Kathy Long, County of Ventura Board of Supervisors, District 3

Opinion Editorial by Kathy Long

To the Editor:

This letter is in response to your Open Letter and email asking for my reply as to the proposed Piru Charter School, and now the subsequent denial of the Petition by the pro-charter State Board of Education with a 6-2 vote. My comments will reflect why I felt it necessary to stand with the parents of Piru in opposition to the Petition. I have served as the elected representative of the Piru community since 1997. Piru is an unincorporated community, not served by the present or former elected City Council Members of Fillmore, but served by the elected Board Members of the Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD).

I followed the process of the Petition application since it was first presented to FUSD and denied; then to the County Board of Education where it was also unanimously denied. I reviewed thoroughly the Petition and subsequent report from the County Board. I felt the County Board did an excellent analysis that raised reasonable doubt as to the sustainability of the Charter Petition, both fiscally and programmatically. So at that point, 10 locally elected representatives voted to oppose the Petition and over 100 parents. As the petition then moved to the state Charter Advisory Board, where it did receive support; the glaring deficiency in the Charter School law again became obvious—the parents’ voice was seriously discounted in the law.

In my many years of representing Piru, I have never seen such a divisive issue rattle this community. Over 100 parents organized rallies and raised funds to charter busses to travel to Sacramento twice to have their voices heard. They felt excluded from the formation of the Charter Petition and from the process. Their community became divided, and there was misinformation from many sides of the issue that created an enormous frustration. I believe that frustration was a result of the parents not being asked to be engaged from the beginning. They felt their choice for the education of their children was being taken away from them.

In the design of charter schools, one size does not fit all. Piru is not a community like Los Angeles, South Central, nor the Valley where there are often additional schools to choose from within a neighborhood, besides a Charter school. Charter schools are either “start ups” or “conversions”. This petition was a “conversion” of the only elementary school in the neighborhood, leaving no choice for the parents not supporting the charter, but to bus their children into Fillmore. I believe the State Board of Education Board members recognized that the Petition action did just that—took the neighborhood choice away from the Piru parents.

With the denial of the petition, we have a golden opportunity before us to focus on the needs of this school and the community. The District must fulfill the infrastructure commitments that were made, support the teachers and the Principal, and capture the passion of the parents to improve the educational opportunities for their children. This rural, low-income school may be challenged, but the Academic Performance Index Base Scores have risen 94 points since 2007. That result only comes from teachers and parents working together for the good of the children. We must never give up on our children, and we must always reach out first to the parents to collectively guide the changes needed to excel. Now it’s time to move on and bring the community together, give the Piru parents and teachers the respect they deserve, and focus on educating the future generations. I am inspired by the Piru “parents with power, padres con poder” and was proud to stand with them to have their voices heard.

Sincerely,
Kathy Long, Chair
Third District Supervisor

Open Letter to Supervisor Long from Gazette Publisher Martin Farrell

Dear Supervisor Long,
You have recently stated your opposition to the Piru Charter School petition on grounds that it is unpopular with Piru residents, and you intend to testify against it at the final hearing.
I would urge you to reconsider this decision because it is based upon false information. A majority of Piru residents do not oppose the charter proposal; residents vigorously support the charter. Bitter opposition comes only from a group which has been misled by school district authorities anxious about the loss of money and authority. The lies which have been spread about the charter proposal are astonishing.
Here are some of them:
1. The charter school would be private, demanding tuition. FALSE.
2. No bus would be provided for the school. FALSE.
3. No special education classes would be provided. FALSE.
4. No band would be provided. FALSE.
5. Students would have to meet special academic achievement to enroll. FALSE.
6. Some students, residents of Piru, would not be able to attend. FALSE.
7. The budget would not sustain the school. FALSE. CA Dept. of Ed. says it is sound.
8. The school would be “experimental”. FALSE.
9. Volunteer hours would be required. FALSE.
10. No after-school programs. FALSE.
11. Small class sizes not guaranteed. FALSE.
12. Some registrations would be reported to immigration. FALSE.
13. Piru School is doing just fine as is. FALSE. It is ranked 11th from the bottom when compared to 100 similar California elementary schools, and facilities are in very poor condition.
14. There will be no GATE program. FALSE. It will be better than ever.
If all Piru residents knew the truth I believe the hostile opposition would stop.
Once again, Supervisor Long, I urge you not to oppose the charter, for the above reasons. There is simply no basis to believe the charter school would not be a huge success. Knowing the truth now, I hope you will rise above Union and District pressure to kill the promise of a Piru Charter School. Please take a close look at these facts and support the charter.
Sincerely,
Martin Farrell
Publisher
The Fillmore Gazette