ORANGE : School Officials Seek Parents’ Opinions

Orange Unified School District trustees and top administrators will step down from the dais and interact directly with parents tonight in an unusual forum designed to give the public a more direct voice in setting district priorities and policies.

In a district beset last year with personnel problems and a failed recall effort, organizers hope the forum will foster mutual trust and understanding between parents and school officials.

“When you go to a school board meeting, it’s usually a one-way communication. You can get up and speak, but it’s not like there is two-way communication,” said Donna Tousignant, a forum organizer and president of the El Modena High School Parent-Teacher Assn.

“We want to give (parents) insight into what’s going on so they won’t have to rely on hearsay,” she said.

The forum will feature a “State of the District” presentation from interim Supt. Richard Donoghue.

The district’s money problems and how they relate to the state budget also will be discussed.

Representatives from the district’s two employees unions will be on hand, as will two trustees.

But the heart of the program will focus on parents and their concerns.

Each parent will fill out a ballot intended to gauge their opinions on what school programs and activities they least want to see cut.

“The problem is that we never have an opportunity to sit down and say, ‘If you have to cut, make cuts here and not there,’ ” Tousignant said.

“This gives parents a chance give their own input and to prioritize what they don’t want to see cut.”

Parents at the meeting will also break into groups to discuss the situation at individual schools.

Later on, parent representatives from each group will take the most common concerns raised during the discussions and present them to administrators.

Issues likely to be raised include large class sizes, the possible elimination of seventh period at middle schools and changes in the district’s gifted program.

Another possible topic: reductions in transportation funding for athletic programs.

“We are all feeling positive about this,” Tousignant said. “We hope it opens up the lines of communication.”

The forum is sponsored by two parents’ groups and will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the El Modena High School cafetorium.

It is similar to another parent forum held Jan. 25 at Villa Park High School.