Unification primary topic at school board candidates forum
Trustees say issue is the largest, most pressing problem the district faces
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

Few discussions regarding education in Camarillo can sidestep the topic of whether or not the Pleasant Valley School District should add high school students, and the candidates forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Ventura County last month was no exception.

Incumbents John Alamillo, Jennifer Miller and board President Ron Speakman joined Patty Lerner and educator Kim Marra Stephenson on Oct. 16 at city hall to answer questions from the league and the public.

When asked the most challenging issue the board will face, Miller, Speakman and Lerner pointed to unification.

"One of the primary goals I have personally is to help get that to the polls," said Speakman, who's vying for a third term on the board.

Stephenson and Alamillo said the board should concentrate its efforts elsewhere.

"The obvious issue that we have is we need to hire a superintendent," Alamillo said. "The superintendent is our captain: He sets the tone and tenor."

Stephenson said communication needs improvement between district personnel and board members.

One member of the audience asked if Alamillo, who's trying for a second term on the board, has or would accept campaign donations from persons or organizations outside the area.

"Yes, I would and I have," he responded.

A state employees group has contributed to his campaign, and some of their members are Camarillo residents, he said.

Miller said her campaign is self-funded.

The five candidates were asked how they would stop the "flight" of superintendents and other top administrators from the district. Former Superintendent Tom Dase left in September for a position in Northern California.

Noting that the pay scale in the district is among the lowest in the state, most of the candidates said administrators must be adequately compensated.

Speakman took exception to the idea that administrators were fleeing the district. He said on the average, school superintendents stay in place only a few years.

Stephenson suggested that job candidates take the time to get to know the district and its issues before coming onboard.

Unification again surfaced when the question of how to raise teachers' salaries was brought up.

Speakman, a certified public accountant, said unification would give the district more money.

"When you need to raise teachers' salaries up $10 when you only have $1, it's very, very difficult," he said.

Stephenson, a math teacher in the Conejo Valley Unified School District, said a linebyline analysis of the district's budget was needed.

"We need to have a serious accounting of where our budget is spent," she said.

Lerner said without unification dollars the district must be creative in securing money. The community might not like the result, however, because it could mean closing smaller schools, she said.

Asked if unification efforts should be put on hold to see if the Oxnard Union High School District will build another school in the Camarillo/Somis area, Miller and Lerner adamantly said "no."

"There is no incentive for them to let us go," Miller said. "If there's going to be a change it needs to come from our community."

Lerner pointed to the loss each year of $6 million that proponents say the district will receive from the state if it unifies and said the Oxnard Union High School District is likely to build a school in Oxnard or Port Hueneme, where the need is greater than in Camarillo.

Speakman said the decision isn't his to make but should be placed in the hands of voters.

"Personally, I've lost faith that Oxnard will or can have any intention of building a high school in Camarillo," he said.

Alamillo said it "makes sense" to wait and that unification is better left to the community group Camarillo Unified.

Stephenson said Oxnard has architectural plans, Somis land and voter-approved bonds to raise the money to build a high school. She suggested that the board negotiate a plan with Oxnard, so if it puts unification on hold, Oxnard will meet certain milestones in building another school in Camarillo. If that district meets its obligations, the unification effort would be dropped, she said.

The frequent references to the controversial topic that some residents say is dividing the community weren't lost on Jeanne Adams, a teacher at California State University at Channel Islands.

"I think it's unfortunate that there's been such an emphasis of asking questions on unification, when there are so many issues to be considered in public school education right now," said Adams, a longtime school administrator.

Paula Lite, an 11-year resident and the Camarillo director for the League of Women Voters, wouldn't disclose which candidates will get her vote. She wanted to avoid the impression that the league was endorsing a candidate. The league doesn't endorse or oppose candidates.

Lite did say, however, that she was pleased that about 80 people turned out to hear the candidates state their positions.

"I think the candidates were all very qualified," the Leisure Village resident said. "I feel that the audience was very interested; they wouldn't have come out if they weren't."