School Board Hopefuls Focus on Class Sizes

Class-size reduction in all grades and the planning of future campus facilities are main issues for candidates for three seats on the Las Virgenes Unified School District board in the Nov. 4 election.

Incumbents Barbara Bowman-Fagelson, Judy Jordan and Charlotte Meyer are being challenged by newcomers Bob Selvin, Rachel Shavick and Shirley M. Bass for three seats on the board.

Incumbents said they decided to seek another term to finish what they’ve started, including adoption of a new reading/language curriculum.

But challengers said the board needs new ideas and members who place an emphasis on the business side of running a school district, especially if Measure R, a districtwide facilities bond measure, is approved in the same election.

All candidates said the district should extend a reduction in class size to grades four through 12, but each has a different idea about how to do that.

Bowman-Fagelson, 55, a homemaker, said finding an acceptable student-teacher ratio and ways to schedule teachers to accommodate more courses would be the first steps in reducing class sizes in the upper grades.

Shavick, 44, a film producer, said she decided to become a candidate because she did not trust the board to administer the funds it may receive from the bond measure.

She said the board needs a member with a stronger background in business, rather than the board being filled with former teachers.

Selvin, 40, a private music teacher, wants to see major changes in the way district money is spent. He advocates turning the new administration building into a school and making cuts in administrative salaries.

He will work with parents to make the cuts and reduce class sizes, he said.

Meyer, 48, a mentor teacher, said that while the district should emphasis educational programs, it also needs to refurbish old campuses and build new ones.

Confident that the bond will pass, she said the challenges in the coming years would be to find competitive bids for the projects, sell the bonds and look for future school sites.

Bass, 63, a psychotherapist, said she is a school board candidate because of her concern over the current board’s decisions on facility usage throughout the district, but especially at Lupin Hill Elementary, where neighbors have complained about the Pony League holding baseball games on the campus.

She said the repair of campuses should be given priority and funds should be appropriated to fit the needs of the district.

Jordan, 57, a community volunteer, said she is interested in continuing to put technology in the classrooms.

She also said that if the bond issue passes, it will be important to quickly implement the refurbishments and construction of new campuses called for in Measure R.