Concerns Over Schools

Many Moorpark parents are concerned about education, so it wasn’t a surprise when many parents attended the recent public forums regarding the new AIDS and sex education program. In fact, the Flory Auditorium was filled with highly educated, concerned and well-informed parents. The vast majority of those in attendance requested that homosexuality, abortion and unnatural sex acts not be presented in the lower grades (K-5).

Most of the parents wanted to know how elementary teachers would instruct kindergartners and young children about AIDS without discussing sexual behavior since the two topics go hand-in-hand. They wanted to be assured that their young children would be shielded from inappropriate material.

This plea obviously fell on deaf ears. Most of the members of the committee said the views expressed at the public forums were not “representative of the community at large.” It appears the committee isn’t representative of the community. It is now noticeable that the Moorpark Unified School District has a distinct pattern--when the parents insist that change is necessary, the district will usually form a committee, then stack it with employees and relatives of employees and parents who support district policy to prevent the change, whatever it may be, from occurring.

Whenever parents disagree with the Moorpark School District, they are usually labeled “misinformed,” “negative,” “special interest groups,” and, my personal favorite, “emotional.” Unfortunately a common attitude--”If you don’t like it, get out”--prevails.

We’ve made the decision, and by the way, the boy in Room 10 and the girl in Room 11 (separate schools) are going with us--tax dollars included. Perhaps the $12,000 tax loss to the district will speak louder than my own words.

CORINNE R. MILLER, Moorpark