Davis Earmarks $1.2 Million for CSU Campus

Cal State University, Channel Islands is due to receive $1.2 million to pay for police and fire services at its Camarillo campus under Gov. Gray Davis’ first budget proposal, unveiled Friday.

In Ventura County, the funding proposal--part of a $444-million education package--was widely viewed as a vote of confidence in the Cal State system’s 23rd campus, which will welcome its first wave of about 1,250 students this fall.

“I think what we’re seeing from the new governor as it relates to this venture with Channel Islands is a wonderful opportunity to move forward,” said Handel Evans, Cal State Channel Islands president. “I think we reflect some of the governor’s ideals and goals: We’ll promote educational excellence and provide student opportunities for all Californians.”

Beyond the money already proposed, Channel Islands will seek $800,000 for administrative costs before the state budget is approved later this year, university officials said.

The school is slated to receive more than $6.1 million for academic programs from the university system’s budget as the 800 full-time students from Cal State Northridge’s Ventura campus are relocated to the Camarillo site and joined by up to 450 others.

The governor’s educational wish list also earmarks $75 million for intensive reading academies for students in kindergarten through fourth grade, sets aside $100 million for mentor teacher and peer review programs and allocates $200 million to increase school accountability.

The spending plan earned high marks from Ventura County educators Friday, although some expressed trepidation about how the governor’s sweeping proposals would translate into classroom practice.

Despite a proposal to have teachers review each others’ performance, which rankles some union members, the president of the Conejo Valley teachers association said most members cheered the governor’s priorities.

“Everyone is looking forward to improving education and seeing education get a little more money,” said United Assn. of Conejo Teachers President Susan Falk. “Having Davis as governor should bring very positive things to education. His predecessor brought a lot of negativity to education.”

Not everyone was thrilled with the new governor’s proposals, however. Assemblyman Tom McClintock, a Northridge Republican who formerly represented parts of Ventura County, derided the plan as a “spending spree” that would dip too far into precious reserves.

“Gov. Davis has . . . put California in a very precarious position by proposing a mere $415 million for the prudent reserve,” McClintock said in a prepared statement. “This is a continuation of the reckless fiscal practices of past administrations and is deeply disappointing.”

County educators did not share McClintock’s concerns.

Davis’ initiative to have high school students pass a proficiency examination before graduating made perfect sense to Adolfo Camarillo High School Principal Terry Tackett.

“I think there are essentials that students must pass before they graduate,” Tackett said, noting that Oxnard Union High School District is already working on such an exit exam. “I don’t know how it would be constructed, but I’d like to see something where students demonstrate reading, writing and math proficiencies.”

Robert Fraisse, superintendent of Hueneme School District, said it appeared the new governor understands the desires of California residents.

“I think every one of these proposals is meritorious,” Fraisse said. “It’s real clear the governor is putting school reform as No. 1. It sounds like the state of California is moving to the same agenda for the first time in many, many years. The reading initiative is most interesting to me. I do think we have to concentrate our efforts in students in kindergarten, first grade and second grade, so everyone is reading by third grade.”

One proposal that concerned Fraisse was a plan to penalize schools singled out for improvement that failed to meet minimal goals. The governor has said that the state could take charge of such schools, making decisions on hiring and firing teachers and administrators.

Though the elementary school district superintendent agreed that struggling schools need to improve, Fraisse worried they might be judged on a one-size-fits-all standard rather than a scale of improvement.

“A student who arrives to kindergarten with two years of preschool from a family of two parents with master’s degrees is vastly different from a student who has never spent the night at someone else’s house, who has never been read to and who doesn’t speak English,” Fraisse said. “These students need to be at the same place in 12th grade, but their paths are going to be different getting to that point. It’s going to be a much harder road for that second child.”