The Fillmore Chamber of Commerce is excited about the upcoming Community Awards Dinner on Thursday, March 22, 2012 at the Veterans Memorial Building. Social hour will be from 5pm-6pm with dinner and the program starting at 6pm. Dinner will be provided by the Fillmore Fire Dept. Attire: Western.
Businesses will have a few opportunities to spotlight their business including:
Business card ad to be included in the program $25. Centerpiece Sponsorship: for $25. Bring a centerpiece having to do with your business and place your business cards on the table.
Purchase eight tickets (one table) at $25 each (total $200) and you get the centerpiece sponsorship for free. This year we will be honoring the following: Lifetime Achievement-Citizen Marie Wren, Lifetime Achievement-Business Wm. L. Morris, Citizen of the Year: Buddy Escoto, Teacher of the Year: Raina Arellano, Student of the Year: Vanessa Villa, Officer of the Year: Gabriel Gonzales, Fireman of the Year: Rob Rolf, Non Profit of the Year: Fillmore Lions Club, Explorer of the Year: Briana Vazquez
Business of the Year: Attractions Spa.
Thank you for your support. Please contact me to purchase: a business card ad, centerpiece sponsorship or tickets for the event. Please help promote the awards dinner at your place of business by placing a flier available at the chamber office on your window or call me & I will bring one to you. We appreciate all you do and look forward to having a very successful event!

A group of Middle School Students addressed the School Board about positive changes happening at their campus.
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The March 1st Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) Board Meeting was long and ended after 11pm as many of the approximately 80 in attendance gave their opinions on the upcoming changes to the school district. There was a wide breadth of comments ranging from thanking the Board for the gate to the school track field, wanting tests taken during school hours, low teacher moral and requiring too much extra work from teachers to the meeting’s main issues of layoffs and curriculum changes.

Fillmore schools will be hit hard by the cuts Governor Jerry Brown is proposing leaving no other choice but to cut expenditures. Assistant Superintendent Business Services Dr. Michael Bush explained that a total of $5.5 million over the past four years has already been cut, but more cuts may have to be made. Bush remarked that at best a 6-10% cut will happen if the tax initiatives in the November elections do not pass, losing the district another $600,000. Teachers lose pay when days are eliminated, he added and went on to say “The teachers took five furlough days last year and 10 this year.” Boardmember John Garnica responded, “This is an absolutely awful situation.” Superintendent Dr. Alan Nashino told those in attendance “We’ve been kicking the can down the road for years….if we’d addressed this problem three years ago it would have been better.”

FUSD may be laying off over 10% of its 200 certified teachers with about 14 of the 22 possible layoffs in grades k-6. Preliminary notices will be sent out by March 15th and final notice by May 15th. Assistant Superintendent Michael Johnson said the number of teachers to be let go “…is not set in stone, but the money is what dictates it.” Some of the layoffs are expected to come from the music department and others from health. Teacher Debra Galarza said she was very excited about the changes but added, “I know music is on the chopping block…I think that is a huge mistake.” She suggested there are other ways of saving money such as investing in solar panels as a school in Oxnard has installed. Christy Neal, owner of Central Music, told the Board, “Schools with music programs have higher standards.” Prado responded, “I know how much the music is good for the school and students…I want to do some investigating about the music and counselors.”

Another of the expected changes is the high school graduation requirements which will focus on providing classes for both college and work force bound students. Requirements such as Health Education will be met by integrating health in other classes like physical education, history and biology. The administration explained that the State requirements allow an invited guest speaker to discuss the HIV/AIDs requirement if a qualified teacher is not available. An example of integrating health into other subjects might be; while discussing the Black Plague during a history class, teachers would go into greater detail as to the reasons the plague occurred and the advances made in prevention. Other changes to the curriculum include the English department working on a speech class, ninth grade biology class will have a lab and earth science will be eliminated since it is not a college bound course.

There will also be a graduated increase in community service to 60 hours as a graduation requirement. Starting in 2013 the community service hours required will be 15 with an additional 15 hours added each year until 2016 when the full 60 hours must be met.

It was announced that higher mathematics will be introduced at the middle school level allowing those students with the ability to grasp the knowledge a head start to go onto higher levels in high school. Assistant Superintendent Michael Johnson spoke with conviction as he addressed the situation stating, “We’re coming at this with high expectations for our students.” He went on to say that middle school students can be successful at algebra and geometry and their studies and grading will be the same as those offered to students at Fillmore High School. Classes taken at the middle school will count as one year of math if completed successfully. Mathematical reasoning is a natural phenomenon with a wide range of normal variation with many children having math skill abilities at a very early age and able to comprehend higher levels than was being offered in the past. Compared with their peers in Europe and Asia, U.S. students are two to 2½ years behind in math. California students are 1½ years behind, with many students not reaching the level they are capable of.

The new changes do not reduced the amount of math required, but instead the classes are offered in middle school which allows those students who want to continue on to higher math the option of doing so in high school and all students the ability meet their math requirements sooner leaving room for electives. To be competitive in a global society graduating students will need to keep up with India, Singapore and Europe in mathematics. Johnson ended the presentation with “Let our children compete.”

Board Member Virginia de la Piedra said she was pleased with the changes in math and believes the changes will have a positive impact. She added, “Health is important, but there has to be changes. I wish we didn’t have to make the cuts.” Prado said he felt the changes should have been done sooner, adding “Asian countries have been teaching Algebra in the 7th grade for 15 years.” He continued with, “Moorpark graduates are ready to enter the work force. Health is integrated into the other subjects like history. There are many other disciplines that can teach health. Now we have a plan…the students will learn health.” Boardmember David Wilde responded, “Changes are tough…there was a feeling of apathy, sometimes there’s a time for change. I’m never one to be afraid of change.” Garnica added, “We care enough about our kids to spend the time.”

FUSD has been in academic decline for a number of years now. This decline is described by the State of California as needing Program Improvement (PI) which is part of the State’s integrated accountability system that reports both the state Academic Performance Index (API), and the federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) of schools in the state. The State gives each school a number that ranges from 200 to 1000 which is calculated from the results for each school’s students on statewide tests (California Standards Tests CSTs) to arrive at the API. The adequate yearly progress (AYP) report is a federal reporting requirement. AYP indicates if schools and district are performing at or above the proficient level on the CST’s. Each year the targets increase until 2013-2014 when all schools must have 100% of their student’s proficient. In the 2011-2012 school year all FUSD schools fell into PI with every school failing to meet the State’s requirements.

Fillmore Middle School has been in PI since 2003; Piru, San Cayetano and Sespe since 2006; Mountain Vista since 2008; Fillmore High School, the most recent to become PI, starting in 2010. Fillmore Middle School had made intermittent adequate yearly progress in 2007-2008 and 2009-2010, and Mountain View in 2010-2011.

Schools that have been in PI can met the criteria for what is called ‘safe harbor” which is an alternate method of meeting the Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs) if a school shows progress in moving students from scoring at the below proficient level to the proficient level and a waver to the testing standards may be given to students with special needs and learning disabilities.

A problem that the administration said needed to be addressed is the percentage of students graduating from FUSD with the required courses to enter a UC/CSU is far lower than the county or state regardless of ethnicity and no ethnic group has met the State criteria in English-Language Arts or Math except when given a waver. FUSD is at 20.2% while the county is at 34.8% and state at 36.3%.

Nashino told those in attendance “From kindergarten to third grade children learn to read and from forth grade on they read to learn.” Understanding both math and English are needed to be successful in the work force and why the two are important subjects to master. The California English Language Arts (ELA) Standards Test is administered to students in grades two through eleven and students in grades two through six are administered the appropriate grade-level California Mathematics Standards Test. Students in grade seven can take either the grade seven math test or the Algebra I test. The State’s percentage considered proficient AMOs in ELA is 67% and Mathematics is 67.3% which FUSD is not meeting.

Mike Bush addresses the FUSD School board meeting, Tuesday night.

[Video of the meeting coming soon...]

At the March 6, 2012 Fillmore Unified School Board (FUSD) Meeting Financial Director Dr. Michael Bush gave a presentation on the district’s financial outlook for the next three years due to state budget cuts and asked the Board for approval of a loan to pay expenditures. Also there was a presentation on improving the transfer process of student at Heritage Valley Independent Studies and Sierra High School, and comments on proposed cuts to the music program.

To close the $9.2 billion shortfall, Governor Jerry Brown is proposing $4.2 billion in cuts primarily to education and health and human services, increasing revenues and making other funding shifts. Those proposed cuts and the loss of revenue to the district over the past years have put FUSD in a position where there are few choices. Superintendent Dr. Alan Nishino told those in attendance, “We cannot keep deficit spending…they (Sacramento politicians) expect us to make predictions…we’re being forced to make decisions that may not come true…the politicians are killing us.”

Bush gave a brief talk on what California’s Legislators have been up to; he found something both democrat and republican politicians could agree upon, Proposition 98 may be illegal. Proposition 98, the Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act, which is part of our State Constitution, requires a minimum percentage of the state budget be spent on K-12 schools and community colleges. This funding constitutes over 70 percent of total K-12 funding and about two-thirds of total community college funding. The legislature could potentially suspend the Proposition 98 guarantee to achieve savings, which would take a two-thirds legislative vote.

Another change to education and part of Brown’s budget proposal is a new ‘weighted student’ funding model that would be phased in over five years. It starts with each student generating a base grant amount, expected to be $4,900 per student, then additional funding is given to districts with high concentrations (60% or more) of disadvantaged students such as large numbers of English-learning students and those from families with low incomes. FUSD certainly falls into the additional funding category, but whether or not these changes happen will depend on what the voters decide in November.

Brown’s plan for increasing revenue to pay for the changes he’s proposed calls for an increase in personal income tax on the state’s wealthiest taxpayers and boosting sales taxes by one-half percent for five years. This, if approved, is said to generate up to $31 billion over the next five years; half of which, supposedly, would be set aside for public education. Californians already pay some of the highest taxes in the country and tax increase ballot measures have failed in the past, so there is no guarantee any of Brown’s plans will come about.

Bush gave a spreadsheet presentation on where the District is headed over the next three years. He explained the District is down about $100,000 but expenditures are up $195,000 and that given the best scenario the District may barely come out of the hole it has dug itself into through years of deficit spending. Nishino reminded everyone that 12 to 13 of about 600 school districts throughout the state are bankrupt. It was then asked what happens when a district is bankrupt. Bush explained that the state takes over and all contracts and collective bargaining become null and void with a state trustee approving all future decisions.

An item up for Board approval was a loan of $9.5m for fiscal year 2012-2013 needed to pay expenditures. It was explained that the State is giving the District only $.79 on every $1.00 owed with Sacramento expecting school districts to borrow the difference because schools can get a better interest rate than the State. The Board had little choice but to approve.

Cynthia Frutos and John Wilber on the new independent study transfer committee gave a presentation on the new procedures for students at Heritage Valley Independent Studies and Sierra High School. It was explained that for some students transferring from one school to another is not always a smooth process and that not all students in the process are troubled. Some may have had an injury such as a broken leg and others are excellent students but simply bored. The committee has worked on new guidelines for transfer and explained the decision to transfer a student is a collaborative effort.

Kathy Pace, whose four children have received music/band instruction at a FUSD school, addressed the Board with her concerns over the elimination of the Elementary Band Program. She reminded the Board of the benefits that music education has on students and that most who participate in the music program are Gate, Honor and AP students. “I understand that you need to cut spending to have money for the schools, but I have noticed that the cuts have come to the certificated and no-certificated, but I have not seen any come from the district office itself …if you’re going to have to do cuts then you need to do them all around, district office included,” Pace told the administration. She went on to say the Board Member Virginia de la Piedra had mentioned the middle school band program would be next and it was her (Pace) belief that the next cuts should be to athletics since it is such a big expense on the District.

Seneca Resources, an oil company who conducts operations in the Sespe mountains north of the city of Fillmore, is generously donating $7,000 to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Volunteer Search and Rescue Team (SAR). Seneca, whose employees live and work in the area, have recognized the benefits the SAR volunteers bring to the community and have graciously donated the funds to support these efforts.

It’s this type of private company and government partnerships that ensure when an emergency occurs, proper equipment and people will be able to respond with the training and expertise to handle the incident.

The Fillmore Search and Rescue Team is comprised of 30 volunteers, who respond to lost or overdue hikers and hunters in the back country at a moments notice, often times during inclement weather and at night when these types of calls have a tendency to happen.

The team is also trained in Urban Search and Rescue so that in the event of a catastrophic event such as flooding, fires or earthquakes, they can respond and supplement the Fire Department’s personnel and Sheriff Deputies.

Each year the Fillmore SAR team donates thousands of hours of their time in training and actual searches for missing persons in the backcountry, and during mutual aid requests to other counties throughout the state.

Seneca’s donation will greatly assist in the purchasing of an off-road capable vehicle that will enable the SAR members to search more effectively and transport critical rescue gear and personnel to remote rescue sites.

The Fillmore Search and Rescue Team and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office are extremely grateful to the Seneca Corporation and its employees for this donation.

Attractions Spa has been named the Business of the Year! They will be celebrating their second year in business on April 1, 2012! The husband and wife team, Sean & April Hastings are the owners. Their main focus for their clients is complete relaxation when they come in to the establishment. Their motto/slogan is "Leave your stress with us." They are very active in the community as VPs of Grad Nite Live and members of the Fillmore Lions Club. They have also donated many hours of time to local 5K walks and health related events here in Fillmore and have given many donations in the way of gift certificates to any nonprofit, local kid/teen sporting events and fundraising activities.

They offer the following services: Swedish Massage, Deep Swedish, Deep Therapeutic, Hot Stone Massage, Pregnancy Massage, Foot Reflexology Massage, Custom Facials, Facial Waxing and brand new, just added, Custom Body Sugar Scrubs. They are also getting ready to launch Facial Peels this April 2012.

Attractions Spa is currently a Team of 3; Sean Hastings, Owner, Certified Massage Therapist, April Hastings, Owner, Licensed Esthetician, Certified Massage Therapist and Brenda Bush, Certified Massage Therapist.

Sean and April Hastings invite you to their 2nd Annual Open House Customer Appreciation Night on April 12th 5-7pm and the Grad Nite Live annual Yard Sale on April 21st at the school district office. More information coming soon on the Grad Nite Live Horseshoe Tournament at the May Festival!

Attractions Spa will be recognized at the Fillmore Community Awards Dinner on Thursday, March 22, 2012 by the Fillmore Chamber of Commerce. From 5pm-6pm will be social hour with dinner and program starting at 6pm. The dinner will be held at the Veterans Memorial Building. Attire: Western Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the Fillmore Chamber of Commerce 805.524.0351, the Fillmore Police Dept. and the Fillmore Fire Dept.

Attraction Spa is located at 287 Central Ave. in Fillmore. Phone: 805.524.SPA2 (7722). AttractionsSpa.com AttractionsSpa2010@yahoo.com.

On February 28, 2012, Fillmore resident Briana Vazquez received the official word that she had been chosen by her peers as the 2011 Explorer of the Year. Briana is deserving of this award, and has made quite an impression at the Fillmore Police Station.
Briana is the daughter of Leo and Barbara Vazquez. Danny Vazquez is her younger brother. She was born at Travis Air Force Base, CA, and moved to Fillmore when her father became a Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy. Briana graduated from Fillmore High School in 2011 and is currently attending Ventura Community College. She is planning to transfer to UC Santa Barbara and be an Art/History major.
In 2010, Briana became a member of the Santa Clara Valley Explorer Post 2958. She attended a four week academy, where Briana and her peers attended law enforcement classes and performed physical education exercises similar to those in training at our the Ventura County Regional Training Center. Briana was seen as a leader in the post and rose in rank and is currently a Sergeant with the explorer post.
Braina’s Accomplishments:
• As of December 2011, she had performed 438 hours of community service.
• Assisted the Fillmore and Ojai Deputies with DUI checkpoints.
• She was an actor in the “Every 15 minutes” DUI presentation at Fillmore High School.
• She and her peers participated in the “Relay for Life” in 2010 and 2011.
• Briana volunteers for traffic control for the May Festival and Christmas Parades.
• She volunteered for the North Fillmore Storefront Toy Giveaway for the past five years.
These are just a few of the details that Briana and her peers in Explorer Post 2958 perform with no hesitation and with enthusiasm.
Currently, Briana works at the Fillmore Police Station as a Student Aid. She works at the station aiding the front desk operation with subpoena distribution, vehicle mileage reports, filing, shredding, answering telephones, and customer service.
Due to her hard work, dedication, and leadership skills she is a deserving recipient of the 2011 Explorer of the Year.

Marie Wren

Marie Wren has been selected as this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award for a citizen. Marie cares for the community and has and continues to be very active. She has had an outdoor cooking class and has been president of the Senior Center. Marie is still a very active member of the Senior Center and was instrumental in keeping the group viable. She is Fillmore’s volunteer historian and has been saving treasured memories of life in Fillmore by recording the citizens’ recollections. On that same vein, Marie was a docent at Rancho Camulos Museum. She was involved in the restoration of the family buggy (at the Rancho Camulos Museum) built approximately in 1853. She has written many articles on the bygone days of Fillmore and wrote a book about one of the citizens in town. She is also past president of Soroptimist International of Fillmore from 1982-1983 and again from 1992-1994. During her second round of being president of SI of Fillmore she started the bike path clean-up project for the group. Marie Wren was also president of the PTA and helped start the very popular Halloween Carnival. Each August she finds the best deals on school supplies and donates them to our local school thus helping out families that do not have the resources to purchase them for their students. She is active in helping out with the Boy Scouts program. Last year’s Citizen of the Year Sarah Hansen shares many fond memories of helping at the Fillmore Lions Club dinner with Marie not surprising as Marie is a friend to all.

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This year’s Teacher of the Year is Raina Arellano. Mrs. Arellano teaches 4th grade at Mountain Vista Elementary School. She has worked for the Fillmore Unified School District for 6 years. Mrs. Arellano is known and respected by all students and staff at Mountain Vista School. She has high expectations for all of her students and is known for her outstanding teaching strategies and expertise in her grade level curriculum. Mrs. Arellano will be recognized at the Fillmore Community Awards Dinner on Thursday, March 22, 2012 by the Fillmore Chamber of Commerce. From 5pm-6pm will be social hour with dinner and program starting at 6pm. The dinner will be held at the Veterans Memorial Building. Attire: Western Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the Fillmore Chamber of Commerce 805.524.0351, the Fillmore Police Dept. and the Fillmore Fire Dept.

(l-r) Eric Vigal, Captain Monica McGrath, Police Officer of the Year Gabe Gonzales, Ari Larson, and Sgt. Smith.
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This year's recipient of the Police Officer of the Year is Deputy Gabe Gonzales. All though he has worked patrol just shy of three years Gabe has become one of the most productive and diligent deputies in the station. He has been a Deputy Sheriff for six years and began his career as a provisional deputy.

Gabe was born in Ventura and is married to his lovely wife Lori. Gabe is the ultimate professional, conscientious, and enthusiastic. He graduated from the Police and Sheriff's Training Academy in May 2006 and his first assignment was at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility. Gabe worked in the classification unit, gaining valuable knowledge about gang culture and narcotics abuse. He assisted many officers with special operations while working in jail. Gabe's evaluations include commendations where he went above and beyond the call of duty during his normal workday. He transferred to his current patrol assignment in March 2009, where he completed field training. Gabe was instrumental in revitalizing and encouraging other deputies at the station to get involved in the Sheriff's Explorer Post. He is currently a lead Advisor for the Post and he enjoys teaching and mentoring the explorers. Gabe has trained and been vital in curbing gang activity and narcotic use. Gabe will be recognized at the Fillmore Community Awards Dinner on Thursday, March 22, 2012 by the Fillmore Chamber of Commerce at the Veterans Memorial Building (511 Second Street Fillmore). Social Hour will be from 5pm-6pm with dinner and program starting at 6pm. Attire: Western. Tickets are $25. Call 805.524.0351.