Bonnie Carpenter to Leave Parks Board

Bonnie Carpenter, a longtime member of the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District board, has announced her resignation.

“I have been privileged to serve on the board for nearly 12 years and can reflect with great pride on the district’s many achievements during that time,” said Carpenter, who steps down at the end of the month. “It is rewarding to be associated with a public agency held in such high regard by its constituents.”

A 30-year resident of Simi Valley, Carpenter retired from the Simi Valley Unified School District in June after teaching at Royal High School for 28 years. She was also a member of the city’s Vision 2020 committee, the Rotary Club of Sunrise Simi and Neighborhood Council No. 3.

Carpenter said she decided to resign after spending several years shuttling between Simi Valley and Tucson, Ariz., where her husband, Bill, had been transferred.

Her fellow board members said her resignation will be a loss for the panel.

“It will be hard to find a replacement that has the same dedication, drive and enthusiasm that Bonnie displayed,” said board Chairman Gene Hostetler.

Carpenter was appointed to the board in April 1987 and won a seat in the November 1988 election. She was reelected in 1992 and 1996. Her current term expires in November 2000.

The district has not yet decided how it will fill Carpenter’s seat.