Ventura Educator Draws Small Crowd

In the first of a scheduled series of open discussions, only about a dozen parents, teachers and administrators showed up at Ventura High School Tuesday to question Supt. Cesare Caldarelli about issues in the Ventura Unified School District.

The audience was primarily teachers, some of whom were also parents with children in district schools. They asked questions on such issues as year-round education, the state funding crisis, reducing class size and the district’s policies on independent-study programs.

Caldarelli came under heavy criticism last year from teachers who complained about his management of the 15,000-student district. He said he decided to hold the forum in response to requests from teachers and parents in the district and that he hopes to hold at least three more during the school year.

“Last year, I was kind of quiet when we were going through and trying to solve some problems,” Caldarelli said. This year, Caldarelli said, he has visited schools, spoke to community organizations and instituted a bilingual newsletter in an effort to improve communications with the district and the community.

Caldarelli, who advertised the forum in a district newsletter to parents and through flyers and at other community meetings, said he was not disappointed by the turnout because of the quality of questions.

Questions were slow in coming at times during the 90 minutes. Many dealt with issues with which the teachers and administrators were familiar, including a growing shortage of substitute teachers who are attracted to surrounding school districts that pay more than Ventura.

Topics also included programs to keep gangs and drugs out of schools and aging facilities in need of repair--including the high school’s Little Theater, in which the meeting was held.

Next spring, in an effort to find financing to renovate old schools and build new ones, the district plans to hire a consultant to poll the community to determine if there is support for a bond measure, he said.

The poll will also “get a sense of perception in the community of the school system,” Caldarelli said. He said the amount of a possible bond measure has not yet been determined.

Lynn Ramirez, a teacher at Cabrillo school, said the meeting was “very valuable and very needed. I’m really disappointed that we didn’t have more people. I think people in Ventura really care about education, so this kind of surprises me.”

Last year, Caldarelli came under fire from teachers, who criticized him as inaccessible and dictatorial. In a poll last June of the Ventura Unified Education Assn., 93% of the teachers who were polled voted no confidence in the superintendent and demanded his resignation.

In September, however, the district board voted to extend Caldarelli’s contract, exercising an option that adds a year to the contract and extends it through the 1993 school year.

In a brief telephone interview before the meeting, Caldarelli, who is in his third year as district superintendent, said one of the goals of the session was to improve his image. “I have an objective to increase my visibility and accessibility,” Caldarelli said. “This is an opportunity for members of the public and the district to direct anything to me.”

The next open meeting will be in the spring semester, but a date has not been set, Caldarelli said.