School board's new president looks ahead
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

School board President Rob Collins knows Simi Valley Unified School District is heading for a tough year.

With Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expected to cut California's 2008-09 budget by 10 percent in January, public schools could be hit hard. Spending on education may be down $5 billion for the fiscal year beginning in July.

"It doesn't look good," Collins said. "We're already hearing stories about the budget cuts and that the governor's talking about declaring a state of emergency in Sacramento."

Collins remembers only too well the last time schools got shortchanged by the state government. Schwarzenegger cut $2 billion from schools in 2004, but reneged on his promise to pay the districts back by 2005. Collins hopes there won't be any midyear budget cuts as there were in 2004, when Simi Unified was forced to cut jobs.

"Every time we had to make cuts, we tried to keep them as far away from the classroom as we could," Collins said. "A lot of times, the support staff and classified workers are the first to go, which is sad. It's bus drivers and custodians and cafeteria workers. It's something we're very reluctant to do."

Although the budget situation looks to be in a quagmire next year, Collins remained optimistic about his first year guiding the board.

He said he and his fellow board members, Debbie Sandland, Janice DiFatta, Eric Lundstrom and Jeanne Davis, remain committed to promoting three long-term goals. The board and the district share the same vision of helping at-risk middle school students, improving student achievement and getting more parents involved with their children's education.

Parents of eighthgrade students have the option of their children taking a half or full year of science, so that students may choose to explore and discover other electives at a young age.

Science teachers at middle school and high school think a whole year of science is necessary for students.

"We're looking to see how we can make fundamental changes at middle school by allowing a full year of science but keeping the elective programming," Collins said. "We might need to make more flexibility in our scheduling."

When asked if a year of science may be mandatory for all eighth graders by 2008-09, Collins said it's a possibility.

The Simi Valley resident also shared his feelings on standardized testing.

Even though Simi Unified earned a score of 802 on the Academic Performance Index (API), which is higher than the statewide goal of 800, Collins feels the tests don't accurately reflect student achievement. He said too much emphasis is put on math and language, and not enough on sciences, social studies, art and even physical education.

"I'm not a big fan of standardized testing," the longtime educator said. "Students realize that these tests have no effect on their grades so they don't take it as seriously. . . . There are much better ways to test students. I'd like to see more emphasis on student portfolios and other ways to judge learning."

Since beginning his teaching career in 1969, Collins has seen a lot of changes in California's public education system. Not all of it has been for the better. There's less money devoted to students. Many electives, like shop classes, have been lost. Collins said California spends about $1,000 less per student than the national average.

To help students get a jump on life after high school, the school board president said, a school-to-career task force is forming. The task force, Collins hopes, will help students transition into the working world by introducing to them fields and professions they hadn't known about previously.

"We want to make it easier for students to set goals early," Collins said.