Board president got it wrong
The LCUSD Governing Board signed into contract the four collaboration days that have shortened our already short school year to 175.5 days without parent input. I decided to conduct an informal survey, combining a petition and an online poll — with inputs collected from mid-June to July 12th.
Unfortunately, in her letter on page two of the October issue of the LCUSD newsletter, Board President Susan Boyd made two factually incorrect statements regarding the poll. This is surprising, given that I personally handed the results to her. Boyd incorrectly stated in her letter that fewer than 70 parents responded to the poll. In fact, the document I handed her shows 167 responses by the time the poll closed (this does not include the 80-plus petition signatures). Boyd also incorrectly stated the poll reported 95% in favor of canceling the collaboration days and derided this conclusion. The poll results, while perhaps not scientific, at least reflect a mood in the community. The board has the wherewithal to conduct its own survey about the collaboration days but has chosen not to do so.
Here are the poll results, as presented in writing to the school board:
1. Reverse LCUSD decision to drop four school days in 2011-2012? 77% yes, 20% no, 3% neutral.
2. Budget permitting, add more instructional days to the current academic year instead of shortening it? 69% yes, 19% no, 12% neutral. (Details at lcusd.wordpress.com.)
The school board supposedly represents the parents in our community, yet evidence of parent support for the collaboration days is lacking. I believe that the time has come to return the four days, with interest. In the upcoming board elections, I will support those candidates who have made that a priority in their campaign: Andrew Blumenfeld and Ernest Koeppen.
Daniel Lidar
La Cañada Flintridge
Securing supplemental funding
I am proud to support Ellen Multari in her race for the LCUSD Governing Board. I’ve had the pleasure to work with her at Palm Crest on the PTA and at various events for the La Cañada Flintridge Educational Foundation.
Multari is hard-working, dedicated and has a great understanding of our schools and what our children need to succeed. We are indeed fortunate that she is willing to serve our community as a member of the school board.
Multari brings a great breadth of knowledge from her years of working to better our schools and our children’s education. Multari understands that while our school district is strong, there are areas for improvement. Her goals include better communication between the board and the community; greater teacher and board accountability to student performance and parent concerns; and clarity of our financial realities. Multari also wants to explore avenues to secure supplemental funding to provide for the future of our programs as well as to allow for the development of new programs.
I encourage you to vote in the school board election on Nov. 8 and to join me in supporting Ellen Multari.
Pati Patao
La Cañada Flintridge
Not a typical politician
If you want a board member who is not only for our kids but one who devotes many hours guiding and encouraging our young people outside of the classroom, sharing his expertise in the field of technology, the Engineering Club, Robotics, Welding, etc., then vote for Ernest Koeppen. He’s not a typical politician who is just pushing for higher test scores, but one who wants to see that our kids get the best possible education.
Koeppen is a long-time resident of La Cañada with many years of experience with his own business. If you want a board member who is seasoned and dedicated and not only recognizes what needs to be done to improve our schools but will be physically present to follow through and fulfill his responsibilities, then vote for Ernest Koeppen. You can count on him to do a lot more for La Cañada schools than just be present at a board meeting.
Steward and Gloria Lee
La Cañada Flintridge