Year in review
Superintendent retires, trustee is censured and 2 schools will close in 2009
By Joann Groff joann@theacorn.com

Superintendent retires

After nearly 30 years serving the Conejo Valley Unified School District, Deputy Superintendent Richard Simpson retired in July. Jeff Baarstad, assistant superintendent of business services, was promoted to deputy superintendent.

Simpson's wife, Gayle, retired last year from teaching in Simi Valley, and the two plan to spend more time at their cabin in northern Utah.

Board member censured

At a special board meeting in June, the often-at-odds school board members voted to censure one of their own, admonishing Mike Dunn for his contact with a candidate for Simpson's job.

Superintendent Mario Contini said that the phone calls and e-mails made the candidate and his family uncomfortable, and he consequently turned down the position.

The vote resulted in a yelling match between thenboard president Dolores Didio and Dunn, and eventually was determined to be a violation of the Brown Act, as the vote wasn't on the agenda.

Declining enrollment

forces school closures

As a result of severely declining enrollment in the district, CVUSD's school board voted in September to close two elementary schools in the fall of 2009.

The council decided to approve the recommendation this year to give parents plenty of advance notice. All board members agreed except for Dunn, who voted against the closures.

The decision included a provision that if enrollment improved or the budget increased, the vote could be revisited.

The two schools are scheduled to be identified in February.

Test scores take a dip

In October, the district's test scores showed a noticeable decline from last year. The California Department of Education's annual results for academic performance showed scores at 21 of the district's 27 schools decreased; two scores were unchanged.

Seventeen of the schools with lower scores remained above the state goal, and district officials stressed that CVUSD scores started out strong and remain as some of the highest in the state.

The decreases merely show a "leveling out," said Janet Cosaro, assistant superintendent of instructional services.