Town Council Forum

By Gary M. Sokolowski

District is losing sight of priorities of the school district. Decisions by candidates are being made on emotions and bias. Boards duty on school matters requires the full boards support.

When it came to the question regarding the water issue for the high school, everyone would agree that water is a precious commodity and it should be looked at with great scrutiny. The fact of the matter is no one knows of the actual facts on the circumstances regarding the proposed development of the land surrounding the high school.

We do know that FMHS is funded by the ADA of the students; classes are overcrowded and classrooms are in short supply. Development of the land surrounding FMHS could be good if all environmental impact issues are dealt with in a fair and objective way. Remember raising the ADA increases monies for more classrooms, more teachers, and additional new classes.

Again, as everyone knows, a decision made by any board member based on emotions or bias is wrong and patently unfair to all. Decisions should be based on factual information, on paper, presented to the board.

School lunches, no matter how bad they taste, is not a reason to make changes. I believe that the menu is regulated by state standards and any changes first need written complaints to the board with specifics of all violations. This needs a unanimous board vote for any changes or board involvement. Almost every school district in California, much less the nation, has at least one gripe regarding food. We have greater problems that this.

The board has the final word in the acceptance and resignation of all employment of all school personnel. When an employee turns in a resignation, it is the board's duty to vote on this issue and if any red flags are raised because of this resignation, it is the duty of the school board to investigate this issue as a whole body and not just a part.

Regarding a recent incident, suffice to say that if I were a member of the board, I would invite this employee to speak before the board to see how this issue could be rectified. I do understand all personnel matters are confidential and are not of public domain.

Based on recent educational experiences in Los Angeles, I think it would be good idea for this district to form a COMPLAINT RESPONSE UNIT / PARENT RESOURCE NETWORK. This network would help defuse any upcoming due process being brought against the district. It would save the district a considerable sum of money and would help in uniting and forming a better parental involvement group. I feel even stronger now on this recommendation in forming such a unit.

Parental involvement is a key to the success of all students. It is also part of the NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT. When parents are involved in planning, they are more committed to making the solutions a success. This effort in parental involvement needs to be started at the top and trickle down in a sort of dominos effect. If the governing board is not going to treat the members of the community with any sense of involvement how are we going to create this scenario?

There is far too much focus on a football program when we do not even have a District Wide Athletic Program in place.

It really is important that no child be left behind-monies must be allocated correctly, programs must be implemented and rules must be followed.

It really is all about the children-they are indeed are the future.

If change is what this community is looking for then they need to look deep into what drives each of the candidates who choose to run for this position for the ETUSD.