Dear Editor,
On August 1, the Kerman Unified School district took possession of my family’s home by way of eminent domain. The school district plans to use this property for more district offices and parking spaces. Aside from the principle of having one’s land taken away without consent, what I find even more disconcerting is the egregious, callous manner in which it was accomplished.
In February of 2005, while my father Steve was recovering from surgery, I received a call from assistant superintendent Jim Foley informing me of the district’s desire to acquire the property. After informing Mr. Foley that our family had no intention of selling at that time, he assured me that the district would take possession by any means necessary. Shortly after my father’s death in late March, I received another call from Mr. Foley, not to offer condolences, but instead to express his dismay that the property was rented to new tenants in the interim. Perhaps I presume too much, but I suspect that Mr. Foley was not raised in a small community such as Kerman; otherwise he might have learned the proper way to treat people. He might have learned that a pleasant word, a handshake and sincerity hold as much value to many Kermanites as a legal contract.
But then again, being raised in Kerman does not ensure that one will maintain these small-town values in the future. Take for instance school board president Brian Pacheco of District one. On June 15, 2006, I attended the school board meeting regarding the eminent domain proceedings on our property. California Code of Civil Procedure 1240.030 (b) provides that the power of eminent domain may only be exercised if the project is planned or located in a manner which would be most compatible with the greatest public good and least private injury. At this hearing, I offered Brian and the Board a number of alternative sites and options which might satisfy the district’s needs. These ideas were dismissed without discussion. In fact, when I asked Jim Foley to expand on the other options the district had pursued for their project, Brian ordered Jim Foley not to answer. As a business owner and a taxpayer, I would expect that a publicly-elected official be forthright and open in addressing a very basic question. Perhaps my expectations were too high.
In any case, the school district will have their parking lot. Jim Foley and Roger Halberg will have their larger office. And our board president will be proud of this accomplishment. But how do bigger offices for our superintendent and assistant superintendent equate to higher API scores? How does increasing the number of parking spaces equate to increasing the number of students taking the SAT and going to college? We should not be content with mediocrity. We cannot be satisfied with languishing in the 40th percentile in our API scores. We should not be content with only 24% of our students taking the SAT. We should not be satisfied when our students’ average score on the SAT is 950 (While this may have gotten one into UC Davis in 1986, the class of freshman entering the UC system in 2006 had an average score of 1200). We need our administrators to be accountable for their actions. We need trustees who make decisions not based on what may further their own political career but based instead on what is in the best interest of our students.
Christopher Lum, MD
Dear Editor,
Mr. Lum’s letter to the editor convinces me more than ever we need advisory committees for both the school board and city council.
It is time the citizens rise up and support their neighbors that are having these ‘no common sense’ situations. Several months ago at a planning meeting some neighbors living near Liberty school commented about the parking situation. I heard no comments helping solve this problem.
How about an imminent domain for the property across the street. This property owner has taken lots of money from the citizens in the last 60 years and has not contributed anything to the city.
Yes, we are in dire need of an advisory committee. Please someone come forward and organize.
One more thought! Remember Mr. Lum’s ordeal when you go to the polls to vote for school board members
Lois Vann
Dear Editor,
In the last three weeks, three people have chosen to use our children to further their own political agendas. I think these people are only hurting our community by their lack of knowledge about Kerman Unified School District. I have been involved with KUSD as P.T.A, P.T.C. president, I have been elected to site councils, and I have spent numerous hours volunteering at every school site. I make it a point to attend almost every school board meeting and I am an active participant in the meetings. I have never seen Mrs. Vann at any board meetings and Mr. Lum, only at one.
Before Mr. Halberg (Superintendent) and Mr. Foley (Associate Superintendent) arrived, we had a superintendent intent on ruining this district in many ways. She tried to contract our buses with an outside company so we would have had no control over them. She got rid of classes and programs for our children. She gave teachers pink slips. During the years she was in charge and even before that, KUSD only kept the minimum of monies in reserve. She did not accept any input from teachers, principals, and parents.
If Mr. Lum and Mrs. Vann were truly concerned about our children, they would know how much better we are now, thanks to Mr. Halberg, Mr. Foley, and our board. Instead, Mr. Lum is only mad he did not get the hundreds of thousands more of tax payers dollars over fair value of his family’s investment property. If our board would have given in to Mr. Lum’s demands for more money, we probably would have never heard from him. Mrs. Vann wants to have more bureaucracy and form a committee that oversees city and school affairs because she can’t get elected to a position of power so she wants to be appointed to one. If Mrs. Vann wants to be involved with KUSD, maybe she can attend a board meeting and ask questions so she can get her facts straight.
The latest person to misinform the public is Thomas Piceno and I’m sure he has not attended any board meetings. Do Mr. Lum and Mr. Piceno even live in Kerman? Do they have children in the Kerman school district? I am sure that if any of you doubt that this district is not better than it ever has been, you can ask a teacher who has been here for more than five years.
Here are some facts about KUSD: Thanks to the current administration and Board members: Ms. Vasquez, Mr. Dominguez, Mr. Pacheco, and Mr. Foth we now charge the maximum allowed in building fees set by an independent study to help erect new buildings needed on every campus. We have passed our first bond measure since the high school was built. We have new buses. We are now trying to take a pro-active involvement with the city. And KUSD finally has a plan for the future and growth with a new elementary school to be built in 2009-2010. We are working with KerTel to update technological systems. I think we are trying to be as competitive as we can with salaries to keep our qualified staff. We have done all of this and still have managed to build the reserve to a level even higher than required by the state.
Our schools are not perfect, but we are heading in the right direction. I am proud of our accomplishments but we are not done yet. I know we want the best for the children of this community. Our board and all of our staff of KUSD are doing better than when I first became involved. Don’t let Mr. Lum, Mrs. Vann, and Mr. Piceno’s greed, lust for power, and hidden agendas stop us from giving our children the best that they deserve. Get involved whether by attending board meetings, joining P.T.A./P.T.C, Boosters, and volunteering. Help us make KUSD one of the best in the state.
Phil Kerber
Dear Editor,
While driving through Kerman the other day, I noticed a number of political signs which seemed grammatically incorrect. It appeared that the candidate forgot a punctuation mark. The sign read "Experienced Leadership" but I am sure it was supposed to read "Experienced Leadership?" The answer to that question is emphatically "No! I haven’t experienced leadership under Brian Pacheco"- certainly not good leadership.
Let look at some qualities that define a good leader.
1) Openness - A good leader has the ability to listen to new ideas or other points of view without automatically shutting them out. An open-minded leader allows for outside the box thinking. This quality demonstrates care and builds trust among his constituents. In my last letter I detailed how Brian is the antithesis of openness. Not surprisingly, I have heard from many others who have also been abruptly shut off at school board meetings by Brian. I invite you to share your experiences with the editor and the people of Kerman.
2) Integrity Character is grounded in integrity. Leaders must be honest, credible and trustworthy. It is well known that Brian is a registered Democrat and has donated over $3000 to Jim Costa and Juan Arambula’s campaign. That being said, I was extremely surprised to see that Brian paid $100 to place himself on a slate sponsored by the group "Continuing the Republican Revolution". This seems to be the actions of a slick politician playing both sides of the fence. For the record, "Continuing the Republican Revolution" is in no way endorsed by the Republican Party and has been chastised as being misleading to voters.
3) Team-player - While I certainly stand by Brian’s right to support any candidate he chooses, to publicly endorse Juan Arambula in the 2004 election while his fellow Trustee Paul Betancourt was vying for the same seat, shows a lack of team spirit and shows very poor taste. To an outsider it might be perceived as a lack of cohesiveness among the board. Putting himself in good favor with his political party seems to be more important to Brian than building a strong, cohesive school board. With friends like that who needs enemies.
4) Humility - A good leader is not arrogant and narcissistic. Strong leaders do not regard themselves s inherently superior to others. I have heard from many town folk who say Brian seems too busy to acknowledge them when he is out and about town, casting a downward eye as he walks by. A leader without the respect of his followers is ineffective.
5) Self-confidence - A good leader is confident in his platform, has strong convictions and sticks to his principles. A leader does not resort to political games in his campaign. It has been alleged that in the 2002 election, a false rumor was circulated that incumbent Kathy Avenelis was not going to seek re-election. There are also allegations that Brian made an effort to meet his opponent at the election office this year to dissuade him from running for the school board. These are not the actions of a confident candidate running on issues. This is the action of a candidate running scared. Perhaps he is scared that his political career will be over if he loses this election. Hopefully the voters of Kerman will make this a reality.
Pacheco likes to think of the school district as a business. What business other than "big government" is privileged to dig into the pockets of the tax-payers when it needs more money. How many more school taxes can be levied on home builders? How many more school bonds can be passed?
Forgive me if this letter comes off as being harsh towards Pacheco. In no way is this meant to demean the rest of the Pacheco family, whom many hold highly in this town- and perhaps rightly so. However, the Pacheco family is not running for school board. Brian is running and he should be judged by his own merit; not the merit of his family’s name.
In closing, I would like to thank Mrs. Vann for asking the voters to think of my family when going to the polling place on November 7th, but I also ask the voters to think of Kathy Avenelis, Paul Betancourt, Charles Van Winkle and countless others who have had the misfortune of dealing with Brian Pacheco. Most of all, I would ask the voters to think about the well-being of our students. Does Pacheco really have the "Experienced Leadership" we want guiding our kids?
Christopher
Lum, MD
Dear Editor,
I have known Brian Pacheco ever since he was a young boy. Over the last several weeks, I have sat and watched his good name trashed in our newspaper with half truths. I cannot sit by and watch any longer.
Brian is a good, honest person with a great deal of integrity. We were fortunate four years ago when he decided to run for the board to make a difference and give back to our schools.
Brian has worked hard to improve our district and I am personally offended by the attacks that have been made on his character by Mr. Lum and Mr. Piceno in the last several weeks. Brian and his entire family have been long-time supporters of Kerman Unified. Both his parents and grandparents were raised in Kerman and now Brian is raising his family here, as well. This is more than I can say for Mr. Lum.
I knew Mr. Lum’s father, Steve, for more than 30 years. And I am sure that he would be very disappointed with the way his son has handled this entire situation.
The school district did not take Mr. Lum’s rental property. They paid him the fair market value of $400,000. It is unfortunate that he wanted an additional $100,000 above that. I can only say how thankful we should all be that there are people like Brian Pacheco who are willing to run our schools like a business and safeguard our taxpayer money.
As for Mr. Piceno, if he is truly concerned about issues in our schools, perhaps he should attend a board meeting and learn the facts, instead of personally attacking people in the Kerman News!
Thank you, Brian, for all the work you do for our schools! And remember, a vote for Brian Pacheco makes for better schools!
Betty Silva
Dear Editor,
I have been reading negative editorials regarding how the KUSD school board handled the eminent domain of the property owned by the Steven Cy Lum Estate on the property located at the SW corner of Whitesbridge and 1st St.
As a real estate broker in the Kerman area, I was contacted by Mr. Lum two years ago, asking me to see if the school would be interested in buying his property that adjoined the high school. At that time the school district was not in a position to purchase the property, and Mr. Lum continued to lease the building to tenants.
In recent months the school district was in a position to purchase the property to enhance and improve the Kerman Union High School campus. There have been so many false and negative rumors about how the parcel was acquired. All of this negative input and false rumors do nothing to improve our community and school district.
In my professional and personal opinion, the school district and the school board handled the eminent domain at fair market alue and paid the owners the highest appraisal value of the property. It was a win-win situation for the school district, the community and the owners of this parcel of land.
Brain Pacheco is a lifetime citizen of our community, and he has always shown integrity, character, honesty and wisdom in both his personal and business life. Let’s keep Brian Pacheco on the Kerman Unified School Board. Our communtiy and school district deserve the best.
Shirley Koleen
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