Local reporters haven’t done their job in relaying news from the Pajaro Valley Unified School District to the public, resulting in a “very light treatment of important issues,” according to a proposal submitted Wednesday to the Board of Trustees.

Bruce Woolpert, founder of the Committee for Good School Governance, contends that local reporters focus on controversial events like the hiring of the new deputy superintendent, while ignoring positive stories in the district.

“Controversy is positive, if it’s about factual stuff,” he said. “A focus on the negative won’t turn it around. Let’s get the job done and stop the haggling.”

To combat the problem, the Committee for Good School Governance proposed hiring two reporters who would focus exclusively on PVUSD. This will assure that district news is clearly relayed to everyone in the district, said the proposal.

“In any community in which significant change is taking place, there’s been a high level of good, clear communication,” said Woolpert, president and chief operating officer of Watsonville-based Graniterock Co.

Trustee Sandra Nichols pointed out that the matter was only up for discussion and not for a vote. She requested that the matter be brought to the next board meeting on Oct. 24 for possible action, and the board agreed.

Several community members at the meeting voiced their concern about the plan.

“When the district has to hire outside consultants to protect their image, it shows they’re concerned about their image,” said teacher Lucia Villareal.

The two reporters have not officially been hired, but the proposal names former Santa Cruz Sentinel reporter Stett Holbrook and his wife Diedre. Both come with years of experience as journalists. They would focus on specific steps the district is taking to address student achievement, such as how to teach English to students who speak Spanish, said Woolpert.

“The reporter would focus on classroom performance,” he said.

The committee would fund the reporter’s salary, but Woolpert said the committee would have no editorial control of the stories. This job would instead go to School Board President and Doug Keegan and Vice President Kim Turley, said the proposal.

Some community members also expressed concern that the Committee for Good School Governance would be paying the reporters’ salaries. The committee endorsed candidates Willie Yahiro, Kim Turley, Libby Wilson and Leslie De Rose in 2006, and is thought to be largely responsible for their success in the 2006 election.

“It’s a pretty appalling proposal,” said Luis Alejo, local activist and attorney. “(Granite Construction and Graniterock), who funded the local campaigns of the majority of the school board members, are now proposing to hire consultants for them.”

But board President Doug Keegan stressed that the columns would not be political. With a nod to local newspapers for their coverage, he said that the new reporters would focus on different aspects of the district’s operations.

“This is an opportunity for us to bring up things that are not of topical interest, but which give information to the public about what is truly happening in the district,” he said.

Keegan also chastised community members who questioned the connection between the Committee for Good School Governance and the board. The board members won the election fairly, he said.

“If the Committee for Good School Governance supported them, they had good reason to. I don’t think there’s anything nefarious or secretive or undemocratic about it … instead of seeing conspiracies and plots everywhere, we should get over it, and start thinking about how we can make it the best school district that exists. ”

The proposed column would contain neither propaganda nor politics, said Interim Superintendent Mary Anne Mays.

“It’s just a factual piece about the district’s goals and the progress toward those goals, or lack of progress.”

The community members also expressed concern that only two board members would have editorial oversight of the columns.

“It’s totally undemocratic that an article is going to be passed off as coming from the school board when the only people who are able to review the draft articles are the president and vice president,” said Alejo.

In fact, the president and the vice president were elected by the board to represent them, and are free to voice their objections to the board, said Mays.

Trustee Leslie De Rose added that the board will have control, and suggested that when the issue comes up for vote, the board may choose to give all the board members editorial control.

The Committee for Good School Governance is a group of civic and business leaders who say they want to foster change in the Pajaro Valley school district. The committee has said it plans to continue to influence the board.

In other business, the Board of Trustees voted to approve the application by Beacon Education Network to build a charter school in Watsonville.

“We’re very excited. We can finally work on a collaborative as opposed to an adversarial relationship,” said J Zac Stein, chief operating officer of Beacon.

Next, Beacon organizers will begin the search for a principal. While Stein said the company would like to hire locally, it will be conducting a national search.

Beacon will also begin the search for an outreach director, and to look for a facility to build the school.

The proposal from Beacon Education Network has been under consideration since 2006. Supporters say BEN-KEY Academy will increase the educational choices for PVUSD students.

Detractors have expressed concern that the school, specifically designed to prepare students for college, might overlook English language learners and students who are academically challenged. They’ve also said that the money would be better spent in existing programs and classrooms.

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(Published in 10/11/07 edition)

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