School district disputes claim that it turned away applicant who couldn't speak Spanish
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

The Simi Valley Unified School District said this week that it does not turn away job applicants if they can't speak Spanish.

In a letter to the editor published in the Sept. 7 issue of the Simi Valley Acorn, Simi resident David Duvos said a district job application for a cafeteria helper required potential employees to speak Spanish.

That is not the case, according to Don Gaudioso, assistant superintendent of personnel services for the district.

"We have never had a policy where we've required, other than a Spanish teacher, that an employee speak Spanish in order to qualify for the job," Gaudioso said.

Gaudioso later modified that statement, saying there are two jobs in the district for which a firm grasp of Spanish is desirable. Community aide liaisons and instructional aides who work closely with English language learners are the two district jobs that look for bilingual applicants.

The job application that caused a minor uproar remains online. Under the "Required Qualifications," there is no mention of Spanish being a requirement for the position of cafeteria helper. The job requires employees to have the ability to "communicate orally with other employees and (the) public . . ."

Even if the district wanted to alter the words of the application, such a change would have to be approved by the school board, Gaudioso said.

Duvos, 72, claimed the application was different the second time he opened the Web page, although he doesn't have a copy of the first job description he saw.

Of the two district jobs that prefer those with knowledge of Spanish, the community aide liaison works "primarily with parents of Spanishspeaking populations at Title I schools. They deal directly with parents," Gaudioso said.

The instructional aide generally works with students who score a 1 or a 2 on the California English Language Development Test. That test rates a student's ability to speak English on a scale of 1 to 5.

After voicing his concerns to the district last week, Duvos, a resident of Simi since 1965, received a voice message from the district saying any such wording requiring Spanish was a mistake and that his application would be welcomed.

"They were very nice, and said that in no way was Spanish required," said Duvos, who has worked in the food industry for almost 20 years, including jobs as a chef, fry cook and dishwasher. "I sent my application in (last) Friday. . . . Working three or four hours a day would be perfect for me. I just want to help prepare food."

For more info

Sample school district job description available on-line at http://www.simi.k12.ca.us/ CLASS/cafhelp.pdf