LVUSD names Jordan as new board president
By John Loesing
Acorn Staff Writer

Charlotte Meyer and Judy Jordan

The Las Virgenes Unified School District (LVUSD) Board of Education appointed Judy Jordan to a third term as president of the board during a reorganization last week.

Jordan, 60, has been on the school board for 11 years and served as president in 1992 and 1996. She replaces outgoing president Charlotte Meyer.

Both Jordan and Meyer are Calabasas residents.

Jordan promised to continue the district’s $93 million modernization and school construction program under Measure R school bond funding.

"Continuing with the facilities will be important," Jordan said. "We have to build the new middle school and acquire a site for Yerba Buena [elementary school.]"

LVUSD officials are negotiatling with private developers over relocating an elementary school on Larboard Lane in Agoura Hills to a 12-acre site at the end of Reyes Adobe Road.

Another priority is purchasing the 31-acre Hellman property on Mulholland Highway in Calabasas which will accommodate a 35-classroom middle school. LVUSD took the property by eminent domain last summer, but has yet to agree with the owners on a selling price.

Both the elementary school and middle school issues have been in and out of the courts.

Jordan thanked Meyer for her leadership during the past "somewhat difficult" year.

"You led us with poise and dignity," Jordan told Meyer.

"I really thought in my second term I would be able to mosey on through," Meyer said. "It has been a learning experience."

Meyer, a seven-year board member, also served as president in 1997. She spent the last year completing her master’s degree in special education.

Jordan, who has a master’s in education from Stanford University, worked as a teacher for 20 years in Illinois, North Carolina, Connecticut and California. She currently serves on the board of directors for Conejo-Las Virgenes Future Foundation.

Jordan said one of her goals in the coming year is to help all of LVUSD’s 12,000 students meet the high educational standards set by both the district and the state.

"That means some people will need extra work and extra help. We want those students to meet the standards," Jordan said.

Jordan said her job as president should be easier compared to her first term in the early 90s when the state’s education system was reeling from recession and the district’s budget outlook was "grim."

"There’s still disagreement over how [the budget] is spent, so it’s never going to be problem free," Jordan said.

Agoura Hills Mayor Ed Corridori, who attended Jordan’s appointment, said, "All of the members of the board have worked very hard for the citizens of our region … Thank you."

Member Amy Berns was elected as the school board’s new vice president and stands in line to become president in 2002.