SIMI VALLEY : Judge Rules Against Schools on Fund Use

A judge has barred the Simi Valley Unified School District from using public funds or resources to oppose a ballot initiative that would allow parents to use state-issued vouchers to send their children to private schools.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Richard D. Aldrich ruled that district officials acted improperly when they allowed the PTA to use the district’s bulk-mailing permit to distribute newsletters discouraging parents from supporting the controversial initiative.

The court-ordered injunction, issued Friday, was prompted by a lawsuit filed against the district last month by the Excellence Through Choice in Education League, sponsors of the voucher initiative. Los Angeles-based ExCEL has obtained similar restraining orders against other school districts in the state prohibiting them from using public resources to oppose the measure.

The group accused the Simi Valley district of violating state law by allowing the PTA to use its print shop and special mailing permit to produce and distribute newsletters urging parents to oppose the voucher plan.

District officials initially defended their actions, saying the PTA paid for printing and mailing of its newsletters. Moreover, school officials said they did not determine what was printed in the flyers.

Still, school board member Doug Crosse said, the district is following the judge’s orders and no longer allowing the PTA to use its mailing permit.

“We’re complying,” Crosse said. “We feel it’s appropriate for the PTA to have its own bulk-rate mailing permit.”

The voucher initiative, which ExCEL hopes to put on the ballot in November, would give parents who send their children to private or parochial schools a $2,500 voucher each year.