Frustration in Las Virgenes

If frustration had a value and you could sell it by the pound, the Las Virgenes School district would be the wealthiest district around.

The latest boundary adjustment order was the proverbial last straw, and the air at the first meetings was so laden with the frustrations of the area’s residents you could cut it with a butter knife.

To be both excellent in education and fiscal management and sail on smooth waters is obviously not the course of the Las Virgenes School District.

In order to solve the problem the district must first be aware of it at its inception and know where to get the answers.

The developments now filling with new residents were on the drawing boards 15 or more years ago. Marketing companies and members of Realty Boards were making plans but apparently not the school district. Ten years ago the public was aware of the impending growth and impact on commerce and small business men made their move, but not the school district.

Busing, overcrowding and inadequate facilities have been the watchwords for over 20 years. How does the district expect the residents to join in now for the studies that will prepare us for the 21st century as was suggested by the district at a recent meeting?

What are the credentials of the present school board to solve the re-occurring problem of boundary adjustments? It was embarrassing and outrageous to hear Dr. Marley read the list of adjustments back and forth already made by the students over the past years.

Why can’t the school district anticipate the district’s needs? Marketing companies predict growth before plans are drawn and do so with surprising accuracy. The school board had the benefit of four to five years as a cushion from the time a tract of houses entered the planning stages and the first house was sold and then occupied.

I do not believe the present management team of the school district can solve the present dilemma, and I think we residents who care about the stability in our children’s lives must step in and do more than be chastised as we have been at so many school district meetings. So often those connected with education talk down to inquiring parents and nothing is accomplished. I, for one, was not awed or impressed by the smooth recital of numbers and statistics offered up several times during the evening at a recent meeting. I wondered, if all this is known now, what happened years back?

Where were those people who spoke in glowing terms and had glib answers at campaign time? All I saw were several looks of disdain directed at the parents.

The board is only echoing the information being spoon-fed to them by the district. Hopefully, the board will stop acting like puppets and begin listening and making decisions based on its own research as to what is best for the children of the Las Virgenes School District.

HAP HOLMWOOD

Agoura Hills