Re “A Vote for… Candidates Make the Choice Difficult by What They Claim”
I'm responding to Mr. Israel's letter regarding Kathy Paspalis.
Mr. Israel, with all due respect, you did overlook Kathy's many accomplishments and efforts.
Not only have they been included in her brochures and speeches at candidates' forums, but I am also quite sure she would have been happy to discuss them with you directly – as she has with so many other voters over the past couple of months – if you had only taken a moment to call her before attempting to impugn her publicly.
I will list a few things here, but I really do suggest that you contact her.
Culver City is still a small town – where communication, respect and one-on-one discussion are valued.
Example No. 1: Because the School District spends more than $600,000 per year on its electric bill, Kathy worked with other parents to research and present proposals for an energy efficiency audit and solar energy installations. They met with the District, did a lot of legwork. The District is now moving forward with these money saving proposals.
Example No. 2: Parents said they wanted more elective options at the Middle School for their children. Kathy worked for over a year with a small group of parents to survey parents' needs, meet with administrators and develop a “zero period option” at no cost to the District.
The Middle School adopted the proposal. Sixth grade students now have more elective options because of the work Kathy did. (And by the way, the District is looking to expand that free option to the 7th and 8th grade students next year.)
Example No. 3: Parents told Kathy about a program that has been very successful in other districts, helping struggling young readers improve their reading skills and their love of reading. They were having trouble getting it adopted in Culver City.
Kathy looked into it, discovered it's free to the District and very effective. It involves volunteers bringing dogs and other trained pets to the school site so that children can read to them. Kathy worked with the Site Council at her elementary school to get through all the red tape and bring it on campus. They succeeded and the kids loved it. Now she wants to bring the program to every elementary school in the District.
I could go on, but you get the point. She did all this long before she was a candidate. Kathy just cares about kids and education.
Kathy also has lots of other ideas and plans that she has been talking about during this campaign to help generate revenue, make better use of the District's assets and bring new programs and opportunities to our children at little or no cost.
Looking forward, she has suggested new academies, new programs to generate revenue from filming permits, strategic rental of certain buildings and creative ways to cut expenses by modernizing facilities to reduce water usage and utility costs.
If you haven’t heard Kathy's ideas, you’ve really missed out.
Please dig a little deeper – and vote for Kathy Paspalis on Nov 3.
Sandi Levin, “School Site Council member, former Mayor and, most importantly, mother of three children in Culver City schools,” may be contacted at slevin@cllaw.us
