received by education, child development specialists, community leaders, and parents across the Nation. Head Start serves children and their families each year in urban and rural areas in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Territories, including many American Indians and migrant children.

In 1969, Head Start was transferred from the Office of Economic Opportunity to the Office of Child Development in the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and has now become a program within the Administration on Children, Youth and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services. A well-established, though still an innovative program, Head Start has had a strong impact on communities and early childhood program across the country.

The program is locally administered by community-based non-profit organizations and school systems. Grants are awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services Regional offices, except for the American Indian and Migrant programs, which are administered in Washington, D.C.

Needless to say I am very proud to be a Head Start Teacher.

Thank you for your questions.

Tim Camarillo

Hi Tim:

Thanks for the info on head start. My main concern as of late is investment programs or lack thereof aimed at middle class families. As many of us know there are more and more families that have both parents working full-time and is often called the two income trap. No one really paying attention to this group.

So instead of the poverty means tested style program that these two income trap families are paying for, I'd like to see a totally different approach.

These are people that pay for the high cost of living locally, pay for headstart through taxes and send their children too expensive day care centers during the day just to make ends meet.

They are living the life of trying to put 15 pounds of crap in a five pound bag.

These are also the people some school board members claim need to be more involved in schools on a day to day basis.

What I'd like to see is someone take on this missing issue in our campaigns. A few years ago people spoke of the new group of people bowling alone in our society, now I want to talk about middle class people that are carryiny a heavier load than ever to stay eye water level.

It's called working harder for less balance in yourt life and school districts have yet to really engage this question.

Sounds like social engineering to me. Karl Marx would be proud.

Looks like Donna Prenta is going to finish off Kunicki if you ask me.

He is the only person around that is not debating. The school board debated. Peter Foy and Jim Dantona are set to debate. In fact, Glen Becerra who doesn't have an opponent went to a candidates' forum.

What is wrong with our system that Kunicki doesn't want to debate? I dare him to walk into any local Jr. High and see if the students could understand why it ISN'T important to debate and let your views be known. I think right after they study the declaration of independence would be a sweet time. They would laugh him out of the room.

I like how on his mailer he brags about " Masters of Governance" degree. I hope the taxpayers didn't pay for that.

He also brags about the ed foundation. What are the dues? $25 a year?

I wouldn't kick him for this if he had more to talk about. Maybe he does. But unless you are a part of his inner circle you don't get to know his views?

Garbage.

Is there anyone out there really considering voting for Dean Kunicki for any seat? Here is a guy that had to step down from the Simi Valley Planning Commission for ethics violations.

Donna Prenta is the only choice for County Board. Kunicki doesn't want to debate because he doesn't want to show he is bereft of ideas.

Congratulations, Donna Prenta! Donna's received the STAR's endorsement for County School Board over her opponent, the appointed incumbent. That's a heroic achievment and it validates the choice of Republicans, Democrats and moderates everywhere. In fact, the only ones that would not support Donna were the extremist-run party organization and the local politicians they've been able to cower into submission..... though it's not too late to speak up, guys and gals!