To the Editor:
Greetings community members and former Fillmore Graduates,
It has been an honor to work in the Fillmore Unified School district for the past 27 years. For the first 2 years I was a substitute teacher, the last 25 years I have worked as a Science teacher at Fillmore Middle School and now currently at Sierra High School. I have taught thousands of students over the years and many of these are your children or perhaps yourself. I was asked several times over the years by administrators in Ventura Unified to teach science at both Anacapa Middle School and Buena High School. While this would have benefited me financially, instead I continued my career with FUSD because I felt a strong connection to the students and community of Fillmore.
During my tenure in Fillmore, the certificated staff (teachers and counselors) have had to make sacrifices such as pay cuts during recession years and have gone many years without raises. We also we have been furloughed which drastically lowered our salary. In spite of all these hardships teachers have been loyal to our district, many of which are your family and friends that live in the community.
Even though certificated salaries have been well below the rest of Ventura County we always had full health care coverage and only in the last few years have we been required to have a small employee contribution. Last year this was no longer the case and substantial out of pocket contributions created a financial burden for teachers. Fortunately our classified staff did not suffer this health care cut. In the past the classified and certificated both stood together for benefits, I wish this were still the case.
There is often a misconception that teachers get a paid summer off. In reality, teachers choose to set aside money every month from their paycheck, which lowers their monthly pay. This enables them to get a summer check while they are not teaching. Many teachers work over the summer to make ends meet and over the years I have had to supplement my income working additional jobs.
The cost of living continues to rise annually, while are salaries don not keep up with this inflation. It is well known that Fillmore teachers are the lowest paid in Ventura county and rank number 15 out of 15. Currently our teachers union (FUTA) is at impasse and trying to negotiate with the district for a well-deserved raise as well as increase in our health benefits.
I have valued the opportunity to make an impact on my students present and future.
But I am not feeling the same value from my district. Unlike many jobs ours does not end when we go home from work. Our jobs continue into the evening and often weekends. I know teachers who work in their classrooms on Sunday’s to get caught up for the week. It has been said before but most all of you reading can do so because of a teacher. We have a lot daily responsibilities besides teaching. We in the classroom often act as counselors, nurses, authority figures, role models, and also in loco parentis during the day. This is a great deal of responsibility that we are entrusted with.
We are asking for what is fair & right, that our health care benefits be restored and comparable to the classified staff so as to prevent the out of pocket burden and that we are given a reasonable raise to help get closer to parity with the rest of the county. Please stand with us, and support those who you have entrusted your kids with over the years.
Michael S. Karayan
Sierra High School

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To the Editor:
The last few months my colleagues and I have been sharing our stories, our love for our schools, our students and our crazy, amazing jobs. We have done this in the hopes of affecting a positive change. We had hoped to impress on the Administration and School Board that investing in our salaries and health care is an investment in our students. We have seen how the school board values the Superintendent but when we ask to be valued, we are told there is no money and that we have all the power and we should be complaining to the state for more funding. So, what happened to the money the district saved in the cut to our benefits last year? That is the amount we are asking for. What did you do with it? It is the cost of the Administration and School Boards healthcare benefits that are sky rocketing this year, why are we footing the bill? We took our cut last year and we have all felt the impact of that cut. We have all the power? If we did there would be smaller class sizes, robust reading and math interventions, and our teachers wouldn’t have to beg for reasonable salaries and benefits. The Administration and School Board can do better for our students and their teachers.
Respectfully, stop making excuses. The buck stops with you,
Inger Overton - FUSD employee 25 years

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To the Editor:
Re: A Spirit of Fairness.
As a former teacher for the Fillmore Unified School District, it has been exceedingly distressing to read of the current struggle for fair utilization of the District’s budget.
Several teachers have submitted letters to the editor requesting a fair salary raise and a decent health care package. Their pleas have seemingly been unheard and ignored.
Interestingly, since 2016-2017, the Superintendent has enjoyed an accumulated 17% salary increase while teachers have struggled with 1.5%. The teachers’ health care insurance plan is far inferior to the one offered to classified, (e.g. teacher aides, office personnel, etc) administrative staff and to the Board members. In my opinion, the salary discrepancy and the absent of a fair insurance plan is immoral. Is the FUSD so lacking in morals and a spirit of fairness?
Fillmore Unified has less than 4000 students while Ventura Unified has about 18,000. However, FUSD has about the same number of administrative staff. It is highly likely that FUSD spends more money for their staff than any other district in Ventura County. A school district the size of Fillmore Unified should not require such a huge staff. As a consequence of this highly inflated budget, teachers suffer and the students suffer. Why do we need so many on administrative staff? What are their duties? How do students benefit? Surely there is duplication of efforts and jobs. Do we need to ask about the competency of some of those in the District Office?
For a least the past two years, Superintendent Palazuelos has refused to bargain with the teachers for a salary increase even though it is his legal duty to do so. I remind the Board that the Superintendent serves at their pleasure. They are his boss; he is not theirs. It is the legal and moral duty of the Board to rectify this situation. We have good people on the Board. They need to demand a spirit of fairness in teacher salary negotiations and offer the same health insurance enjoyed by other district personnel.
Fillmore is blessed with wonderful teachers who truly care about their students. Our teachers work very hard and do not adhere to the idea that our students’ ability is related to our zip code. They do not deserve to be the lowest paid teachers in Ventura County with inadequate medical insurance. I encourage the citizens of Fillmore and Piru to join with your children’s teachers and request to the Board that it is a moral imperative and duty to safeguard our teachers with equitable compensation in a spirit of fairness.