Download - Fullerton Observer
Download - Fullerton Observer
Download - Fullerton Observer
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
EARLY-MARCH 2009<br />
800 Attend Meeting<br />
on School Budget Cuts<br />
The Ladera Vista Jr. High gymnasium<br />
was standing room only at the Feb. 26<br />
Community Input Meeting held by the<br />
<strong>Fullerton</strong> School District.<br />
The public meeting was held to allow<br />
parents and community members to<br />
comment on the upcoming proposed<br />
cuts to the 2009/10 school district budget.<br />
The proposed cuts may result in the<br />
loss of 74 teachers and classified workers,<br />
loss of the class size reduction, and reduction<br />
or elimination of All the Arts,<br />
Music, and 1:1 Laptop programs, and a<br />
20% reduction in the IB and GATE programs.<br />
Among the suggestions from the public<br />
were: earning extra money by lifting<br />
the ban and allowing campuses to be<br />
used as cell-phone tower sites; earning<br />
money through partnerships with grocery<br />
chains; asking for personal donations;<br />
and making buildings energy efficient.<br />
Parent and art education director of<br />
the <strong>Fullerton</strong> Museum Center, Aimee<br />
Aul, brought up the excellent point that<br />
the district has invested $350,000 in<br />
musical instruments which would be<br />
wasted if the music program was eliminated.<br />
Her brother, music educator and<br />
composer David Kraus, told how elementary<br />
music classes had turned his life<br />
around. In 2004, Kraus was one of five<br />
music teachers from across the country to<br />
win an award from the Mr. Holland’s<br />
Opus Foundation.<br />
The final decision on cuts<br />
will take place at the regular<br />
school board meeting at<br />
5:30pm, Tuesday March 10th<br />
at <strong>Fullerton</strong> School District offices, 1401<br />
W. Valencia Dr., <strong>Fullerton</strong>. (714-447-<br />
7400)<br />
Superintendent Mitch Hovey said layoff<br />
notices would be sent out March 15.<br />
Members of the <strong>Fullerton</strong> Elementary<br />
Teachers Assoc, PTA, CSEA and community<br />
members are joining in a rally<br />
from 4:30pm to 5:30pm on the corner of<br />
Harbor and Wilshire in downtown<br />
<strong>Fullerton</strong> to show support for teachers<br />
and classified workers receiving layoff<br />
notices.<br />
Important<br />
Public Meeting<br />
for Parents<br />
According to the most recent<br />
numbers, the District will be<br />
facing over $6 million in cuts<br />
from state funding. Final cuts<br />
for the elementary school disrict<br />
will be decided by the<br />
board at this meeting.<br />
•March 10 at 5:30pm:<br />
<strong>Fullerton</strong> School District Board<br />
meeting at the <strong>Fullerton</strong> School<br />
District Offices, 1401 W.<br />
Valencia Drive, <strong>Fullerton</strong>.<br />
www.fsd.k12.ca.us or call 714-<br />
447-7400<br />
COMMUNITY OPINIONS continued from page 2<br />
A Letter from FSD’s Superintendent Dr. Hovey<br />
As a follow-up to the early February<br />
2009 <strong>Observer</strong> School District News article,<br />
the section entitled “School Budget<br />
Crisis,” I wanted to clarify that although<br />
there has been much talk about suspending<br />
class size reduction monies, we have<br />
not received any official word that the<br />
State has suspended all funding of the<br />
class size reduction program.<br />
As to the information in the subsection<br />
under my name, what I shared during<br />
the Superintendent’s Report at the<br />
January 20, 2009 Board Meeting were<br />
segments of the Response to the Special<br />
Session of Legislature and the Governor’s<br />
Budget Proposal, which was crafted by<br />
the Orange County Superintendents.<br />
The intent of the message was to give<br />
input as to how our legislators might<br />
close the ever growing budget deficit.<br />
More specific to the things I actually<br />
discussed at the Board Meeting on<br />
January 20, 2009 were:<br />
Current Status<br />
• Currently California School spending<br />
per student ranks 46th in the nation,<br />
now 47th.<br />
• Our State academic standards are<br />
among the most rigorous in the nation.<br />
• In light of the fact that the need for a<br />
well educated population is becoming<br />
more and more important in solving systematic<br />
problems for a long term solution,<br />
continuing to cut our investment in<br />
public education will only make it more<br />
difficult to build a quality workforce.<br />
• Special education encroachments<br />
into the unrestricted general fund continue<br />
to increase each and every year.<br />
• California voters approved 91% of all<br />
school bonds and 82% of all parcel tax<br />
initiatives on the November 4th ballot.<br />
(local control)<br />
1-3 Years<br />
• If we are to absorb the nearly $200-<br />
$300 per student revenue reduction mid<br />
year, we must have total flexibility over<br />
the maximum amount of State funded<br />
categoricals. No categorical program<br />
funds should be used for salaries and<br />
benefits.<br />
• Existing requirements that include<br />
CSR penalties, unrestricted ending<br />
reserve balances, deferred maintenance<br />
reserves, State textbooks purchases and<br />
other requirements must be waived.<br />
Long Term<br />
• We must show the insight and perseverance<br />
necessary to develop and adopt a<br />
new school funding formula that is adequate,<br />
equitable and more transparent to<br />
the public. Implementation of many of<br />
the recommendations published in the<br />
recent adequacy studies will strengthen<br />
the capacity of public education in our<br />
State.<br />
• There must be a viable Statewide<br />
effort to lobby Washington for full 40$<br />
funding of the cost of IDEA. Longer<br />
term solutions really must fall on the will<br />
of Sacramento to suspend all State mandates<br />
for special education.<br />
• Currently school districts pay a<br />
California sales tax on all purchases.<br />
Waiving the sales tax for school districts,<br />
a current practice in other states, would<br />
reduce the purchase cost to schools of<br />
supplies and equipment.<br />
As I have had several inquiries about<br />
what was discussed at the Board Meeting<br />
on January 20, 2009 and what was<br />
reported in the School District News section<br />
School Budget Crisis in the<br />
<strong>Observer</strong>, my hope is that this brings<br />
more clarity and focus to those issues that<br />
I did discuss that revolve around the<br />
school budget crisis.<br />
Respectfully,<br />
Mitch Hovey, Ed.D.<br />
District Superintendent<br />
<strong>Fullerton</strong> School District<br />
Book Launch Party Honors 26<br />
A reception honoring the people interviewed<br />
in the just released book “A<br />
Different Shade of Orange: Voices of<br />
Orange County, California, Black<br />
Pioneers,” by Robert Johnson and<br />
Charlene Riggins took place on Feb. 28.<br />
The book is one in Arthur Hansen’s<br />
series of seven volumes which tell the stories<br />
left out of history books. Sponsored<br />
This Orange County Grand Jury report,<br />
released February 24, endeavors to end the<br />
political furor over Sheriff Sandra<br />
Hutchens’ formal written policy to carry a<br />
concealed weapon (CCW). According to<br />
the report, Sheriff Hutchens has the<br />
authority and the jurisdiction to establish<br />
this policy regardless of County<br />
Supervisors’ concerns. Controversy<br />
between the Supervisors and the Sheriff<br />
over the possibility of rescinding licenses<br />
has raged in recent months.<br />
The report recommends that the Sheriff<br />
be allowed to establish a CCW policy and<br />
to review current license holders to meet<br />
the criteria required by the penal code.<br />
Prior to this policy the Sheriff’s Dept.<br />
operated in accordance with the California<br />
Department of Justice “Standard<br />
Application for License to Carry a<br />
Concealed Weapon (CCW)” according to<br />
department spokesman Ryan Burris.<br />
Marino Mainero, spokesperson for<br />
Supervisor Moorlach’s office, said he was<br />
the “legal architect” of Sheriff Hutchens’<br />
CCW policy and he was “glad that the<br />
Grand Jury issued the report” to settle this<br />
matter. He agreed that the Department of<br />
Justice standard exists but there was no definition<br />
of “good cause” for a person to have<br />
a CCW license. The Sheriff has bigger<br />
issues to resolve within her department and<br />
he singled out the “budget crunch caused<br />
by a decline in revenue from Proposition<br />
172” as an example. Legal analysis of the<br />
<strong>Fullerton</strong> <strong>Observer</strong> Page 5<br />
Grand Jury Report by Fritz von Coelln<br />
“Let the Sheriff do Her Job!”<br />
CCW by Mainero may be seen on<br />
Supervisor Moorlach’s site at<br />
www.oc.ca.gov.<br />
According to Kristin Thornton,<br />
spokesperson for Supervisor Bate’s office,<br />
the policy is acceptable to implement,<br />
however, unwarranted public comments<br />
became “hostile to the process.”<br />
The Grand Jury report may be seen at<br />
www.ocgj.org The policy is already in<br />
effect (the implementation of the CCW<br />
policy may be seen at the Sheriff’s website<br />
www.ocsd.org).<br />
As a result of this report two significant<br />
issues remain to be resolved by the Grand<br />
Jury.<br />
Firstly, there is a leak in the dike of confidentiality!<br />
The Orange County Register<br />
received a “confidential copy” of the report<br />
before being released by the Grand Jury.<br />
Someone is guilty of purloining a copy of<br />
the report in conflict with Grand Jury<br />
rules. In the investigation process, the<br />
Grand Jury reviews the report with the<br />
involved parties prior to release: in this case<br />
the Sheriff’s office and the Board of<br />
Supervisors.<br />
Secondly, since the CCW implementation<br />
is a fact, what significant issues facing<br />
our county should the Grand Jury investigate?<br />
According to Brook de Baca,<br />
spokesperson for CEO Tom Mauk’s office,<br />
Grand Jury members met with the Sheriff,<br />
the Supervisors and many county department<br />
heads during the familiarization<br />
process. Issues requiring investigation were<br />
provided to them during these meetings.<br />
If its Musical, We Have It! 871-1805<br />
MO’s<br />
<strong>Fullerton</strong><br />
resident Karen<br />
Owens with her<br />
daughter accepted<br />
the honor for her<br />
mother Mary<br />
Owens who could<br />
not attend the<br />
reception held for<br />
those interviewed<br />
in a new book on<br />
the history and<br />
experiences of black<br />
Americans in<br />
Orange County..<br />
by the CSUF Center for<br />
Oral & Public History, the<br />
book was inspired by CSUF Professor<br />
Emeritus Larry de Graaf’s history class.<br />
Other <strong>Fullerton</strong> residents honored<br />
were Adleane and Jerry Hunter, Ruth<br />
May, Ed Caruthers, Wacira Gethaiga,<br />
Rev. James Carrington, and Natalie<br />
Kennedy and her late husband Ralph.<br />
Look for more photos and excerpts from<br />
the book in upcoming issues.<br />
Serving You for over 50 years!<br />
<strong>Fullerton</strong> Music<br />
Centers<br />
Over 20,000 square feet of Musical Fun!<br />
Orange County’s Oldest & Most Complete<br />
Full Line Music Store & Gift Shop<br />
EVERY KIND OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENT FROM BAGPIPES TO PIANOS<br />
Ethnic & Unusual Instruments • Instruction: Private & Group Classes<br />
• Over 2,000 square feet dedicated to Sheet Music! • Rentals<br />
•School Band Headquarters • Repairs: All Brands - All Instruments<br />
OPEN: Mon-Thurs 10am-8pm & Fri/Sat 10am-6pm<br />
121 N. HARBOR BLVD DOWNTOWN FULLERTON<br />
(just north of Commonwealth-Ample parking at back)