Sunday, October 19, 2014

[Solano County] Joel Imrie: Vote for change for Vallejo schools


October 18, 2014
Vallejo Times-Herald
Letter to the Editor

There have been a few letters recently highlighting the poor conditions of our Vallejo schools. This letter is in reference to the three Solano County Grand Jury reports regarding the Vallejo City Unified School District. The reports are available online, but in a nutshell, they speak about the safety issues within our Vallejo schools (particular at the middle and high school levels).
The grand jury asks for solutions. Teachers and students are at risk of violence inside the classrooms. In my day, this would never have been tolerated. There would have been heck to pay. One of the Vallejo old-timers even told me that back in the day when a kid acted up in Vallejo, the name of his parents ended up on the front page of the Vallejo newspaper. Maybe we should try that again.
This school district has done nothing about the district's violent conditions, and many teachers are in fear of their health, and in some cases, their very life. The middle and high school conditions are especially appalling, but the school board ignores it.
Furthermore, I understand that Vallejo schools have some of the highest paid administrators in the state, and the highest paid school administrators in Solano County, while Vallejo teachers are among the lowest paid anywhere. What does that say about our school board? Where is the security and priority? They should offer top pay to security and teachers, not administration.
The greedy Vallejo school board is asking for $239 million in a bond measure known as Measure E. This will substantially increase property taxes, and increase rents, too, because owners will pass the increased taxes on down to renters. So what do they plan to do with a quarter of a billion tax dollars? If they spend it on improvements, under current non-discipline conditions, improvements will be destroyed in about a year. Any new funding will be wasted because there is no accountability or discipline. Enough is enough with more taxes.
Please say no to bond Measure E on Nov. 4, and vote for change on the Vallejo school board. School board members Ms. Wilson, and Mr. Ubalde are demanding this big new tax; they have been working hard to get our money. Ms. Wilson has been on the school board for almost 14 years, and the schools have been sinking faster than a speeding bullet under her watch. Although Mr. Ubalde has only been a school board member for three years, both he and Ms. Wilson were oversight managers during the former bond Measure A. Taxpayers still owe millions on bond Measure A. So what does that say about their ability to handle even more tax dollars? If we vote Wilson/Ubalde in again for school board, we have only ourselves to blame for the increased deterioration of our schools, and by extension, our city of Vallejo.
Our students deserve better. Vallejo deserves better, and the next generation deserves a bigger shot at success.
I have carefully looked at the available candidates, and I am casting one of my votes for Dr. Brisbane Pucan, simply because she is one of the only candidates who had enough courage to speak out against this quarter-of-a-billion-dollar bond, Measure E. I also like Ruscal Cayangyang, because he got a good taste of Vallejo public schools as a graduate of Vallejo High School years back. Ruscal knows what is happening. In recent forums he spoke about bullying attacks from other students on campus. What a testimony he delivered.
Please vote on Nov. 4, and try to do the right thing for Vallejo.
Joel Imrie/Vallejo

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