Willows Unified woes aren’t GCOE’s fault

Thursday, Jul 24 2008, 5:26 pm

The front page of the July 19 issue of the Valley Mirror states that the Willows Unified School District (WUSD) is on the brink of bankruptcy. According to the article, WUSD’s problems are not new. As far back as 2004, WUSD was warned they were headed for trouble.

For some unknown reason, WUSD Superintendent Dr. Steve Olmos wants to blame a large portion of his district’s money troubles on Glenn County Office of Education (GCOE) Superintendent Arturo Barrera and the state-mandated county SELPA billbacks.

Not true, as Superintendent Barrera did not take office until January 2007. These problems were looming and blooming during the tenure of Olmos and former GCOE Superintendent Joni Samples.

Olmos was quoted as saying he wants to pull out of the SELPA program even though it would cost his district more money. Apparently, he and the WUSD board prefer the “head in the sand” approach to fiscal responsibility.

Judith Holman

Orland

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