May 17, 2006 - Top Stories
After nearly a year of budgetary impasse, teachers Thursday night were demanding answers of the school board and administration.
Specifically: How did the district’s reserves go from nearly 20% three years ago, to 3%, the lowest allowable reserve, today?
The language some used was strong: “I feel like I am being spat upon,” and “I for one am tired of waiting. The District received a good COLA (cost of living adjustment) this year, and we have received nothing,” and admonishing the board to “stop being a rubber stamp” were typical of the remarks.
The high school library (media center) was filled to capacity, certainly the first time this has happened since Valley Center has been, until this year, a district known for placid labor relations with its teachers.
Fourteen teachers, several veterans of several decades, lined up at the microphone to plead with the school board to release more money for salaries, to ask for “respect” and to demand to know where the money went.
Marc Wasserman led off the speeches, and his remarks encapsulate much of the sentiment among the certificated staff so it will be printed in full:
“My name is Marc Wasserman and I teach special education math at the middle school. When asked to speak by several teachers, I was honored. I am simply a hard working teacher, like so many others, who prides himself on the fact that 60%-80% of my math students get up to grade level every year.
“In fact, one of your (board members) very close relatives is one of those. He just received an honor award from the high school and was quoted in the newspaper as saying math was his favorite class. When he came to me, almost two years ago, he could barely add and subtract.
“In fact, on the first day of class when I gave him my assessment test, he cried because he didn't know how to do any of it. Within 6 months, he was at grade level and spent the last half of his eighth grade year in a general education math class getting Cs and Bs.
“And this year in 9th grade, getting Bs. While I have learned that as a teacher, I will seldom get thanked for my efforts, I also don’t expect to feel like I am being spat upon.
“And while I don't think you are intentionally doing it, that is exactly how many of us feel right now. Let me explain why I use the term. As teachers, we are always told that we are the most important part of the school district. Even just thinking logically, you have to assume, since a school district's soul purpose is to educate students, and the teachers are the ones who directly do the educating, that they must be the most important part of a school district.
“Well, I run a household, and as one of the heads of the household, I know how money is spent. I know that no matter how tough our money situation gets, money is always found for things that are important to us. Yes, money is always found for things that are important.
“Therefore, I can only come to one conclusion. At this time, we are simply not considered important.
“Now, having said that, may I add this? As a teacher of fourteen years, I have realized that we will never be placed as the number 1 consideration when money is concerned. But I never dreamed that the Valley Center-Pauma school district, which, when I came here eight years ago, was one of the crown jewels of districts in southern California would consider its teachers only as an afterthought.
“If we were truly important to you, you would start the budget process by saying, ‘What would be a reasonable COLA to give to the teachers this year to compensate for the increase in the cost of living AND show them how we feel about them?’ And believe me. The amount you offered to us this year and then withdrew speaks volumes about how you feel about us.
“But alas, this is not how it is done. Everything else, important and not, is paid for first, then when it finally comes time to consider the teacher, the question changes a bit to ‘Is there anything left that we might consider giving the teachers?’
“I guess this year, the answer is, ‘NO.’ While I refuse to point fingers myself as I find it largely useless, I do have to say this. As teachers, we are constantly reminded of our accountability. As teachers, we are accountable to our students, we are accountable to our parents, we are accountable to the public, we are accountable to our principals, we are accountable to our superintendent.
“How about you? Who are you accountable to? And what do the people who you should be accountable to say about the job you are doing?”
Other comments were similar:
Chris Burns, who has taught here over 25 years, said, “I would like to see a settlement that gives teachers a standard of living commensurate with their education. I’d like to see an explanation for how we got here. I was completely caught off guard by this situation.”
Cee Cee Ceremele, who teaches at Oak Glen said, “Please do not continue to rubber stamp items on an agenda. We need you as a board to ask questions before deciding to spend money. It appears that decisions are continuing to be made in our district without thought of how it affects ADA or cost of substitute teachers . . . We need to know that this budget solution is not only on the backs of the teachers. We are now depleted, weary and highly frustrated. This district is getting a good cola this year. Will you pass this on to the teachers. We’ve done all you ask and more, we continue to do all this district asks of us and even more.”
Sarah Hatfield, who has taught here for over 28 years, commented: “I have two regrets: over the years I should have spent less money on shoes and put more into my retirement account, and I should have spent less time after school and more time attending board meetings. How is it that five years ago this district is fiscally sound and now it’s not?”
Meryl Gill, who is in her 30th year at the district and expects to retire next year, said, “We’ve had bargaining and good faith year after year, and that seemed to be very important. Recently we had some pretty small increases. I doubt that anybody in the teaching staff realized what dire straits we were in.
“Teachers are being asked to bear the brunt of the mistakes that were made. We are told that there is less money for the classroom. But you can be sure that the classroom will get what it needs because the teachers will buy it.”
She said that the lack of COLA this year will adversely affect her retirement.
Rob Gilster, coach at the high school, spoke of the situation in sports terms: “As a coach I try to create a climate. If we don’t have a good team effort, or a good climate, we don’t have a good campus or a good football team.
“My concern is that I think we are at a point where we could go either way in our district. This district has always been ‘we.’ It’s never been the board against the teachers.
“I don’t say that’s where we are at, but I see it as headed in that way. I feel we are at the point where we are going to separate as a team, I think it will make us a sub par district. We need to work together as a team. We need to know facts, we need to know what’s going on. We do want a great place to work, fair compensation, and we want to feel good about our situation. I don’t know what its going to take for us to be on the same page.”
Amanda Mingst, a VCHS teacher here for four years, was before that an intern at the middle school while in college. “My roots began to grow in Valley Center. When it came time to apply for a job, I ONLY applied here. Not because I was certain of getting a job, but because this was the only place I could see myself working.
“During those years teachers were happy. There was trust. In my short tenure here, I have seen that diminish to virtually nothing. I have been a team player. I accepted the involuntary transfer to the High School last year, and because of my principal and colleagues, it has been an incredible experience. I am speaking to you tonight because I have been let down, all of us here tonight have been let down.
“The Board has failed us by failing to manage the District's funds. We trusted that you knew what you were doing. That trust is gone. We never felt the need to question the District about their finances. We assumed you were doing that. We assumed wrong. In 3 years you managed to whittle OUR reserves from 19% to barely over 3%.
“During negotiations we have been told to wait . . . wait until fall so the anticipated budget could be confirmed . . .wait until the District could have an idea of what the Federal Impact Aid revenues will be . . .wait until the FCMAT audit is complete . . . wait until next year—the COLA is supposed to be the biggest yet.
“I for one am tired of waiting. The District received a good COLA this year, and we have received nothing. Am I suppose to wait and ‘trust’ that we will get something next year?
“Please stop the rubber stamping! I make decisions that parents and students don’t like all the time because it is in their best interest. It is time that you start making some hard decisions in the interest of the whole district.
“I will continue to make my students a priority.
“Please continue to make teachers a higher priority than just the leftovers.”
Laura Graham, a kindergarten teacher for 14 years commented: “Many of us have questions: How long did it take to discover the financial district that the district is in and how was it discovered? What is the district doing in its own offices to cut back on spending? Why are teachers being held responsible for this? We had nothing to do with the decision-making that placed us in this situation. We, your teachers, are not the enemy. We are in a common goal together of educating our children.”
Terry Basset, a teacher for 29 years, commented, “It disturbs me greatly that the school district is not as financially sound as it used to be. What happened? Where has all the money gone? What will happen next year? Will we be told that the district has no money?”
Kohlby Rockenmacher, was crowned Valley Center Rodeo Queen 2006 on Saturday afternoon at Aerie Park.
The night before at the Valley Center Community Center outdoor stage, the contestants gave speeches showcasing their knowledge of rodeo. The girls were judged on poise and elegance and their speaking capabilities. They were asked a series of questions about Valley Center history and basic equestrian knowledge.
Former queen Cara Ouellette said this year’s group of girls would be stiff competitors but the judges had a good idea of who they were going to pick before the horsemanship competition even began.
A member of the VC Rodeo Committee, Kea Johnson, said, “It was her interview that really set her apart. She had a presence that the judges noticed. They were taken with her. She knew what she talking about with horses and she knew why she wanted to be queen.”
In the horsemanship competition Miss Rockenmacher bolstered the the way the judges were already leaning. On her horse Mason, she ran a series of drills with purpose.
Miss Rockenmacher was presented with a pink and black Alamo saddle, a pink blanket, a belt buckle, a sash, a $1,000 scholarship, a rhinestone belt, a gift card to Cowgirlz and Mimi’s Nails, a well-stocked grooming bucket, and of course her crown to complete her queen regalia.
“I am looking forward to meeting new people and working in the community, especially with the youth. I would like to reach out and get them excited about living in Valley Center,” she said.
Judges Fran de Wilde, Rachel Stillwell and Keri Salmon chose Cassandra Durler as rodeo princess for Miss Rockenmacher.
Both girls wore big smiles as they enjoyed a barbecue lunch provided by Fat Ivor’s and their new community status.
The Valley Center Stampede Rodeo is an event sponsored by the VC Rodeo Committee and VC Optimist Club. It is held at Bates Nut Farm during Memorial Day Weekend and is unconnected with VC Western Days.
Questions? Call 760-244-4646.
Valley Center Cemetery, which has been serving local residents since the era of the Civil War, is coming to the end of its useful life, and needs more room to grow—or it will fade away.
Many Valleyites are unaware that we even have a cemetery—it’s located at 28953 Miller Rd., about a mile from the intersection with Valley Center Road. It’s a peaceful, quiet place.
Although people have been putting their loved ones in the cemetery since the middle of the 19th Century, when they would leave a note saying who they had buried and where, it was only officially established with a tiny tax base in 1913.
Since February Jeff Haack has been the cemetery superintendent. He took the job after the sudden death of the previous superintendent, John McKenna.
Haack dropped by The Roadrunner office recently to talk about the cemetery’s need for room to expand.
The cemetery has 2.5 acres and about 160 plots and 190 cremain niches left. At the current rate of usage it will be full in five or six years.
“Valley Center has a population of 17,000 or more. We’re looking for land to increase our existence. Adjacent land or wherever we can find it.”
“There’s a lot of communities that have two or three cemeteries,” he said. “It’s best that we start looking now for additional land without being put in the position of telling someone that they can’t be buried here because there’s no more room. It’s a very delicate and sad time as it is.
“We feel that Valley Center should always have a cemetery and it should always be available to its residents. That’s what we are looking to accomplish.”
When the Weston development company was actively pursuing a shopping center on land behind the post office, they were talking about selling an acre of land to the cemetery district. “But it wasn’t going to happen without a market,” said Haack.
So the cemetery is looking for land elsewhere. “It’s a nonprofit organization, so we are looking for maybe someone who would like to donate some land to keep the cemetery in operation for the next 100 years,” said Haack.
Haack does all of the duties associated with the cemetery, including the selling of plots, digging of graves, burial services and perpetual care of the plots, with the help of an assistant, James LaBarre.
Haack was a plant manager for most of his career before becoming semi-retired. He ran a health food manufacturing plant in San Diego for nine years and was a production manager for the Frito Lay corporation for several years.
Born in Glendale, raised in Arcadia, he has lived in Southern California all his life. He and his wife of 40 years, June, moved to Valley Center two years ago from Oceanside.
The new job suited him. “I was semi-retired and I felt that it was a good position. I enjoy the work.”
Haack hopes that the community of Valley Center finds a way to save its cemetery.
“It’s a nice little cemetery and it has a nice history, which I think is important for Valley Center.”
Bill Horn was involved in a head-on collision Saturday at 10:20 a.m. as he was returning from an election fund-raiser in Borrego Springs the night before.
A woman passenger in the car that hit him, Enumi Kim, survived the accident but later died. The driver of that car was also in intensive care at Palomar Medical Center. Chung Chong, of Anaheim, who was also a passenger, complained of pains to his chest and hand.
The accident, which occurred at the 9.5 mile marker on Montezuma Valley Road, about one mile below the crest of the grade between Ranchita and Borrego Springs, involved Horn's Chevrolet Suburban that had been traveling at 35 mph, according to the CHP, and a Lexus SUV, driven by Inyoung Kim, of Cerritos, which was traveling at 70 mph.
CDF Fire Captain Nick Schuler reported that the head-on collision forced both vehicles off the road in opposite directions to which they had been traveling. Horn’s Suburban lay on the south side, beyond the eastbound lane.
The Kims’ SUV lay on the north side of the road, beyond the westbound lane. Schuler estimated a “road distance” of only 20 feet between the two vehicles.
Kim was listed in serious condition with a broken arm and chest bruises. The passenger who later died, Enumi Kim, sustained head injuries and was taken to PMC by helicopter.
According to Horn’s account, the Lexus crossed the line into his lane.
The CHP report stated that Horn was unable to avoid the collision because there were boulders on that side of the road.
The VC resident and Fifth District Supervisor was treated and released for lacerations and a twisted ankle later the same day after an aide drove him to Palomar Medical Center. He was also X-rayed for possible injury to his kidney.
However, that didn’t keep him from attending the weekly board meeting on Tuesday, although with a black eye and a pretty banged up right hand.
The Valley Roadrunner
P.O.B. 1529, Valley Center, CA 92082
Tel. 760.749.1112 Fax 760.749.1688
Website: www.valleycenter.com
Email: editor@valleycenter.com
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