School district race goes down to the wire

Disgruntled parents call
for change
By Sophia Fischer
sfischer@theacorn.com

More than 100 people turned out to hear seven of the nine candidates running for Simi Valley Unified School District Board of Education air their views and answer questions during a student-run forum at Royal High School Monday night.

Incumbents Debbie Sandland and Steve Gould were joined by challengers Tim Keaney, Rob Collins, Ed Abele, Eric Lundstrom and Norm Walker. Three seats are up for election.

A statement was read from incumbent Janice Di Fatta, who did not attend because of the flu. Challenger Steve Wright did not attend.

As the current board president, Gould found himself on the defensive as several candidates criticized the board’s actions. Gould outlined the board’s accomplishments, including full-day kindergarten programs, modernizing the district’s technology, and the passage of the $145 million C-4 bond measure last March.

"Challengers negative, false attacks on our school board are misleading," Gould said. "We do have a strategic plan."

Collins, a teacher/administrator in Simi Valley schools for 35 years before retiring, suggested parents form a safety committee in response to the fight that broke out at Royal High School last week. He also expressed concern about the crowding at middle schools.

"I will do everything possible to keep class size low. When classes get too large you have problems," Collins said.

Sandland, a registered nurse who is seeking a third term on the board, expressed her pride in the board’s accomplishments, including rising test scores, state distinguished school awards, maintaining class size reduction levels and the hiring of Dr. Kathryn Scroggin as superintendent.

Sandland reiterated her support for using reserve money to replace programs and services that were lost due to budget cuts.

"I’m not going to let money sit in the bank that we need to rebuild programs and services. We are in the business of educating our children," Sandland said.

Keaney, who designed the PlanetSimi.com site for local youth, accused the current board of shortsightedness in financial management, long-range growth and technology planning. He would like to see an expanded site council that includes students, parents and local businesses.

"We need a complete overhaul of our financial system. We need to wrap our arms around the dollars and see where they are," Keaney said.

Abele, a Los Angeles deputy district attorney who grew up in Simi Valley, said the board needs to become more of a team effort with increased input from students and parents. He, too, would like to see the district’s money spent more wisely.

"The board you have now has not gotten the job done. We need fresh faces to look at how to get this done," Abele said.

Walker, a private school administrator who is seeking his third term on the board, suggested the district could be less crowded by adjusting school boundaries and "freeing up" money to build another high school. He also recommended reviewing the district’s surplus properties.

"We can take those properties and turn them into resources to help fund programs," Walker said.

Lundstrom said his background as a financial analyst would help "clean up" the district’s budget. He wants educators to be more in the district’s decisions.

"We need to ask the teachers what they really need to run the classroom," said Lundstrom, whose wife teaches first grade at Crestview Elementary.

Gould addressed the need for an additional high school and middle school and said the board was "looking outside the box" by possibly converting several schools into 7-12 grades.

"Tonight has given me a lot of insight and strengthened my decision on who I am going to vote for," said Julie Sim who has children at Atherwood, Sinaloa and Simi Valley High. "Parents need to open their eyes, take a second look at what the candidates are saying. I really feel there needs to be a change."