To the Editor:
Does the FUSD School Board not know how to use Google or the Internet?
FUSD's mission is to provide the best education for Fillmore students. FUSD is required to hire administrators who can and will carry out that mission.
Leadership demands trust and integrity. When these are lacking from administrators, it is unlikely that they will be able to “maximize the efforts of others, towards achievement of a goal” Forbes Magazine.
When a new administrator is hired, out of curiosity stakeholders search on the internet for information about the new hire. In the case of 3 recent hires disturbing information is present, which has been overlooked by the FUSD school board.
Dr. Nishino –superintendent: In Morgan Hill he took a pay raise when teachers were being cut; questions were raised about Brown Act violations and intent to deceive; received $421,000 when retired with a $201,000 pension, and was employed at FUSD the next day; current controversy about his convoluted salary.
Mr. Persaud – assist. superintendent for business services: He was dismissed from his position as the assist. superintendent for business services at Upland USD due to financial irregularities.
Mr. Messfun – principal Fillmore High School: Lodi USD paid 3 teachers $250,000 each to settle harassments lawsuits.
Can these men establish trust from a system that needs leadership to meet its goals?
FHS is in desperate need for Spanish speaking staff especially in the office. Mesfun was aghast that no one spoke Spanish in the office and promised to remedy it. When presented with the opportunity to do so, he did not hire a Spanish speaking counselor or assistant principal. There were well qualified Spanish speaking applicants.
Have these men met their goals to improve the schools? The answer is NO. Test scores dropped considerably, school population is dropping as parents move their children to other schools, and staff morale has plummeted. In school year 2009-2010, FHS had 1,137 students; today there are 1,010. Where did 127 high school students go?
Students and staff at FHS have absolutely no confidence or trust in the leadership, and I believe that is a serious situation.
Karen Ashem

To the Editor:
Nishino looses big for our children. Two years ago Alan Nishino burst into town as the self-proclaimed savior of student testing results, boasting that he knew how to improve our student’s performance. Well after two years of Nishino’s leadership, our schools posted record failure on state testing as indicated by the Academic Performance Index.
Piru Elementary
2012 API: 754
2013 API: 750
LOSS: -4
Mountain Vista
2012 API: 751
2013 API: 736
LOSS: -15
Fillmore High School
2012 API: 740
2013 API: 719
LOSS: -21
Fillmore Middle School
2012 API: 735
2013 API: 711
LOSS: -24
Sespe
2012 API: 779
2013 API: 738
LOSS: -41
Never before have our students performed so poorly on standardized tests. Not only are our students not catching up to their peers, they are performing worse than they did a year ago. Their education is their future and they can’t go back and regain what they have lost. Our students deserve and need leaders who support our teachers and students – not who bully staff, hire incompetent school leaders and who only work a few days a week.
Alan Nishino and Michael Johnson were hired as interim administrators. Two years later, it is clear that our students are suffering from the lack of full-time, highly qualified leaders who are dedicated to our community. It is well past time for the Board to act and hire a permanent Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent for our children.
Renee and Mike Bush
Michael Bush, Ed.D.
Vice President
Oxnard College