Tim,

Why are you not continuing the thread. People will not realize that there is already discussion. If you want it to be at the top of the page shouldn't the comments go with it?

Sorry, I follow you now, I did not see the word continues.

Mr. Stratton,

DR. Scroggin has talked to school district legal counsel regarding your concerns. You can read her response below.

I appreciate that you are looking out for the best interest of SEAC and the children in our community.

Donna Prenta
SEAC, SVUSD President

Donna - FYI - Kathy's response to my e-mail
Rob Collins

-----------------
Forwarded Message:
Subj: Re: Opinion on SEAC Greg Stratton
Date: 9/1/2006 3:46:38 P.M. Pacific Standard Time
From: kscroggin@simi.k12.ca.us
To: ROBDISIMI@aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)

Rob,

No, they do not. They are not appointed by the Board and do not advise the Board. Therefore, they do not fall under the Brown Act. I verified this with Bob Thurbon this afternoon.

Kathy

P.S. Have a great Labor Day weekend!
----- Original Message -----
From: ROBDISIMI@aol.com
To: kscroggin@simi.k12.ca.us
Sent: Friday, September 01, 2006 2:51 PM
Subject: Fwd: Opinion on SEAC Greg Stratton

Kathy
Does SEAC fall under the Brown Act Requirements?

Rob Collins

Hi all,

I have asked Dr. Scroggin to consult with SVUSD legal counsel on this matter. If SEAC is a committee that must follow Brown Act requirements, than we will be advised of that and can start to comply immediately.

Michelle

In a message dated 9/1/2006 1:12:47 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, TPrenta writes:
Dear SEAC Board members,

Trustee Greg Stratton has raised some concerns regarding us violating the Brown Act. I would like to have some discussion from members regarding this issue.

Donna Prenta

Written by Greg Stratton on a Ventura county Star Blog:

On the other hand, Donna Prenta has never breifed the board on what her group is doing, other than announcing scholarships. I have never seen a committee with as much visibility and input that does not have a more formal relationship to the elected Board. Appearantly this committee is responsible to staff only and thus does not have to follow the Brown Act.

I am always nervous about groups that are involved in government that don't follow the Brown Act. Even if they are not doing anything wrong, openess is important. Yes, it's a little more work, but it's a good thing. The City bends over backwards to apply the Brown Act to almost every group, but the School Distict doesn't. Maybe Villagarosa has the right idea.

Posted by: Donna Prenta at September 1, 2006 10:43 PM

Every year we invite Greg to attend our scholarship reception's and teacher grant awards and he has never come or even acknowledged the very hard work that we do.

SEAC is made up of parent's of special needs children and we still find time to give back to the community. When I spoke at the VCBOE, in January Dean did not even know who SEAC was (despite our high visibility Greg refers to) he made no attempt to learn either.

SEAC has had dozen's of article's in the Star over the year's including this past year. You would think that a man that has a big responsibility governing the student's that we support would take an interest in our group enough to read the newspaper article's.

SEAC had 100 volunteers come out during the Holiday's, I organized the event, bought the gifts, party supplies etc. We had many school teachers and aides volunteer, two church groups, two scout groups, Rotary of Simi Sunrise members, The Amanda McPherson's Foundation members. We visited eight group homes and brought presents and gave children with disabilities parties. We have had volunteers continue to go back monthly.

My family has been going to the group homes for more than a decade I always felt sad that more people never visited.

It had been my dream for a very long time to raise awareness about the homes and the extremely isolated children. SEAC brought the community together.

My family has donated many thousands of dollars to SEAC, including family members in Illinois. This year our extended family decided rather than exchange gifts we would donate to SEAC. We have been given awards by Senator McClintock, Congressman Gallegly, Assemblyman Richman, Assemblyman Tony and Audra Strickland, Supervisor Mikels recognizing our family and our extraordinary commitment and charitable donations to the children in our community.

Posted by: Donna Prenta at September 1, 2006 05:18 PM

Mr Stratton,

The Special Education Advisory Committee does not advise on policy.

Dennis Carter, Director of Student Support Services is on the Board for the Special Education Advisory Committee. He also attends all of your Board meetings, he is our representative. He recently gave a very good presentation to your Board about how we collaborate with the school district.

Trustee Carla Kurachi, Trustee Janice Difatta, Trustee Rob Collins and Trustee Debbie Sandland understand what the Special Education Advisory Committee does, that is why when parents call them about their child with special needs or disabilities because they need another parent to talk to that needs support they refer them to a member of SEAC.

We are more of a support group made up of parents of children with special needs. We understand the struggles and how hard it is to educate our children with special needs. When my daughter was very young a senior member of SEAC helped me learn how to educate my child. Now that I am the senior parent I now reach out and help other parents educate their child with special needs or disabilities.

Supervisor Judy Mikels knows about SEAC and also refers parents to me when they need help for their children that need special education or mental health services. She also knows that sometimes a parent needs another parent to talk to for support. When I was her appointee on the Ventura County mental health board she always sent families to me in crises.

Jacquie Richardson of Safe Harbor,who works for the District Attorney refers parents to me to explain how to access special education or mental health services for children that have been abused or neglected. Jacquie knows that people need support when they are going through a crises.

SEAC explains the process for special education and how to access services when parents contact us.

SEAC makes ourselves extremely visible because that is part of our by-laws, to reach out to the community and make them aware and more accepting of children and adults with special needs. Our mission is to break down barriers and have our children accepted and become productive, happy and healthy citizens that give back to the community.

SEAC is more of a parent to parent group that helps students in special education. We also do training's for parents and teachers.

When parents contact us because they are having difficulty with the school district services we try to offer resolution between the district and the parents. SEAC members have volunteered to attend IEP's to offer resolution. We have helped the school district to save a lot of money on attorney fees that would have been spent on Due Process Hearing's.

SEAC has awarded over $50,000 in teacher grants and sholarship's over the last six years. We send out grant applications to all special education teachers at the beginning of the year. It helps us to know how to support the needs of the teachers in the classroom and to enrich programs.

We also give out peer tutor scholarships for students that volunteer to work with students in special education. We want to promote leadership and give back to the community. Many of these peers are now studying to become teachers, therapists etc. Several of them now work for the school district.

We also give out scholarship's for students in special educaiton who rarely qualify fr scholarships.

I hope this clears up your concerns.

Posted by: Donna Prenta at September 1, 2006 02:07 PM

Mr. Stratton,

If I have done something individually that you believe is wrong please tell me of your concerns.

Please leave SEAC out of it.

I don't mind you attacking me I can take it.

When you attack SEAC you attack everyone who has ever been a member for the past twenty-five years.

Please tell me what Dean has done to help children with special needs. Please tell me why our students in SVUSD do not have Vocational programs available to them.

As a matter of fact what have YOU done to bring vocational programs to Simi Valley. Why do we send students to Thousand Oaks for fashion merchandising when we have our own mall?

The city has a program called "Shop Simi Valley First."

To his credit VCBOE Trustee Marty Bates spearheaded a vocational program through the County for horticulture this year that is located in Thousand Oaks. He pulled that off in a short period of time. I admire him for that. That's one more star on the County map for Thousand Oaks illustraing County programs, we still do not have a single star for programs from the County on the map for Simi Valley.

BTW, Dean does not refer to children with special needs as if they are individuals, they are a label to him.

Dean calls them "the severely handicapped." He doesn't even call them students or children their are only a category.

If he is going to be a public official he should learn what is politically correct.

That article in the Acorn today cost him some votes by labeling children in such a horrible and insensitive way.

He did the same thing when he talked to the two school boards. Parents called me to tell me how he referred to our children. They were very upset that all that time he has been on the VCBOE he had not even learned that much.

I had more than a dozen phone calls from parents that were outraged by his insensitivity. My supporters are even more motivated to work on my campaign.

Thank you Dean! Your my best supporter.

Why does the current board member ignore Tim Keaney and this blog? It would seem like a great way to reach out to the community!

The word is out for extremist candidates to stay off blogs and away from opinion pages so as to snuff out any debate about issues. They're hoping to coast along without having to answer any questions, especially about their intentions.

GS,

How do you define "Extremist"?

Tim

Those that believe our Constitution and our Rule of Law are obstacles that need to be overcome or removed AND the opportunistic supporters that have allied with them for personal gain. Obviously both sides have their own extremists but its the ones above that worry me the most.

I think you are right - those leaders who won't do everything possible to "preserve, protect and defend" the constitution are indeed extreme failures.

I wonder if we're talking about the same people?

Also, I wonder why candidates don't come to this blog to tell my audience, who are very school minded, more about themselves.

Tough questions don't answer themselves... or maybe they do.

Tim

Guest opinion from today's Acorn

Advice for the parents of atypical students
By Donna Prenta President, Special Education Advisory Committee, SVUSD

Every year I receive many phone calls from parents requesting clarification of what student supports are available and what qualifies a student for special education or gifted and talented education, GATE. Sometimes students may qualify for both. Many parents are confused and frustrated when they contact me, and their relationship with the school district has become negative. The Special Education Advisory Committee, Simi Valley Unified School District is available to help to build positive relationships among school personnel, parents and students in order to help all children succeed academically. Students come to school with all levels of skill, talent, needs and abilities. There is no cookie-cutter solution for educating students. Some students need extra support to succeed. Other students need extra challenges in order to keep them engaged. That's where student support services are critical. If you feel your child is not being challenged or they are working above grade level, you may request that he or she be assessed for GATE. Talk to the teacher about how to find creative ways to enrich your child's education at school and at home. If your child is falling behind in school, contact the teacher and discuss your concerns. Work with the chain of command, to establish respect for everyone. Sometimes you can help your child get back on track with simple organization and communication between the teacher and home. If you feel your child is still not succeeding, the next step is to ask for a Student Study Team assessment, which you will need to approve. The SST includes parents, teachers, support personnel and, most important, the student.

When you meet, you can go over the assessments and discuss as a team how to support the student. One of the biggest oversights I've observed is not having the student participate in developing the plan, the result being he or she may not buy into it.

I've witnessed students doodle and shut out everyone ("uh," "huh," "whatever") while the adults talks over their head or as if they're not even present. A student needs to participate and accept ownership and responsibility for his or her education.

If your child is still having difficulty, you may request to have an assessment for special education. Make sure that you make the request in writing and explain your concerns for your child.

There are mandated timelines once your request is in writing. The school district will write up an assessment plan that you will need to approve. When all the assessments are done, you will meet and discuss the findings. If your child is determined to be eligible for special education, you will work as a team to develop an individual education plan, or IEP. If you feel that your child has an urgent need, you can jump right to the last step in order to speed up the process. Sometimes students may not have a learning disability or any other apparent special need but they may have an emotional disturbance that is interfering with their ability to learn.

You may ask to have your child assessed for emotional health needs that are interfering with his or her education.

To expedite the process you can ask to have the assessment by the school district and Ventura County Behavioral Health done concurrently.

I hope this will clear up the availability of student support services to help your child succeed. I am always available to assist the community in understanding the process of helping children receive the supports necessary to succeed in their education.

This Guest Opinion was ap- proved by Dennis Carter, direc- tor of Student Support Services with the Simi Valley Unified School District.

Hello,

I wanted everyone to know that I did not write the title to the commentary in the Acorn today, I submitted it as "Support Services to help Students Succeed" I would never refer to anyone as atypical.

The Star ran the same commentary today and the headline read "Help Available to assess student needs."

Anyone who has ever submitted a letter to the press can attest to the fact that they write their own headlines.

I am contacting the Acorn to let them know that the headline was offensive and misrepresentative of the commentary.

People should be referred to in the first person always.

Ms. Prenta:

Earlier in this blog, on this string, you said the following:

"Please leave SEAC out of it.

I don't mind you attacking me I can take it.

When you attack SEAC you attack everyone who has ever been a member for the past twenty-five years."

AND NOW - you conveniently write an op-ed piece for the Acorn, with the help of Dennis Carter, representing yourself as the President of SEAC, which of course you are.

Which begs the question - Why do you get to bring up SEAC during an election cycle, but no one else does?

I think the SEAC article was in response to Dean's, and is political at best, and transparently political at that.

Please note that I never claimed that the SEAC was required to follow the Brown Act. I had asked our former superintendant that question and was told the same answer that Kathy Scroggin gave - the group is not advisory to the board and thus doesn't have to follow the Brown Act. I thought I made that clear in the text.

What I was trying to point out that this group is significant and maybe should be following the Brown Act. The legal interpretation that the group is not advisory to the Board is really splitting legal hairs. By everyones admission, including Donna Prenta, the group has an important role in our Special Ed process. As such, they do influence distict policy. Because of that, they should want to follow the Brown Act so as to preclude any possible appearance of impropriety. But that is not SEACs decision, it should be the districts.

My point was that Dean has been visible to the board and Donna has not. She should have wanted to brief the Board. That also briefs the public. That has nothing to do with SEAC itself, but reflects upon her role as the leader of the group - a position which is clearly highlighted in her campaign literature.

Maybe that's the Boards fault that SEAC is kept out of sight, but like lots of things in the district, it's just always been that way. Change is hard. The group should be a Board advisory committee.

Greg...One Board Presentation does not make someone "visible to the board." Donna Prenta has been visible to the constituents--students, parents, staff and community. Even though Dean Kunicki is on the current County Board of Education, I am disappointed that he has done nothing to get more ROP programs into our community. He should be working CLOSELY with the SVUSD to make this happen. If Mr. Bates can do it for Thousand Oaks, why can't Dean do it for us? Could it be that he has no clue what his "constituents" want? Parents of special needs students, including the developmentally disabled, handicapped AND gifted students are the most active parents in our schools and to dismiss someone like Donna Prenta as invisible is very unfair. She has worked not only for her own special needs child, but for many, many, many other parents who feel frustrated with the system and need a hand.

As far as suggesting that SEAC follow the Brown Act...their meetings are open to anyone who wants to attend. I know that the Board of Education for SVUSD had been invited many times and do not attend. If I were a board member, I would be grateful that SEAC is such a wonderful resource for parents and for the community. Donna Prenta and her husband have donated thousands of dollars to the mission of SEAC. She has never sought publicity and never expects thanks. She does it because she is a genuinely good person who really cares. Now that she is running for the County Board of Education, the implication is that she is politicizing her leadership of SEAC. And what is Dean Kunicki doing? This is a campaign my friend. Your personal friendship with Dean Kunicki is the reason you are writing to this Blog. If I were Donna Prenta, I would consider your blogs to be a blessing to her. Apparently she is perceived as a threat to Dean, and that is a compliment to her. Donna Prenta has been walking the talk for a very long time and if Dean would only participate publicly in this campaign we might have some kind of basis for judging his contrubtions.

Greg,

I am on your agenda for November 14, 2006 SVUSD Board meeting (after the election).

I was appointed by The SVUSD Board Members unanimously to be their representative on the Ventura County, Community Advisory Committee for County School's which is a state mandated committee from 1998-2002. I served on four sub-committees and I would give the SVUSD Board updates and written reports to Dennis Carter, Director of Student Support Services that he would pass on. When I was on that Board I started a program County wide to recruit and train instructional aides. I also served on the committees for educational inclusion for students, transition services for students coming of age and served as the treasurer.

When I was on the Ventura County Mental Health Board, I would travel to Ventura sometimes five times a month and served on four sub-committees. I would write updates and reports for Supervisor Mikels and also presented to the Board of Supervisors. I was responsible for finding a federal funding stream that has brought many millions of funding to our County for Mental Health services and transitional services for foster youth through age 22. This is why I have the endorsements of Supervisor Mikels, Parks and Flynn.

I am campaigning so that I can help all children in the County now. My leadership has brought me to this place where I can serve the consituents well. I have worked as a job developer which will serve me in helping with the ROP, I am skilled at forming community partnerships which is evident from my fundraising abilities and raising awareness in the community about educational programs for students of all levels of skill, talent and ability.

This week I celebrate all the wonderful SVUSD personnel that helped my daughter Laura(who is turning 15) to learn to walk and to eat independently. This is our annual tradition. For six years Laura was on feeding tubes and from the time she was 18 months old she was a student of SVUSD, the infant stimulation teacher would come to our home and help to teach me how to keep my child alive and thrive. For the first three years of her life we never knew if she would live day to day.

My daughter can say one word "Mum" I celebrate the many SVUSD personnel that have taught her alternative ways to communicate. SVUSD personnel have been working on potty training her from the time she was three years old. She is now fifteen and we are still working on it, but she has made tremendous progress.

It is because of the help of our school's and community that I now want to serve on the County Board of Education which governs programs for student's that I have expertise on. I am especially enthusiastic to help youth that are having a difficult time such as being expelled from other school district's and or are incarcerated. I have been a court advocate for youth and helped many families and youth turn their lives around.

Our family is deeply devoted to giving back to our community that has given so much to us. I am blessed to be able to devote myself fulltime to the community.

The Ventura County Board of Education does not have a representative that is a stakeholder for the student's with special needs that I serve as well as an intimate knowledge of mental health services, probation and the juvenile justice system. I believe that I will offer them a new and fresh perspective to better represent all constituents.

I am eager to work with the community to form mentorships for student's that have been expelled from school's and to help student's that have been incarcerated transition to educational and work training programs to circumvent recidivism.

I will not have much time to keep up with blogs anymore, I will be walking precinct's if anyone has questions you can reach me at tprenta@aol.com. I will also have a booth at Simi Valley Days.

Mike Dunn, incumbent, CVUSD

What I offer is "world class schools" and preferential treatment of parents. Number 1 priority is for other incumbents to stop taking money from the unions. Money has created a major conflict of interest. For more see www.mike4schoolboard.com

Mike, did you vote FOR Vista Real? And if so, did any of the monies provided by its backers find its way into your coffers? The fact that I even need to ask this question indicates that its not just union monies that need to be addressed.

besides, shouldn't "preferential treatment" of STUDENTS be your priority?

Don,

Even though I do not believe I need to defend myself, I thought you may find it helpful to understand why I wrote the article. I assure you my motivation is to help children succeed.

I have submitted as many as six articles or op-ed's a year to the press for more than seven years, sometimes the are labeled by "staff reports" verbatim for what I wrote. The Star can confirm this. The Star regularly contacts me for storie's at least monthly because they know how involved I am. I often refer them to others in the community that are contributing in positive ways that they may not be aware of.

Dennis Carter did not help write the article I sent it to him first out of respect to make sure he agreed with eveything I wrote. I did not need his permission to send it. He did not make any changes before I went ahead and sent it.

I happen to have written the op-ed before I read my opponent's letter.

I know I can not win with you but I wanted you to know this is not new to me. I timed the article to coincide with the beginning of the school year. I wanted to make sure everyone got off to a postive start in their relationships between students, parents and school's.

Donna

Tim,

Why is that Donna Prenta will discuss everything in her press releases, but won't answer a potentially negative question?

Don

The one thing everyone in Conejo agrees with is that Mike Dunn is bad for schools and bad for kids and has got to go!