Fillmore Unified School District

Around 50 concerned Fillmore residents attended the School Board Candidates Forum held at Fillmore Middle School on Wednesday, September 24, 2014 between 6:00-8:30 P.M. The forum was arraigned by Fillmore Unified Teachers Association (FUTA) and California School Employee Association (CSEA) and conducted by FUSA President Jennifer Beal and Member Sandra Butts, CSEA Member Luanne Brock with Scott Lee was moderator and Bill Edmonds timekeeper. The candidates included Scott Beylik, Michael Saviers and Sean Morris and the incumbent candidates included Lucy Rangel, Dave Wilde and Tony Prado.

There were nine questions asked of each candidate, eight of those questions are in this report, four questions in this week’s part one edition; next week’s edition will run the last four questions (responses are not verbatim, what is written is a paraphrase of each person's answer) with a closing statement from each at the end of the questioning.

Question (1); What do you see as the school board members' role and responsibility in the effective administration of the schools?

Saviers; "I see us as the ambassadors to the schools...we have to work with the families to make this a good district.....we all have the same goals...everyone needs to be involved"

Morris; "We are your representatives to do what's best for the students and create an open environment. We need to make sure the Superintendent is on the right path and work with the teachers."

Prado; "We are a vision to the community. A Board Member is not effective when they micromanage. We listen to the teachers....the Superintendent is accountable to the Board.

Beylik; The Board develops policy...needs to hold the administration accountable. The last administration spoon fed the Board. I see my roll as to hold them accountable...to visit the classrooms."

Rangel; "I'm happy that we selected the right Superintendent. There was a problem with protocol, Board Members were getting many phone calls....you have to have three Board Members to have any change, I'm only one vote. As Board Members you have to work together as a team."

Wilde; "My job is to listen, to be accessible....responsible for making sure students have the best instruction. I'm happy with the new Superintendent."

Question (2); Money woes and changing priorities in past years led to the elimination of all our elementary library clerks. Are school libraries important to you? Do you have a plan to restore or improve them?

Morris; "Libraries are very important to me. Every student should have the ability to read. Libraries are soon becoming technology centers. They should bring lecturers in.... make them learning centers. If we have the funds hire clerks."

Prado; I was born in Santa Paula. I was fortunate to have had a very good library. If I wasn't playing sports, I was at the library...it was very important to me. Libraries serve a variety of needs for a variety people. We're going to have clerks."

Beylik; "We have a limited amount of money...I would not have cut the clerks. The actual money saved was miniscule....We had to take Title I money to get the library up and going."

Wilde; The library should be the hub of all schools...a hub for learning. Computers have changed what a library is today. We need someone who knows computers working there."

Saviers; "Decisions were made in the past, I'm not here to criticize....libraries are not a frill, they are a 'need to have'. There are grants that could help. Libraries are a necessity. We could have tutoring programs there."

Question (3); Preparing students for America's jobs of the future is a national trend. What would you do in this district to increase and improve student access to modern and traditional job preparation?

Prado; "Over 66% of jobs do not require a college education...We're not sure what jobs will be in the future, but they need to be able to read and write. We need to promote health education and critical thinkers."

Beylik; We need to have career technical education. We need vocational education to provide for those not on the college track...various vocational and various electives."

Rangel; We're going to be partners with Ventura College and Business with 62 different pathways...we should take an inventory of what students are interested in."

Wilde; "The whole concept of career studies is important to me. I love the FAA program...I volunteer to sit in on the Ag Council."

Saviers; "The reality is not everyone is going to go to college...these students are our future leaders and work force....we need to upgrade our technology...we need classes for our students who are not going to college."

Morris; "We need to prioritize funds and work to get grants....we need those occupational classes...I have a lot of dreams, we can get grants."

Question (4); Funding for the maintenance of our schools and grounds has been inconsistent. How would you plan to keep our campuses in good shape?

Beylik; With limited amount of funds and an economy that was up and down the District did not have a Capital Improvement Fund. We need to set money aside, now we're paying interest on a loan...this Board hires people to do things, we need to hold them accountable."

Rangel; "The Superintendents job is to address the issue. We do need to put money aside. There has to be planning. I have great confidence in the new Superintendent."

Wilde; "The roof situation was a nightmare. It took me almost two years to be heard. It should not take two years. We should have a fund set aside. The new Superintendent is making sure there is a plan."

Saviers; "It's nice to have a contingency plan. We need our students to be safe, we need to provide the maintenance people with the resources to do the job...address the problems daily...we need to install pride."
Morris; "The roof was leaking for years...we need to set up a capital improvement fund...we need to find ways to do it."

Prado; "The school runs in a deficit, so what are you going to cut to have the funds to set aside? Where's the money going to come from? I want to bring down the classroom size. The money's got to come from somewhere."

Part two in next week’s edition of The Gazette.