It's business as usual in the Conejo Valley Unified School District (CVUSD).

The fiasco over school closures, paranoia, fear of private education and planning to cope with diminished budgets and reduced student enrollment has apparently overwhelmed the existing decision-makers.

The staff blames the state instead of asking, "How do we best use the money we get?"

CVUSD advocates increased class sizes—fewer teachers— imposes a spending freeze, eliminates or reduces extracurricular programs such as band, drama, art, woodworking and athletic programs. They simultaneously advocate job retention as a major goal. To top it off, the district wants parents to offer advice on cutting school programs and staffing.

CVUSD gets off the hook if they find a consensus for eliminating programs. In other words, they find a scapegoat.

How will the district survive? Staffing and spending in CVUSD exceeds $32 million. Staff salaries and benefits have increased more than $500,000. Why? No answer is ever provided.

To create confidence in problem-solving, reduced funding must be applied everywhere.

Expenditures must be reduced by more than $1 million and staffing reduced to 2004 levels when CVUSD managed with a smaller district office and still produced exceptional educational achievement.

We don't need to cut teachers or increase class sizes.

CVUSD must operate as a wellrun corporation. Outsourcing to save dollars in transportation, facilities management, groundskeeping and technical services is a start.

If Amgen can do it, so can CVUSD.

Hard decisions must be made to guarantee quality education. Arrogance, intransigence and shortsightedness must be eliminated.

These are tough times.

The district must lead and not be a follower.

A refusal to accept the need for real change in the way the district performs will expose CVUSD to constant and increasing criticism.

Our only real hope is that members of the school board will see through the fallacies of the district staff's alleged solutions. Arnold Ross Westlake Village