Wants school board to keep promises

Just when our community thought it could breathe a sigh of relief, the Pleasant Valley School District board of trustees has, yet again, shown our community just how they don't stand by their promises.

Camarillo is one of the largest cities in Ventura County, and we enjoy the benefits of living in such a fine, family friendly city. Why is it, then, that the professional educators that we entrust our children, our future leaders, to for 180 days a year, are the lowest paid with the smallest amount of benefits in the entire county?

The teachers in Camarillo are not asking for a lot, just a 7 percent salary increase to bring them up to midlevel ranking with a 2 percent increase in benefits, which would still put them below other districts in Ventura County.

The board countered the teachers' proposal with a miserly 3 percent salary increase and a one-time benefit bonus of $700 (a family of four spends more than that on co-pays alone each year).

Newly hired Superintendent Luis Villegas receives an annual salary of $166,500 and another $9,600 a year for automobile and travel expenses. The district is spending $1.5 million a year on their so-called "Technology Plan."

Where is this money really going? Most, if not all, of the school sites' computer labs were funded by parent groups. DVD players for the classrooms were funded by, yet again, parent groups. The school board has apparently spent over $500,000 on their quest to unify the school district.

Why unify when the teachers we currently have in our kindergarten-through-eighth-grade district are not adequately compensated?

Parents, it is time for us to step up to the plate and demand that our childrens' teachers be reasonably compensated for their time and dedication. Go to the board meetings and speak out. Write or e-mail the board. Ask the teachers how you can help their cause. Write letters to the newspaper. Hopefully, with parents and teachers as a united group, we can bring about long overdue changes in our school district. Our children and teachers deserve no less than the best. Julie El-Khoury Camarillo