District didn't make tough choices soon enough

I appreciate Evan Maysr's honesty in reporting about the finances of the Pleasant Valley School District in his Feb. 8 guest opinion "Unification may solve district's budget woes." Where are we one year after the PVSD schoolclosure fiasco? The finance committee has determined that there is no extra "wasted" money in the PVSD budget. The city of Camarillo has mysteriously forgotten their vow to bail out our schools.

Most of the administrators at PVSD have fled in frustration. The current state budget crisis will push us further in the hole. Enrollment continues to decline, in part due to the mass exodus of more than 300 students to the Camarillo Academy of Progressive Education.

With the loss of students to CAPE and the decision to keep Camarillo Heights Elementary School open, the net result of last year's school closures was one school, not the three needed to accomplish real results that could have made PVSD stronger financially and more able to negotiate raises for teachers.

Teachers are on a work slowdown due to an impasse in contract negotiations between the union and the district. The inaction of the school board to close schools has put PVSD between a rock and a hard place as they negotiate with the teacher's union.

I would like to see PVSD become a unified school district; however, a school district needs to be on strong financial footing in order to survive the process.

If we had made the tough choices a year ago and closed three schools, we would be in a much better position now to increase compensation for teachers, increase programming for students, and become a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade district. Sadly, I feel the opportunity was lost. I know parents meant well as they fought to keep their schools open, but a year later we are no better off and certainly in no shape to undergo unification. Alice Blois Camarillo