Oxnard-Area School Trustees Present Rebuttal to Recall

Two Rio School District trustees who are targets of a recall effort defended themselves in written responses filed this week, saying they are only trying to make changes in the district to improve student achievement.

“As board president, my efforts to seek solutions to real problems have been obstructed by those who are resistant to change,” wrote Ron Mosqueda. He and trustee Henrietta Macias were presented with recall notices by a group of angry parents on March 24.

“I know that change is hard,” said Mosqueda’s response, filed with the Ventura County elections office Monday. “But we cannot afford to sacrifice a generation of children.”

The recall bid stems from the suspension last month of Rio Supt. Yolanda Benitez and the board’s split decision to send layoff warnings to all seven principals in the district.

Mosqueda, Macias and board member Ernest J. Almanza were in the majority on both decisions.

Parents who are organizing the recall movement said they chose not to target Almanza because his term ends next year. Macias was elected and Mosqueda was reelected to four-year terms in November as part of a slate backed by Ventura County Supervisor John Flynn.

Benitez has accused Flynn, a political rival, of orchestrating her ouster, and parents and teachers have said they believe the board was acting in the Oxnard supervisor’s interest when it targeted Benitez. Flynn has denied any part in the board’s actions.

Macias and Mosqueda also call the claims about Flynn untrue, arguing that they made their intentions for the district clear during the November election: that they would seek to make changes that would improve the quality of education for students in El Rio.

“I haven’t done anything wrong. I did exactly what I said I was going to do,” Macias said Monday. “It is for the betterment of the children.”

A written statement must be included on any recall petition that is circulated, said Bruce Bradley, assistant registrar for the county. Recall proponents must gather signatures of 20% of the more than 10,000 voters in the school district, which serves students through eighth grade, to get the issue on the ballot.

In the statements, Mosqueda and Macias say the district is fraught with problems, including high teacher turnover, low test scores and children who are graduating from the district ill-prepared for high school.

“Our children deserve better than the status quo,” wrote Macias.