Fillmore Unified School District

Nine teachers from Piru Elementary School, working with their former principal Richard Durborow, mailed a charter school petition last week to Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) Superintendent Jeff Sweeney and Board Members beginning the process to obtain charter status for Piru Elementary School. Piru Charter School (PCS) plans to open their doors beginning in the 2010-2011 school year. The charter petition is a result of collaboration which began last spring during a District reorganization planning process, and which continued despite the efforts of the FUSD administration to halt it.

District Superintendent Jeff Sweeney released this statement to the Gazette: “The District first became aware last year that a small group of Piru staff and parents was interested in pursuing a charter due to concerns being raised by staff who were not in favor of the potential charter. By the end of the school year, these growing concerns divided the staff and was becoming a disruption to the school. Consequently, I directed interested staff not to work on the charter during school hours, but rather on their own time. The Fillmore Unified School District received a petition for a charter conversion on September 16, 2009, without the consensus or knowledge of the whole staff. That was the first official notice that a charter was being considered. No decision on the charter has been reached. A public hearing will be held on October 21 at 6:00 p.m. to review the application. The District will consider the application according to Board policy.”
Following are questions submitted be the Gazette and facts regarding the proposed Charter School supplied by Piru teachers Richard Durborow, Susan Jolley, and Chris Pavic.

Did you apply for Charter status last spring? CONTINUED »

Mary Ford addressed the School Board and City Council.
Enlarge Photo

John Scoles spoke about use of the track.
Enlarge Photo

The Fillmore City Council and Unified School District board have decided to set up a pilot program for use of the new high school track by the general public.

The mechanics of how the use will be managed has yet to be determined. A local adult running club presented arguments to the meeting on why they should be allowed access to the track. Both the city and the school district are concerned about liability issues. School Board member Liz Wilde said the city should be taking the lead in this issue but the students should have priority in using the track. School trustee Tony Prado stated that adults need to use the track in the evening. District Superintendent Jeff Sweeney said, “The safety of our students is a priority. Students use the track until 8 or 9 p.m. We are concerned about students mixing with the adult community.”

Both groups discussed charging a $25 signup fee for people wanting to use the track. Deputy City Manager Bill Bartels said CONTINUED »

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

09/02/09-09/08/09
SEARCH WARRANT
09/02/09
500 Block Main Street
700 Block Third Street
200 Block Sespe Avenue
100 Block Bridlewood Lane
500 Block Saratoga Avenue
09/03/09
500 Block A Street
09/04/09
200 Block Third Street
09/07/09
900 Block Wileman St.
09/08/09
800 Block Edison Way
SHOTS FIRED
09/06/09
Central Ave. / Foothill Dr.
THEFT-IDENTITY CONTINUED »

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

Date & Time: September 29, 2009 4:00 PM
Unit Responsible: Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services

At 10:48 AM on September 29th, an earthquake with preliminary magnitude 8.0 occurred in the Samoa Islands region.

A Tsunami Advisory is in effect which includes the coastal areas of California and Oregon from the California-Mexico border to the Oregon-Washington border.

A Tsunami Advisory means that a tsunami capable of producing strong currents or waves dangerous to persons in or very near the water is imminent or expected. Significant, widespread inundation is not expected for areas under an advisory. Currents may be hazardous to swimmers, boats, and coastal structures and may continue for several hours after the initial wave arrival.

According to the National Weather Service, Ventura County can expect a minor wave up to one foot. The arrival time in Santa Barbara is expected at 9:03 p.m. this evening. The arrival time in Santa Monica is expected at 9:11 p.m.

For updated information, please visit the County of Ventura website and click on the Disaster Information page (www.countyofventura.org/disasterinformation).

Final Fire Information:
Acres Burned: 17,500 acres
Containment 17,500 acres - 100% contained
Structures Destroyed: 1 outbuilding destroyed
Injuries: 10
Cause: Under Investigation
Cooperating Agencies: Ventura County Fire Department, CAL FIRE, USFS, Ventura County Sheriff, CHP, Ventura County Animal Control, CalEMA, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, CCC, BLM, City of Moorpark, Southern California Gas, Southern California Edison and Red Cross.
Total Fire Personnel: 1,168 (977 CAL FIRE)
Engines: 70 (60 CAL FIRE)
Fire crews: 28 (25 CAL FIRE)
Dozers: 6 (4 CAL FIRE)
Water tenders: 15
Costs to date: $9.8 million
Major Incident Command Team: CAL FIRE Team 10 is in unified command with Ventura County Fire
Conditions: Firefighers continue to construct containment line, mop-up and monitor for any fire activity.
Phone Number: (805) 388-4276 (Guiberson Fire Information)

Fire video from this week

City of Fillmore

A Petition for Writ of Mandate, Injunction, and Declaratory Relief for violations of the Ralph M. Brown Act has been filed on behalf of the citizens of Fillmore by Petitioner Richard P. McKee, an individual.

The petition alleges an e-mail sent to Councilman Steve Conaway by Mayor Patti Walker, August 25 of 2009, “revealed a Brown Act violation by a majority of the City Council through a serial meeting arranged and facilitated by Interim City Manager Larry Pennell.”

At the regular council meeting, August 25, Mayor Walker announced that a closed session (not on the agenda) would be held concerning a Brown Act violation charged in an August 25, letter from Councilman Conaway to City Clerk, Clay Westling. The alleged violation concerned a serial meeting between three council members, which was arranged by Interim City Manager, Larry Pennell. Pennell sought, and obtained, concurrence of thought from a majority of the city council. In his letter Conaway stated that “As a council member, I expect that the City Manager will conduct business fairly, openly and with the highest ethics. Sadly, Mr. Pennell’s actions resulted in implicating three of my council members in this Brown Act violation.”

Conaway continued: “As a result of the serial meeting, the trust installed upon Fillmore officials will b e diminished. When this issue came to my attention I urged Mayor Walker to CONTINUED »

City of Fillmore

Mayor Patti Walker, two city council members Jamey Brooks and Mayor Pro-tem Gayle Washburn with Fillmore City Attorney Theodore Schneider, reviewed the council’s action resulting in the Brown Act violation debate in a closed-door session Tuesday night, September 22, 2009.
Before Mayor Walker and council members retreated to an undisclosed location in City Hall, Schneider asked that Councilmember Steve Conaway recues himself. Conaway complied with the request. Councilmember Laurie Hernandez was absent.
Returning to regular session, Mayor Walker disclosed the findings of the council members.
“The unintentional alleged Brown Act violation was of no consequence,” stated Mayor Walker, “because it did not result in any action taken by this council.”
Schneider concurred with, “All allegations by Mr. McKee have been satisfied.”
Richard McKee, President of California’s Aware, a political watchdog group, had proposed that the City Council had violated the Brown Act in August when reviewing credentials of candidates for employment.
Audit Controversy
State audit reports for the city of Fillmore are due in October and December announced City Manager, Larry Pennell. Gathering information for the reports begins in July of every (fiscal) year. Due to the retirement of former Finance Director Barbara Smith, the city of Fillmore has been without a permanent finance director since June, commented Washburn. Leonore Young has been serving as Interim Finance Director.
Pennell advised that the auditing firm of Rogers, Anderson, Malody, & Scott from Riverside County be hired to begin the process as soon as possible. Since June 2009, only one Request for Proposal (RFP) bid was sent out; that was to Rogers, Anderson, Malody & Scott.
With a recommendation from Lea Phillips of the Ventura Regional Sanitation District, Pennell invited a company representative to address the council.
Terry Shea, a CPA for the firm stated that he’d design programs to do the audits for 2008-2009. When Washburn asked, “Is there any flexibility in your pricing?” CONTINUED »

Nine teachers from Piru Elementary School, working with their former principal Richard Durborow, mailed a charter school petition this week to Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) Superintendent Jeff Sweeney and Board Members beginning the process to obtain charter status for Piru Elementary School. Piru Charter School (PCS) plans to open their doors beginning in the 2010-2011 school year. The charter petition is a result of collaboration which began last spring during a District reorganization planning process, and which continued despite the efforts of the FUSD administration to halt it.

Charter schools are public schools that are responsive to students’ needs and are held accountable for improved student achievement. They are open to the public, are tuitionfree, participate in state tests, employ credentialed teachers to teach core subjects, and can offer innovative curriculum and teaching strategies designed to improve student learning. For more information on charter schools, visit the website of the California Charter Schools Association at - myschool.org.

Under current state law, and with the full support of Governor Schwarzenger and President Obama, public schools can be converted to charter status when the majority of the teaching staff file a charter petition addressing sixteen specific elements regarding school vision, CONTINUED »