The Ventura County Board of Education voted unanimously last week to endorse four controversial propositions.

Three of the five school board members unanimously approved of resolutions that supported propositions 74, 75, 76 and 77. Mary Peterson and Dean Kunicki were absent.

Perhaps the most controversial for schools, Prop. 76 would change state minimum funding levels established by the voter-approved Prop. 98.

Board member Chris Valenzano said it earned their support because it aims to stabilize state funding for schools. He said without that in place and with the state legislature’s history of overspending and not passing a budget on time, schools would be hurt in the long run. Moreover, the board doesn’t want to see taxes raised to cover the state’s spending habits, Valenzano said.

Martin Bates, an 11-year board member who represents the Conejo Valley, said the primary job of a school board is to manage their budget. And while the county board has done so, even managing to break ground on a new conference center, it’s a lesson local boards must learn.

“They have to learn they can’t keep spending, spending, spending,” he said.

The proposition also would grant the governor the power to reduce funding to programs of his choosing. But that doesn’t worry Valenzano.

“There are checks and balances that do exist,” he said. “It doesn’t give the governor carte blanche powers.”

Last month the Conejo Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) Board of Education voted to oppose Prop. 76. CVUSD president Tim Stephens said the county school board’s vote surprised him.

“It’s interesting, because the California school board came out opposing 76. It’s kind of hard for me to believe,” he said.

Stephens was disappointed only three of the five members were present to vote. “It would have been nice for all (county) board members to express their opinion on that.”

Dean Kunicki, who represents Moorpark and Simi Valley, was out of town at the time of the vote. He wouldn’t comment on the resolutions except to say he’s happy they decided to look at the issues.

“Does it influence anybody?” Kunicki said. “Who knows? Nobody pays much attention to the board anyway.”

If Prop. 74—which would mandate new teachers be on the job for five years instead of the current two before granted permanency or tenure—passes, local school boards and school administrators would have more time to properly evaluate teachers, Valenzano said.

It also would give them more control over any underperforming teacher: after two consecutive unsatisfactory job performance reviews, they could be fired. Now, short of child abuse, it’s nearly impossible to remove a teacher, he said.

If Prop. 75 passes, public employee labor unions would have to get the written annual consent of their members before using union dues for political contributions.

“(The unions) look out basically for their own self-interests, where we’re looking out for a broader range of people who elected us: taxpayers, parents . . . teachers,” said Valenzano, a former policy advisor for Assemblyman Tony Strickland, of the board’s support of the measure. “It’s a self-serving entity.”

Valenzano, a board member for one year, is himself a member of a labor union that recently split from a larger one, in part because of the same issue.

If voters approve of Prop. 77, three retired judges the legislature appoints, instead of the legislature itself, would draw up political redistricting lines. Valenzano, who represents Camarillo and cities along the 126 Freeway, said the board thinks that fair.

“Just like our county board doesn’t draw their own lines, we don’t think the legislators should either. . . . Voters would be taking control of the lines.”

Dr. Charles Weis, county superintendent of schools, who also sits on the board of education, takes an opposing stance on the propositions.

“I really don’t know what their rationale was for supporting it, except as explained in their resolutions,” he said. “I think they’re just strong supporters of the governor.”

Arleigh Kidd, executive director of the California Teachers Association for Simi and Conejo valleys, had stronger words for the board. He called them “ultra-rightwing conservatives who are doing the bidding of the governor.

“They don’t think for themselves,” he said. “To me, the county board has become a joke; taking a partisan rather than educational view. . . . They’re doing a real disservice to the kids of Ventura County.”