PUBLIC FORUM : SCHOOL BOARD JETTISONS PROCESS FOR FLYNN.

I do not know Dan Flynn, so I will not write of his qualifications or nonqualifications for the job of superintendent of the Simi Valley Unified School District. What I would like to write about are two ideas that are fundamental to democracy: fairness and process.

By fairness, I refer to the ideology of equal opportunity for everyone who might want to compete on an equal footing with Flynn. Having given a preferential hearing to Flynn, the SVUSD board has created an imbalance, an unfair advantage, an unlevel playing field in favor of Flynn.

The importance of process was clearly manifest in the efforts of the framers of the Constitution. The Constitution is fundamentally a document about process - the process of running a government, ensuring liberty, electing representatives and ensuring those representatives' responsiveness to their constituents. The board members are also elected officials, with mandates that were modeled on the ideas put forth in the Constitution.

Circumventing the process that ensures fairness to all candidates and openness to your constituents is wrong.

Finally, as school board members carry out the duties of being public servants, it would be prudent for them to keep in mind that through process runs democracy.

Charlene Pizzadili

Simi Valley

Best man is available, so why look further?

Regarding Dan Flynn as candidate for the Simi Valley superintendent of schools:

I believe that if you have someone who best meets all the qualifications that you are looking for regarding this position, why keep looking? It's that simple

I have known Dan and his wife, Gail, and their six children for over 11 years. We met through our parish group for young married couples, Agape. The group's name means altruistic love, which exemplifies Dan's relationship with everyone he meets.

Dr. Dan Flynn has on numerous occasions gone out of his way to help others. I remember needing help in using a computer. Dan arranged for us to meet at the local Kinko's to practice, and then he offered to help anytime I wanted further instruction. We drove together to the Promise Keepers gathering at the Los Angeles Coliseum last May. He brings good human insight into all the work he has accomplished as an educator. He has ceaseless enthusiasm and drive.

Dan will bring a wealth of experience as an educator, father, friend and community activist to fruition as superintendent. I believe that these attributes are essential in relating to board members and parents. He has what it takes. We just need to let him prove it.

Why waste more time and money? Board members have before them the best qualified candidate for the position. What are they waiting for? Let's let Dan Flynn do what he does best - help us

John and Paula Obringer

Westlake Village

Some on board use children for politics

As a concerned citizen and former schoolteacher, I am appalled at the way some members of the Simi Valley school board appear to be going about the process of selecting a superintendent.

From the beginning, the community was told that the board intended to hire a consulting firm to start a search for the next superintendent. The next thing to come to light was that board members were interviewing a prospective candidate for the job behind closed doors. This is neither right nor fair to the citizens of our city. We have a right to be informed of the proceedings and selection process being used by the board.

As taxpayers, we also have the right to know that the next superintendent will be chosen from a pool of qualified candidates, not behind closed doors in goings-on that smack of old-time back-room politics, which have no place in our educational system. What you know, not who you know, should be the rule in selecting the most qualified person for the job.

There's no need to repeat the mistakes of the process used by the board in selecting the last superintendent. His tenure amounted to less than six months and cost the citizens of Simi Valley more than $750,000. I don't think the education of your children should take a back seat to the political agenda of a few.

Eileen Cohen 

Simi Valley

Let the majority rule and do the right thing

Good people can have an honest disagreement regarding the hiring of superintendent for the Simi Valley Unified School District. Once again, in the arena of ideas, those who agree with the status quo are protective of their power and influence and usually disagree with anyone who desires a change that might reduce that power or influence.

Those who want to repeat a so-called process that has failed time and time again are the same folks opposed to anyone not included in the pool of bureaucrats who bounce from district to district strictly for their own gain.

Why are we so enamored with the use of expensive search firms whose personnel have to look on a map to locate Simi Valley? These firms have given us Dr. Tate Parker, who did not respect staff, parents or students. As soon as he left, educators throughout the state knew about the opening and could have sent in requests for information or resumes. Indeed, no educator within the district or elsewhere in Ventura County was unaware of the opening.

Only one man, Dr. Dan Flynn, made an effort to inform the SVUSD of his interest.

It is obvious that with the current board, whoever is chosen as superintendent will surely be selected by a 3-2 vote. So what? In a democracy, the majority rules. If we had to wait for a 5-0 vote, it could take at least two election cycles or three more years. Do we want to wait so long?

It appears that the goal of the minority on the board is to do anything, such as waiting to start the so-called process, until the sensitivity training is completed and its recommendations implemented, which could take months, before really starting the search for a superintendent - and then for the type who refuses to respond and answer legitimate questions from board members.

Who is really in charge now? We seem to have board members more interested in the so-called process than in trying to hire an outstanding person.

Waiting several months will not change the criteria for the selection of the new superintendent. Everybody knows what is wanted by the majority of the board, teachers, other staff, students and the community: communication, hard work, willingness to follow board policy and provide honest answers to the questions.

It's unfair to this community to allow the minority of the school board and their special interest to affect the hiring of a very talented individual. Stand firm, school board majority. Do the right thing. Put this district back on course. Let's vote Tuesday night. Simi Valley and our children deserve no less.

Don Otto

Simi Valley