Ventura County agency also involved in helping public education
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

The mission of the Ventura County Office of Education is often misunderstood by residents. "People don't understand how the county interacts with the school districts," said Dean Kunicki, Ventura County Board of Education trustee. "They think the board runs all the school districts, but it doesn't."

School districts work independently, and the county education office is there to offer support services, Kunicki said during a recent presentation at the Moorpark Unified School Board meeting.

County school officials have been visiting districts throughout the region to update local trustees and administrators on office of education services.

Under the leadership of the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Charles Weis and the Ventura County Board of Education, the agency provides necessary, helpful and cost-saving services to local school districts to assist them in meeting the demands of today's students and tomorrow's world, officials said.

The office of education supports the districts through training, professional development and credentialing programs. Students, faculty and district personnel are served by special education and regional occupation programs.

Juvenile court and community school programs are also offered.

To minimize duplication and reduce expenses, the county office handles payroll for the 20,000 employees who work in the 21 school districts, which serve about 145,000 students.

The office offers special education programs for about 6,000 students who are severely handicapped, according to Associate Superintendent Cary Dritz. The county office also provides educational programs for incarcerated youth and for middle and high school students who are expelled or are having trouble being successful in a traditional campus environment, he said.

The office is responsible for fiscal oversight of the local school districts. "Our Educational Services branch provides support, training and much more for underperforming schools," said Dritz.

The office also manages the Regional Occupation Program, which teaches students who want to work in area businesses the skills necessary for successful employment. ROP serves more than 3,700 high school juniors and seniors and a limited number of adults, providing training for entry level jobs in 31 different careers.

There is high demand for additional programs throughout the county, Dritz said, but the state hasn't provided enough funding to meet that demand.

At least one program is available at each high school now, but there are 39 requests for new programs throughout the county, Dritz said. "The high schools are just begging for more programs," he said.

The vocational programs fill a gap for students who don't choose to go to college.

The office of education also looks out for the needs of local teachers, said Kunicki, who is a developer by trade. He told Moorpark school officials that he hopes to create affordable housing for teachers who work in the county schools.

"The lack of affordable housing makes it difficult for new teachers who want to come here," he said.

An affordable-housing program geared to serve teachers who want to build equity, Kunicki said, would help the school districts in the region to attract and retain qualified teachers.