DISTRICT APOLOGIZES FOR AIDS PLAY FLAP.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer

Contrite administrators tried to make amends with Moorpark High School parents gathered at a public forum, apologizing for a breach in district policy governing sex and AIDS education.

Officials admitted that staging a play entitled ``Secrets'' on Feb. 12 without notifying parents in advance violated the policy. They promised that it would not happen again.

For their part, parents attending the Wednesday night district meeting told officials they were frustrated with the lack of communication they'd seen coming out of administrators and school district officials.

``Most of the issues I heard from parents was that they were very concerned that they did not have the option either to opt out of the assembly or talk to their children in advance of their seeing the material,'' said David Pollock, president of the Moorpark Unified School District Board of Trustees, who attended the meeting. ``And a lot were extremely upset with the content of the play and what.''

Parents said they were concerned that the play did not have any positive role models for adults and used terms that were inappropriate for students.

Vincent DeCenzo, coordinator and director of the program sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, said he was concerned about some of the misinformation parents had about the presentation, including a rumor that a videotape with pornographic material was shown, when no tape was part of the production.

He said, however, that he understood parents' frustration.

``We knew they were going to be upset and we knew we were not going to change their minds,'' DeCenzo said. ``We apologized for the fact that they were not notified, because that was definitely a mistake.''

DeCenzo said the play, which has been performed at schools and churches nationwide for the past decade, had been presented without incident at Moorpark High School in 1991. That was before the district instituted the policy that requires parental notification, an opportunity to review materials beforehand and that the message advocate abstinence.

``Secrets'' involves a star athlete's response to finding out he contracted HIV after a heterosexual encounter. It deals frankly with the use of condoms and ways to prevent the spread of the disease.

The abstinence message is conveyed through the athlete's girlfriend, who does not contract the disease because she chooses to abstain rather than succumb to peer pressure to have sex.

Although the district has had a copy of the script available for parents to review, it has requested a videotape of the play as well. DeCenzo said he plans to go a step further and offer to have the play performed live for parents.

The district is expected to send out a letter to parents apologizing for the mistake and inviting them to screen the production.