'We've been betrayed'

DANIEL WOLOWICZ/Acorn Newspapers

Nearly 50 Pleasant Valley School District teachers protested along Carmen Drive in front of Camarillo City Hall on Wednesday evening to vent their frustration with the Pleasant Valley School Board's decision to reverse its earlier vote to close two area schools.

The board's plan- which included the removal of middle school grades from Santa Rosa Technology Magnet School and converting Rancho Rosal Elementary into an open magnet school- was intended to free up $1.5 million to raise salaries for the district's teachers.

The board decided last week to reverse its decision, prompting teachers to demonstrate in front of city hall as they waved signs and wore bright yellow T-shirts that read: "Keep teachers a priority."

"We, frankly, feel as if we've been betrayed," said Suzann Zeigler, the teachers' union president. "Because we've been asked to come on board to help (the school board), and now they've left us hanging out to dry."

Zeigler said the school board "waffled under pressure" from parents and that their wavering hurts the district.

Jean Joneson, a teacher at El Descanso Elementary School, said she's tired of waiting for the school board to deliver on pay raises promised years ago.

"We just feel like we've been pitted against the children and we're presented as if we're just greedy and we want the money and we're going to do anything for it, and that's just not the case" Joneson said.

- Daniel Wolowicz