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Supporters of Alamillo and Stephenson As a 41year resident of Camarillo, I am writing to remind voters that the upcoming election for the Pleasant Valley School District board of trustees is to elect board members who will be responsible for running the current Keight district. The district is not a unified district at this time and board members should not be acting as if it is or soon will be. They should have only one agenda, and that is to ensure that our K-eight students are receiving the best education possible under the existing district policies. The monies spent on the issue of unification during the past several years by the PVSD school board are, in my opinion, monies not well spent. It is not unlike someone who buys a lottery ticket and then goes out on a shopping spree in anticipation of winning. Over $300,000 has been spent, not including staff hours, on unification so far. I feel that if organizations such as Camarillo Unified want to fund this proposal, then let them raise the funds to do so. This way money will not be taken away from the current K-eight students attending the district. I have two children attending a school in the PVSD. My wife and I work tirelessly raising funds for the betterment of our school. I feel it is a slap in the face to watch our board throw away money when it could be used to obtain computers, playground equipment, supplies and other necessary items that the schools do not currently have. Please join me in supporting the reelection of current board member John Alamillo and the election of Kim Marra Stephenson.
These two candidates will get us back on track and make
sure that district money is being spent for the good of our children.
I am writing to urge voters to reelect John Alamillo to the Pleasant Valley School District board of trustees. John is an advocate for the students of the district. He asks the tough questions and urges fiscal responsibility of board members. He properly questions the district's expenditures regarding unification. John has no agenda other than to provide a high quality education to the children attending the Pleasant Valley School District. Supporters of a unified Camarillo school district would have you believe that a majority of residents support their cause by stating that over 12,000 people signed a petition in favor of unification. The petition that was circulated was for those in favor of getting this issue put on the ballot for a vote, not those who favor unification. I signed this petition myself because I feel this issue should be put to a vote; however, I am not in support of unification at this time. Unification sounds great in theory, but until there is a place to house all the students in a comprehensive high school setting, it just doesn't make sense to unify. I have seen statements that say that Camarillo developer's fees have gone to Oxnard schools. This is true, but Oxnard fees have also been spent in Camarillo at Camarillo High School. Oxnard Union High School District has already passed a bond to build a new high school in Camarillo. If unification occurs, then Camarillo will need to find a way to finance a new high school. I don't believe Camarillo residents are going to be willing to support another bond that will raise their taxes much more than the amount that was raised for the OUHSD bond. The funds for a new high school are ready and waiting. Unification supporters state that they would like more local control of curriculum and ease of transition into high school from the primary district. Curriculum is mandated by the state of California, and judging by test scores from Camarillo High School, students seem to be transitioning quite well. School breaks coincide at both PVSD and OUHSD so this should not be an issue at all. The current school board of the Pleasant Valley School District has had a majority of members who have put the one agenda of unification in the limelight for several years now. Some of these trustees state that other trustees are stalling the issue. This couldn't be further from the truth. This issue is in the hands of the county Board of Education and the state Board of Education. They are the ones trying to make the decision if this issue should be put to the voters or not. The trustees being accused of stalling are trying to handle issues within the Pleasant Valley School District, the education of the children enrolled in this district now.
That is why I am asking voters to reelect John Alamillo
and to elect Kim Marra Stephenson to the PVSD school board. I am a business owner in Camarillo and have lived here for all but five years of my life. John Alamillo has been here as long as I can remember. I believe John is working with the best intentions for our children when he is a little cautious about unification and anything the board is considering. Pleasant Valley School District needs to have everything in place before taking on something as large as a high school. District procedures should be followed the same in every school by everyone, from the office staff all the way to the campus supervisors. I want to feel comfortable that the PVSD is running this district at the top before unification is put into place. It is a different world in high school, and will take a lot of attention running it.
Can we do it right now? Let's make sure of that. Vote
for John Alamillo, a board member who looks out for our kids. | |||||
