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Fire board looks to 2015 for bond measure
Join hands
By Lea Boyd
The Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District Board of Directors appeared closer to unity at its May 20 meeting but still seemed at least one vote shy of the unanimity Board President Ben Miller seeks before taking action toward a $10-$12 million bond measure for new fire stations. While once-reluctant Boardmember Bill Taff chimed in with his support for placing the decision before voters, Boardmember Chris Johnson said that he still wasn’t convinced that plans for a new Summerland fire station couldn’t be downsized to arrive at a more palatable price for voters. “I am certain that we can do something that is not two story, that does not have an elevator and that can be done for a lot cheaper,” he said. Some members of the public have claimed that plans to replace Summerland’s small and seismically unfit station with a larger building on a $1 million-plus property are grandiose. Fire Chief Mike Mingee argued that what has been called the “Taj Majal of fire stations” is actually a scaled down version of what was first considered, and some of its expensive features, such as the elevator, were permitting requirements. The community room that has been described as unnecessary by opponents, Mingee said, is a relatively small room that would serve the district as well as provide a space for other organizations to meet.
FIRE BOARD continued on page 6
KrIsTIna CalKIns
Canalino and Family school students chalked the campus and their hands during an event in tribute to Santa Barbara’s annual I Madonnari Festival. Colorful creations blanketed the schoolyard on May 15 ahead of the schools’ open houses, at which parents could view the Italian street paintings. The annual Santa Barbara I Madonnari Festival occurred at the Santa Barbara Mission last weekend, and the artfully appointed sections of pavement can still be viewed.
Parents beg district for answers in threat incident angry parents of local special education students stood up at a recent school board meeting and publicly criticized Carpinteria Unified school District’s response to a December incident in which Kevin Hosseini, a 19-year-old autistic student, made mortal threats against teachers and fellow students while checked into a mental health institute. “I need to know what’s going on. If there’s a situation, what is your protocol?” asked Julie Smith, mother of two girls then enrolled with Hosseini in the success and Education of adult life Skills program, a program designed to help students with developmental disabilities transition to adult life following high school. In the weeks following the incident, Hosseini voluntarily left the district and moved to another state. Claiming the incident was handled
inappropriately, several parents and staff members filed formal complaints against the district last winter. The district, they say, should have informed parents and staff of the threat made and taken greater actions to ensure theirs and their children’s safety. Months after complaints were filed, parents had still not received communication from CUSD, despite the passing of deadlines for resolution as dictated by policy. “This has singularly been our worst experience with the district in 15 years,” said parent Mary Watts. she asked for the outcome of an independent investigation launched by the district last winter as well as some explanation of how the district will respond differently to the next such threat. “It’s not if it happens again, but when it happens again,” she said.
“My safety and the safety of students and colleagues is of utmost importance to me.” ––Cindy Rief, CUSD teacher
Superintendent Paul Cordeiro said that since the May 13 meeting, multiple parents have been contacted by the district to discuss the situation. The investigation, however, is ongoing, and Cordeiro said that parents and teachers will have to be patient and allow for the investigator to conclude her work. “If a tornado rips through a town, you don’t fix the town in 24 hours,” he said. Cindy Rief, one of the teachers directly targeted by the threats, said the district was negligent and failed to act
on the behalf of herself and her students when Hosseini threatened to stab them. “My safety and the safety of students and colleagues is of utmost importance to me,” she said. Cordeiro said the district always errs on the side of caution in the case of a threat. “We did what we were supposed to do at the right time and in the right way,” he said. He expects the report on the investigation will be filed soon. ––Lea Boyd
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