Declares war on Las Virgenes District

Since the elected school board members of the Las Virgenes Unified School District Board of Education never engage in public debate, here are a few questions that need to be asked in a public forum such as this newspaper.

1. Why does the LVUSD conduct its meetings differently from all other elected boards? Why do the elected LVUSD school board members never engage in meaningful public debate about any subject?

2. Since members do not respond to public comment, why are none of the public comment questions ever put on the agenda for future discussion?

3. Why is the LVUSD the only school district around that doesn’t have a "Citizens Bond Oversight Committee" to help oversee the district’s spending of the $93 million in bond funds?

4. With a starting pay $5,000 less than neighboring districts, and the lowest pay scale of any surrounding district, how does the LVUSD hope to attract and retain excellent teachers? How can we expect excellence in education if we won’t pay for it?

5. Why does the LVUSD routinely spend thousands in legal fees in order to avoid paying for needed special education when the legal costs are greater than the special instructional costs?

6. Are these special education legal fees part of the reason that the LVUSD has overspent on special ed and therefore claims those costs must be covered with state funds originally earmarked to pay our teachers a living wage?

7. Why does the LVUSD issue so many change orders to its contractors that are just below the amounts needed to trigger competitive bidding from other contractors?

8. Why has the LVUSD installed electrical boxes suitable for stadium-type lighting in the upper field at Calabasas High School?

9. Why are the communities surrounding our schools never consulted about changes that affect the quality of life in our neighborhoods?

No wonder the LVUSD refuses to accept the city of Calabasas’ offer to provide free videotaping of their meetings and air time on the Calabasas Public Access Channel!

The public deserves answers. I challenge the elected LVUSD board members headed by Charlotte Meyer to respond in this newspaper.

Amy Baum

Calabasas