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Opinion
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- Written by: Sabrina Bailey
My name is Sabrina Bailey and I have known Allison both personally and professionally for more than 15 years and as such, I have had countless opportunities over the years to observe and interact with Allison in many capacities. Given my experiences with Allison, I am confident that she will continue to be a positive addition to the Kelseyville School Board and I give her my highest recommendation.
My relationship with Allison began when she was my daughter’s preschool teacher more than 15 years ago. As a teacher for my daughter, Allison was exceptional. She went above and beyond in all capacities and my daughter still talks about her and remembers her fondly (and she’s now 19 years old). Allison’s care, knowledge, and extensive experience with children makes her an absolute asset to the school board.
I am a Registered Nurse at Sutter Lakeside Hospital and in this capacity I also had the pleasure of connecting with Allison when she was employed in administration at the hospital. While we didn’t work directly together, when I interacted with Allison, I observed her to be kind, efficient, and an overall asset to the hospital.
I also became aware of a project that Allison spearheaded as a board member after her employment at the hospital to bring additional resources and support to community members struggling with addiction.
This work speaks to Allison’s commitment to the Lake County community which makes her an ideal candidate to continue her role on the Kelseyville School Board.
Sabrina Bailey, RN, BSN, WCC, lives in Lakeport, California.
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- Written by: Dan Tyrrell
“That’s the way that we can make a change in Sacramento. So much better than having 1000 people standing outside the capital [sic] building being ignored.”
This was written by south Lake County businessman, associate pastor at Jesus Christ Fellowship and Middletown Unified School District candidate Hank Lescher.
Hank Lescher has repeatedly regurgitated unsupported statistics, has written and shared anti-LGBTQIA viewpoints and embraces QAnon conspiracy theories.
Ironically, Hank advertises himself as the “family values” candidate. While I am sure there are some people who agree with Hank in using our kids as political pawns in their disagreements with Sacramento, I am not one of them.
I have felt that turning our schools into battlegrounds was the goal for people like Hank. I am not surprised that he thinks it, but I am surprised that he came out and yelled it from the mountain top.
Hank’s position is dangerous for our schools. I know that probably sounds like hyperbole, but if you think about it, what happens if the school district takes his approach? Will the state take over the school district? Will the parents who have children that are adversely affected by his irresponsibility file legal action against the school district? How will these actions impact our district’s budget and its ability to attract and retain quality educators? What happens to our property values when the school district is taken over by the state or loses teachers because the budget is impacted by lawsuits?
I understand that this is an important issue to a lot of people. If you feel strongly about it, go about it the right way. Write your assemblyperson, write your senator, write the paper, picket in Sacramento, vote, yell at Newsom, run for those offices in which you can make those changes.
Our schools are not battlegrounds. Our kids are not weapons. Please don’t use them as such.
Dan Tyrrell lives in Middletown, California.
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- Written by: Kathy Windrem
At the recent candidates’ forum, the candidates for school board shared about many of the programs and research-based changes that have been implemented.
Incumbents Rick Winer and Allison Panella have both been instrumental in implementing changes such as a district safety and wellness committee, expanding career and technical programs, doubling campus monitors and safety officers and supporting anti-bullying programs.
They shared about new research-based curriculum in literacy, mathematics and science and shared about the Positive Behavior Intervention Systems, or PBIS, program.
Both Winer and Panella are clearly knowledgeable and actively involved in working to make Kelseyville schools high-performing, welcoming places where students, staff and families are valued and supported.
Kelseyville is fortunate to have Rick Winer and Allison Panella serving on our school board, and I urge voters to re-elect them so they can continue to make our students and staff feel safe, supported and challenged to reach their goals.
I urge anyone wishing to learn more about the candidates and the good work in Kelseyville Unified School District to view the forum on the Kelseyville Unified Tube Channel.
Kathy Windrem lives in Kelseyville, California.
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- Written by: Val Nixon
We are enthusiastically supporting the reelection of Rick Winer for Kelseyville Unified School District Board. Rick has been an actively engaged board member for 20 years. He visits every campus, gets to know the staff, and can always be seen at school activities and events.
Rick doesn’t just identify local education concerns; he acts on them. For example, his recognition of the local and nationwide enormous problem of bullying was to support the implementation of the K-8 Stop, Talk and Walk Anti-Bullying Curriculum and it doesn’t end there.
Staff and board members are required to complete bullying recognition and response training, sexual harassment policy and prevention training and youth suicide prevention and postvention training, annually. Students and parents can now anonymously report any instances of bullying for investigation at www.kvusd.org.
Rick recognizes the importance for learning in a safe environment and has supported the hiring of trained Campus Monitors and increasing their employment to full time. The training of these employees is essential to effectively observe and intervene when appropriate during lunch, recesses and breaks on campus.
Rick has supported salary increases of all staff and has experience in the complex negotiation with the unions of both certified and credentialed staff. This past year all employees of the district received a 7% raise and incremental increases for longevity were also negotiated to increase retention.
His oversight of the implementation of Measure U’s $24 million budget has allowed for the near completion of modern modular, technology friendly classrooms, a state-of-the-art vocational center that is shared by the high school and middle school, a new multipurpose room at Kelseyville Elementary and the replacement of a deteriorating septic system at Kelseyville Elementary. Anyone can see all the Measure U improvements on the web page at www.kvusd.org.
Kelseyville High offers a wide variety of career and five technical courses. It has two dual enrollment courses offered in collaboration with Mendocino College.
Since I have lived here there have always been easily accessible avenues for communicating with teachers, administration, and school board members. From site councils, PTOs, parent teacher conferences, volunteering in classrooms to attending school board meetings and attending the monthly “Family Night” there are many ways for parents' concerns to be heard.
Rick Winer’s oversight, support and involvement in the running of the Kelseyville Unified School District has been critical to the implementation and continuation of programs and campus improvements listed above.
We trust Rick's experience and proven abilities to help navigate our district through hiring a new superintendent, mitigating learning losses from the COVID pandemic and continuing to improve the resources for all children’s learning, social and emotional needs .
Please join us in voting for Rick Winer for Kelseyville Unified School District Board.
Val and Tom Nixon live in Kelseyville, California.
