School Board Reelects Walker as President

In what might be a district first, Norm Walker was voted president of the Simi Valley school board for a second consecutive year.

Trustees say they don’t believe a board president has ever served consecutive one-year terms before, but the decision pleases Walker.

“I hope this will start a trend of two-year terms,” he said, noting that the leaders of the teachers and other employee unions at the Simi Valley Unified School District also have assumed two-year posts. “One year is not enough time to learn to be effective.”

Walker, who supports phonics and back-to-basics math programs, said he was looking forward to planning and evaluation sessions in January with other trustees to determine how the district could move forward.

Trustees Carla Kurachi and Diane Collins had hoped that clerk Janice DiFatta would be selected for the post.

But DiFatta said that as a new board member she was not ready for the presidency and wanted to finish a state-run class on being a trustee first.

She also said that Walker did not have a chance to fully establish a relationship with the district’s previous superintendents, who have either been temporary or left the district abruptly.

“I wanted Norm to have that relationship” with Supt. Dan Flynn, DiFatta said.

Kurachi said she was discouraged by her belief that Walker “is developing a power base” from the position.