Meet the Candidates : Simi Valley Unified School District

In Simi Valley, the departure of school board President Judy Barry has left two incumbents and seven challengers battling for three seats. Key issues are avoiding deficit spending and mending the bruised relationship between trustees and City Council members.

Diane Collins

Age: 51

Occupation: Trustee, fourth-grade teacher in Los Angeles

Education: Bachelor’s degrees in political science and urban studies from Cal State Northridge

Background: Before joining the school board, Collins spent a decade coaching soccer and softball, working with the Girl Scouts and serving on the Neighborhood Council. She has lived in Simi Valley for 26 years.

Issues: How best to spend scarce district dollars is among Collins’ major concerns. She also espouses maintaining the four-year high school configuration and finding a way to extend class size reduction to three grades, rather than the current two.

Doug Crosse

Age: 49

Occupation: Businessman

Education: Bachelor’s in sociology, Glendale College

Background: A school trustee between 1990 and 1994, Crosse has also been active in the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce and the local Rotary Club. A 23-year resident of Simi Valley, he has been involved in the PTA and as a coach of youth athletics. He is the owner of Innovendtion Food Services.

Issues: Saying the current school board is out of sync with the community, Crosse calls himself a moderate who advocates fiscal responsibility, increased school safety and an end to campus overcrowding. He wants to improve relations with city officials and attract “top-notch” talent for the superintendent slot vacated by Mary Beth Wolford.

Janice DiFatta

Age: 44

Occupation: Homemaker

Education: High school degree

Background: DiFatta has been a school volunteer since moving to Simi Valley in 1978. She has been a room parent, PTA Council president and third vice president for the 12th District PTA. She also sits on Simi Valley’s Vision 20/20 Committee. She supported a parent drive for teaching abstinence as the only method of birth control in sex education.

Issues: DiFatta says she prefers not to align herself too strongly with one or two issues. But she does support fiscal responsibility, parental involvement in schools and the continued implementation of class size reduction.

Caesar O. Julian

Age: 67

Occupation: Physician

Education: Bachelor’s degree in physical and biological sciences from the University of Notre Dame; master’s in education from Bucknell; and a medical degree from UC Irvine

Background: A family practitioner at Santa Susanna Medical Practice, Julian has lived in Simi for 27 years. He has been active in the Simi Valley Cancer Society, the Rancho Simi Rotary Club and various Royal High School committees.

Issues: Julian supports finding quality teachers and a new superintendent who will boost Simi Valley into “the elite class of educators.” He also supports smaller class size.

Nan Mostacciuolo

Age: 41

Occupation: Homemaker

Education: High school, two years of college

Background: Mostacciuolo often appears at school board meetings. She spoke out against closing Sycamore Elementary School, a proposal the board rejected. She was less successful in efforts to spare Sequoia Junior High and block the new Santa Susana magnet school at the campus.

Issues: Keeping the budget in check and making financial issues understandable to the average parent are among Mostacciuolo’s priorities. She favors smaller classes and calls for a review of the four-year high school configuration, which she calls “chaos.”

Debbie Sandland

Age: 42

Occupation: Trustee and registered nurse

Education: Associate’s degree in nursing from the University of the State of New York

Background: A Simi Valley native, Sandland has been active in the PTA, the Simi Valley anti-gang task force and various environmental advocacy groups.

Issues: A supporter of neighborhood schools, Sandland wants to ensure that all schools have equal access to instructional materials and technology. She is worried that the newly formed magnet high school, Santa Susana, might create an educational system of haves and have-nots. She also supports developing character curriculum and conflict management programs.

Steven Steffek

Age: 52

Occupation: High school history teacher in Glendale

Education: Bachelor’s in history and teaching credential from Cal State Long Beach

Background: A Simi Valley resident since 1979, Steffek has served on the Neighborhood Council and was active in the Indian Guides and Boy Scouts. Steffek set up Hoover High School’s Alternative School with a Purpose, which helps at-risk students succeed in high school.

Issues: An educator for 25 years, Steffek is interested in class size reduction. He is also interested in the Simi Valley redistricting, set for next school year. He suggests that student ambassadors from the new magnet high school help in the transition from three-year to four-year high schools.

Randy Sundeen

Age: 40

Occupation: Lawyer

Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics from UC Santa Barbara; teaching credential from Cal Lutheran; law degree from Southwestern University

Background: A former social studies teacher, Sundeen has lived in Simi Valley since 1974. He is active in the East County Bar Assn., the Optimist Club, the Freedom Tree Foundation, the Simi Valley Youth Soccer League and the Township Elementary Site Council.

Issues: Sundeen believes that Santa Susana, the county’s first magnet school, should receive the school district’s full support, so it will become “a standout school.” Staking a position as a team player, Sundeen says he would like to see more school board unity.

Elizabeth Walbridge

Age: 40

Occupation: Homemaker

Education: Associate’s degree from Pierce College; additional courses at CSUN and San Francisco State

Background: Walbridge is president of the Park View School PTA and is also involved in the schools groups at Santa Susana and Sinaloa schools. An 11-year Simi Valley resident, she is a member of the Oak Ridge Estates Homeowners Assn. and Compassionate Friends, a group for bereaved parents.

Issues: A lack of unity among board members and a lack of responsiveness to the concerns of parents are among Walbridge’s campaign issues. Ending school overcrowding and investing in more technology resources also top her list of concerns.