School board needs leadership, veteran says

Tim Penix After more than 20 years in the military, Tim Penix retired from the U.S. Army in February 2003. But the substitute physical edu- cation specialist and Conejo Uni- fied school board candidate still relies on the leadership he gained while serving the United States.

"There is a lack of effective decision-making in our leader- ship," Penix said. "I want to work in a positive direction. No matter what happens Nov. 7, we need to have a board that's cohesive and can work together."

Penix emphasized improving relationships with teachers, dis- trict employees and fellow board members.

"I just don't believe that you can be a good role model if you argue amongst yourselves pub- licly and continue to badmouth each other in a public setting," Penix said. "It's unprofessional. I know I speak for a lot of people-they're tired of it.

"When you get somebody who can come in and work as a team and be more cohesive, it goes a lot smoother. That's the nature of the beast to have dis- agreements, but you have to get past that. You don't see a lot of that happening. All we see is 4-1, 4-1, 4-1."

Penix is active in the Parent Teacher Association, having served as president at Sequoia Middle School until this year, when he became president of the PTA at Cypress Elementary. He's also in his second year on the Dis- trict Advisory Council.

Penix said a top goal of his is to maintain the quality of the district's education within a bal- anced budget.

"In our opinion, minus the in- cumbents, we don't see the bud- get being used in the best way," said Penix, who said he saw bet- ter placement for funds and criti- cized the time it took for the district's teachers to get a signifi- cant raise.

One place more money should be allocated, according to Penix, is in student-support services and programs.

Implementing more dynamic music, art and physical education programs is high on his list.

"Breaking up the day to pro- vide better music and arts stimu- lates the students and makes them want to do more and want to be good at it," Penix said. "We are cramming everything we can into the short day we have. Taking time for those things will stimu- late the learning program."

Penix also said he feels the dis- trict doesn't have enough child- care programs, and the ones that do exist need to be expanded.

As director of umpiring for Newbury Park Pony Baseball, Penix said he's proud to have of- fered many kids opportunities to work as umpires. He's also an ac- tive lacrosse and soccer referee and has been a coach, an athletic and a personal trainer.

Penix said he looks forward to the opportunity to bring his in- volvement with youngsters as well as his professionalism to the board.

"I'm not a mudslinger and I won't base my campaign on that," Penix said. "But with my back- ground, my leadership in military, it's simple. If you can't do a job there, they move you on, they get rid of you."

Penix has lived in Conejo Val- ley with his wife, Carrie, and their two children since 1991. Carrie Penix has been a teacher for more than 20 years, spending the last 13 in CVUSD.