Wants district to move forward with closures

Camarillo's dirty little secret is out. Camarillo is the second wealthiest community in Ventura County, based on per capita income, but our teachers have the lowest compensation package. Earning almost $1,000 less per month than neighboring districts, our teachers pay out as much as $1,000 per month in insurance premiums while neighboring districts cover benefits for teachers and dependents. And while neighboring districts received raises this year of 6 percent, 7.5 percent and 8 percent retroactive to July 1, 2006, the PVSD teachers' raise of 8 percent was only effective from Feb. 1, 2007, which means in real dollars that it was only a 4 percent raise.

For decades, the Pleasant Valley School District Board of Trustees have valued small neighborhood schools over teacher compensation. Even after the dramatic drop in income after Prop 13 and the elimination of federal monies when the Air Force base was closed, the district still held onto its dream that every child would have a school just a short walk from home.

PVSD teachers have been paying for that dream out of our pockets. Five years ago the PVSD Board of Trustees started the process of consolidating smaller schools with the promise of improvements to the teacher compensation package. At that same time, the district was informed that the state was cutting the district's budget at $3 million. Teachers joined with the rest of the community to find ways to get through that difficult time. We were patient as our promised progress disintegrated. That was five years ago.

The board has the power to move toward a solution by consolidating our smaller schools. Under the leadership of Dr. Ken Moffett, interim superintendent, PVSD teachers took hope for the first time in years that our financial crisis would be a priority for the board. It seemed for a while that it would when both Dr. Moffett and the board broadcast their intent to consolidate schools so that they could improve teacher compensation. Now it appears that the board of trustees is losing its nerve.

The board knows what it has to do. We urge the board to keep moving forward, not back. Take care of your teachers. Las Colinas teachers Submitted by Deborah Miller Camarillo