Laura Witham's Aug. 28 letter states she's tired of criticism of Conejo Valley Unified School District, specifically a letter by John Hollister in the Aug. 7 Acorn, ("Meadows should be a charter school.")

Witham claims, "Our children will get a top-notch education at any school in the district."

Based on what?

While imperfect, most rely on API scores to compare performance. CVUSD and Witham are quick to tout high API scores as academic success, but are entirely unwilling to recognize the reverse.

She says 16 CVUSD elementary schools scored above 840 and is "shocked" Hollister thinks no other school is good enough.

Hollister said nothing of the sort. Had Witham investigated, she'd know Meadows children cannot attend any school in the district. Meadows children were rezoned for three of four schools that didn't make Witham's achievement list.

These schools rank in the sixth decile statewide versus ninth/10th for other CVUSD schools.

Hollister simply noted Meadows children weren't given acceptable alternatives.

This is the primary reason why Meadows parents passionately fought closure.

A charter school is now the only viable public option left to many at Meadows. While there are four private schools closer to Meadows than other district schools, most prefer to stay in public schools. A charter would allow us to accomplish this, funnel into CVUSD secondary schools, preserve our arts-based program and create a unique educational opportunity for Thousand Oaks.

The angst expressed by Hollister, felt by many, stems from CVUSD's disingenuous handling of our charter effort. By law, the district is required to assist in formation of charters.

Superintendent Mario Contini acknowledged this and stated the need for "cooperative" relationships with charter petitioners.

Quite the contrary, the district's response was stonewalling, denial and hiring high-priced attorneys to fight the charter- - using your limited funds.

We recognize CVUSD's accomplishments and teacher quality. We continue to want to contribute to its future. We were devastated when the district voted to close our program.

Now all we want is our legal right to establish a community charter school. Until that happens, don't expect us to be silent. Lily Duong Thousand Oaks