WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers TOUGH TALK—Simi Valley school board candidates Rob Collins and Janice DiFatta participate in a forum Tuesday inside council chambers. The event was sponsored by the Simi Valley PTA/PTSA and was attended by the six candidates vying for three seats. Local politicians must be taking their cues from presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama.

Getting in the last word during a sometimes contentious candidate forum for the Simi Valley Unified School District board of education on Tuesday night at city hall, incumbent Rob Collins pulled out the "experience" card.

"No offense to (challengers Brad Jashinsky and Eric Smith), but this isn't time for on-the-job training," Collins said. "There's no substitute for experience."

Jashinsky, 19, and Smith, 18, are the youngest school board candidates on the Nov. 4 ballot; Collins, 65, is the oldest.

The forum, sponsored by the Simi Valley PTA/PTSA, offered the six candidates a platform to share their ideas and philosophies on how best to educate Simi's 20,893 public school students.

After the opening pleasantries, incumbents Collins, Janice DiFatta and Debbie Sandland banded together to defend their policies and the overall health of the district against the challenges of Jashinsky, Smith and Ray Cruz, who offered their visions on how to improve Simi Valley Unified.

The candidates were asked questions from the audience about the budget crisis, school vouchers, overcrowding at Royal and Simi Valley high schools, parent involvement and high school algebra standards, among other topics.

Cruz, who ran for a seat in 2006, was strongly challenged by the incumbents after explaining his position on vouchers.

"I believe parents should have the . . . freedom to send their children to the school of their choice," said Cruz, whose three daughters graduated from Royal High. "It's important as a school board member to keep our schools attractive and challenging enough to keep students in the district."

Sandland said vouchers "would be the death knell of the public school system."

DiFatta and Collins agreed with Sandland.

"I don't support vouchers in any way, shape or form," DiFatta said. "Public school dollars should not go to private schools."

Cruz was quick to turn on the offensive.

The New York City native said he was disturbed by the alarmingly high dropout rate in the district, which he said was about 10 percent in Simi Valley and 17 percent in the state. He wants more students to graduate before they turn 21.

However, Cruz also said the school board members, who have the final say on expulsions, are too lenient on misbehaving students. The challenger told the audience that "200 students in the last four years should have been expelled" but weren't.

He also disputed the incumbents' assurances that the district budget will withstand the latest economic nosedive.

"I don't think we are fiscally sound," he said.

Jashinsky, who graduated from Santa Susana High in 2007, criticized DiFatta and Sandland for accepting waivers of 80 students to graduate high school without passing algebra in May 2004.

DiFatta countered that "we have not relaxed algebra standards. . . . We do everything we can to get students through algebra."

Jashinsky said "promises were broken" with the Measure C4 bond on certain projects, like the delayed Santa Susana auditorium, and he criticized the current board for not efficiently spending bond money.

The Cal State University Channel Islands student said wants to save district money by improving technology in the classroom, but favors increased funding for GATE and special education.

"I'm only one year removed from Santa Susana. I know these schools better than anyone on this board," Jashinsky said. "I know what matters to students and teachers."

Smith, who graduated from Valencia High this year, avoided much of the confrontational sparring.

The youngest candidate said he wants community service to be a backbone of secondary students' education. He also wants to teach elementary students more about current events and local history.

"The best thing we can do is get students involved independent of parents," Smith said.

Collins, a longtime educator, said his top three top priorities for Simi Valley students are student achievement, student safety and promoting healthy diets and exercise among students.

DiFatta, who has served the board for 12 years, said she coauthored the district's parent involvement policy. She wants to serve another term and supervise the final phase of C4 projects.

And Sandland, another 12-year board member, said she was proud to have introduced character education at the elementary level and tolerance education for secondary students.

The registered nurse and lifelong resident of Simi Valley stressed the need to remain focused on at-risk middle school students.