To the Editor:
How Sad, How Truly Sad
Re: FUSD Board Meeting March 1, 2012
How sad. How truly sad. The Fillmore Unified School District should be ashamed and embarrassed at the way business is being conducted. An “emergency meeting” to adopt new graduation requirements and eliminate the health class was originally hastily scheduled for the week of spring break. The meeting had to be rescheduled after the Ventura County District Attorney, concerned about violations to the Brown Act, demanded proper notification. The meeting took place on March 1 after having been rescheduled again from February 28. Due to a prior commitment, I was only able to attend the first hour of the meeting. I had hoped to speak before the Board but the contrived rescheduling of the agenda made that impossible for me and for many others who were not able to stay.
It was obvious that the administrators and Board members did not want to hear the opinions of the FUSD staff or community members. What was the motivation to cancel such a vital class that is blessed at Fillmore High School with an excellent teacher? To me, the eliminating of the health class was a thinly veiled attempt to eliminate the teacher who had the audacity to disagree with the District while serving as the teacher union president and who had the courage to express what she thought. When did courage become a punishable offense at Fillmore Unified? It wasn’t always this way.
I hope the courage of the young teacher who spoke at the start of the meeting won’t be severely punished. With a small child clinging to her, she politely requested the Board to examine the full-page lesson template that teachers are required to complete for each lesson. She said that the time it takes to do these, complete with the code for the California State Standard addressed, is excessive and detracted from her classroom effectiveness. As a retired teacher, I know her statement to be accurate. Writing copious lesson plans does not make one a better teacher, just a stressed and very tired one. And, who reads these? Principals have an enormous workload. Does the District expect them to read all of them? It would be an impossible task. It is my understanding that later in the meeting, the Superintendent admonished this brave teacher and called her a “whiner”. Yes, courage is a punishable offense. How unprofessional, how rude of the superintendent to punish her so publicly. How sad. How truly sad.
While still in attendance, I watched a group of middle school students reading prepared statements. I taught middle school for many years. Nothing would convince me that these students were not prompted. While teaching at Fillmore Middle School, I wrote a reading grant that was accepted and renewed by the State for three years. With an excellent teacher-coach, who is still in the District, our program was changed and our API scores increased over 100 points in two years. Our success prompted the State Department of Education to visit and inquire what we were doing to achieve such amazing results. Teachers and principals from other schools visited and observed classes. In 2000, Fillmore Middle School was a California Model Middle School. What happened? A Fillmore District assistant superintendent (who thankfully is no longer here) demanded a program change, and dismantled the program that had given our students this success. Scores began to go down. At the beginning of this year with the middle school in Program Improvement, teachers were told by the District administrators that they had failed. NO! Teachers did not fail! District administrators failed! Now, they are the ones telling teachers what and how to teach. As if they knew. How sad.
The teachers and staff have given up a great deal. Ten furlough days were added this year. Health insurance has become very costly. A friend who retired from FUSD many years ago and who has retained health insurance through the District told me that prior to this year her co-pay for medications was $75 per quarter. It is now over $3,000. The video of a November Board meeting featured a concerned community member addressing the health insurance issue and possible indiscretions. I don’t think they listened. The District should not be surprised if the State Insurance Commissioner sees the necessity to address it. How sad.
The Board and District administrators speak often of how all stakeholders –parents, staff, students, and the community- must always be involved in all school changes. Where is their involvement with our current situation? The District administrators often tell us how much they care about the students. Do they? We hear the phrase that something must be done about the Program Improvement problem. The best thing that can be done for our students is for the District administrators to listen to the stakeholders. Really listen. Sadly, the contrived repositioning of agenda items on March 1 is proof that this is not what they intend to do. All involve suffer as a result. As a resident of Fillmore, I see many teachers and staff members at various meetings and shopping around town. I hear the same lament over and over. They do not dare speak up about anything for fear of punishment or being fired. They are the ones who know how to improve the education of our young people. They don’t dare speak up. How sad. How truly sad.
In the end, it is the students who will suffer the most. How sad. How truly sad.
Mary Ford, retired FUSD teacher

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To the Editor:
Dear FUSD Board Members,
I feel that I needed to let you know how disappointed I was at your decision to eliminating the Elementary band program. You all have heard of the benefits that music education has on our students and that MOST of them are you Gate, Honors and AP students at all your schools. Many of the H.S. students that are your top students were once enrolled in elementary school band. There is a reason they are excelling, MUSIC. I personally have four students in the District schools and all have had music/band instruction. They all do well in their academic classes and find joy and excitement in their music classes. In doing cuts to music you will have students that don’t enjoy coming to school for ANY reason, and you will have taken away their opportunity to be a better student. 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 staff but I have not seen any come form the District office itself on this last go around. I feel that if you are going to have to do cuts then you need to do them all around, District office included. I understand that you may need to make more cuts and if you do, DO NOT cut the Band Program again as Mrs. De La Pedra mentioned you would do to the middle school next. I believe you should next make cuts to athletics since it is such a big expense on our District, as one of you stated at last Thursday’s meeting. As a band booster member I can say that we have tried to make the band program a minimal cost to the District and will continue to do so. I am in hopes that you will reconsider this cut as it will hurt MANY students(250 elementary ,200 M.S and 60 H.S. more but scheduling won’t allow. 510 total), I understand that you have until May to make things final and I would love to help you in any way keep this program alive. I fear that once it is gone we will never get it back.
Kathy Pace

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To the Editor:
At the end of the day on Monday, March 5, $4,080 had been raised for the FHS Stadium Track access gate.
Fillmore Sun Risers Rotary has committed $2,000 and will match the $1,040 contributed by local individuals and a business which gets us two-thirds of the way to our goal of $6,000.
Thank you and well done to those contributors.
Don Gunderson
Treasurer
Fillmore Rotary Sun Risers