Funds needed for principal

I find it appalling that the city of Calabasas and the Las Virgenes Unified School District cannot come to an agreementregarding the funding of our part time assistant principal at Lupin Hill Elementary School.

It is my understanding that the city is willing to continue the funding of the position, but has been told by the school district that it will not be allowed to specify the use of the funds due to a fairness issue within the district. Therefore, Calabasas is unwilling to donate the funds without the other cities in the district also contributing.

The students in Calabasas, and ultimately the district, will be on the losing end of this decision when the attention and guidance provided by an assistant principal is not available.

It is unreasonable to believe that one administrator, the school principal, can affectively handle student populations of up to 700 children. I believe the school district should allow the money to fund an assistant principal as a necessary part of the education process, just as it specifies funds for the renovation of each school.

Not every school will be allotted the same amount of money from the new bond being voted on in June because they all have different needs. The same goes for the administrative and educational needs of the students in each school.

The solution is to have a general fund, which would benefit all the schools in the district, and a targeted fund, which would benefit specific schools.

Schools that are overwhelmed by a high population, a high percentage of special needs children, English as a second language students and struggling students require the increased attention and discipline provided by an assistant principal.

With the current lack of funding from the state for our schools, it would be egregious to not allow the city of Calabasas to donate money that would benefit the largest elementary school in the district. Lesli Kraut Calabasas