2 board members say rivalry, secrecy mar the district they're leaving

Two members of the Simi Valley Unified School District Board of Education-Carla Karachi and Greg Stratton-will be stepping down from their posts on Nov. 7. Neither is seeking reelection.

While both are proud of their tenure on the board, they also agree that the educational system in Simi Valley is fraught with problems that end up hurting the students.

Karachi, who works as a school psychologist for the Los Angeles Unified School District, and Stratton, a software manager for Northrop Gruman and a former Simi Valley mayor, feel their service was hampered by petty rivalries and the board's penchant for secrecy.

Rather than joining a group of individuals that cohesively worked together to better education in the area, as they had envisioned, they discovered a board inundated with secrecy, bureaucratic hurdles and egos.

Karachi, who served on the board for 16 years, decided to seek election after serving an internship at Simi Valley High School.

"I was studying to become a school counselor, and I noticed there were a lot of atrisk kids. Because we didn't have many at-risk student centers, I decided to run for the board to try and make some changes," Karachi said.

Stratton's decision to run for the school board was spurofthe moment.

"The idea popped up one day because the incumbent decided not to run. It was a quick decision," Stratton said. "I'd always wanted to know how the schools work and how they tick. The opportunity was there, and there we were."

Upon being elected to the board, both Stratton and Karachi said, they were surprised with the situation they found.

"I was shocked with how long it took to accomplish things; everything was so political and nasty," Karachi said. "I was an idealist and probably still am, so I thought we would all be able to work together and serve for the benefit of the students. I found out that things don't easily change and a lot of egos get involved, so ultimately the decisions aren't made in the best interest of the kids."

For Stratton, a seasoned legislator and manager, the board and district operated in an arcane manner. Secrecy shadowed the district's operations, and vital decisions were sometimes approved in workshop meetings that the public often didn't attend, according to Stratton.

"Education is its own little world," Stratton said. "I spent 20 years with the city, and I thought I knew how government works, but education doesn't operate that way, and the normal laws of management don't seem to apply. If we had tried some of the things we did on the board in the city, we would have been tarred and feathered and run out of town."

Despite these obstacles, both members said they felt like their terms of service did lead to some positive changes within the district.

Karachi regards the establishment of at-risk programs, the opening of Santa Susana High School and increasing parental involvement as her proudest accomplishments.

"I'm most proud of my decision process, which was always in the best interest of the students. It was never based on my likes or dislikes of other board members," Karachi said.

Stratton includes his establishment of middle school accountability as the biggest notch on his belt.

"They were basically just passing people through middle school. Once the kids realized this, they didn't try, and it became increasingly frustrating for the teachers. They would reach the ninth grade without doing any work, and then they would suddenly realize they didn't know anything," Stratton said. "We now require kids to actually pass their classes, and it's been a shock to the system."

But the district is still faced with a mountain of issues, according to the two departing board members.

The top of that list includes issues such as increasing communication between parents and officials, acquiring more technology to aid at-risk students and increasing the desire of students to learn.

"The real issue at hand is devising a way to involve kids that makes them want to go to school," Stratton said. "The high school exit exam says that you are a qualified 10thgrade student, but we have seniors that aren't passing this test. We need to develop methods that hold the kids responsible for learning, rather than just receiving a grade and moving on."

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.

Karachi said she plans on forming an educational advocacy group when she steps down.

"I want to start a group that sees to it that our district gets on the right path and stays there. We need to hold our elected officials accountable, " Karachi said. "My heart is still in this district and there are so many great things that we can still do."

For more information, please call Karachi at (805) 527-8710.