Foothills Sentry Page 4 MAY 2025 JOHNSON MOTORCARS 34 Years of Specializing in the Service and Repair of Mercedes-Benz Gary Johnson 714-997-2567 982 N. Batavia # B13, Orange, CA 92867 gary@johnsonmotorcars.com Circulation … 40,000 Published on the last Tuesday of each month and distributed to residences, businesses, libraries and civic centers. Printing by Advantage, Inc. 714-532-4406 Fax: 714-532-6755 foothillssentry.com 1107 E. Chapman Ave., #207 Orange, CA 92866 ©Foothills Sentry 2025 Publisher/Editor Anita Bennyhoff 1969-2013 Editor Tina Richards editor@foothillssentry.com Sports Editor Cliff Robbins sportseditor@att.net Graphic Designer Jef Maddock graphics@foothillssentry.com Advertising Sales Andie Mills advertising@foothillssentry.com 714-926-9299 OffiƤe Manager officemanager@foothillssentry.com Villa Park High School Saturday May 10 8 am - 1 pm Rain or Shine - Spectators FREE - 501(c)(3) - All proceeds benefit music education at Villa Park High School. TAX ID: 95-3537732 Email to register: Jamie Sokoll jamiecsokoll@gmail.com Check-In 6 am Gates Open 8 am Judging 11 am Awards 12 pm Live Music! Register Today! 21st Annual Car & Bike Show Scan to register a vehicle Scan to register vendor booth Guest Commentary Former fire headTuarters vew -ra for Orange Änifiedؚ stabilityؙ planning and ƤoǼǼunity engageǼent By K ris E rickson School board meetings in Orange 8ni¿ed may no longer be making headlines, but that doesn’t mean critical work is not happening. In fact, the board has been hard at work ensuring the long-term success of our district Ey fostering civility, securing ¿ nancial staEility, and Slanning for the future. $t the start of the year, the Eoard held several study sessions, including one on governance We committed to strengthening our decision making Srocess Ey prioritizing respectful dialogue and collaboration. With the addition of new members, we took the oSSortunity to set new norms, Srioriti]ing Sroductive deEate while ensuring that even when disagreements arise, they remain constructive ,n a time when public meetings can often Eecome contentious, we Eelieve that school leaders should set an example for students. )inancial staEility remains a Sriority for this Eoard ,n June 202 , after two years of nego tiations, the Eoard aSSroved a raise for district emSloy ees, Eringing our Say scale to the median of comparable districts. This was accomplished using reserve funds strategically set aside for this SurSose 7oday, Orange 8ni¿ed maintains a 200 million reserve, a necessary cushion as the district prepares for potential budget reductions and shifts in federal funding. Looking ahead, declining enrollment is a reality faced Ey school districts across California, mostly driven Ey lower Eirth rates and shifting demographics. In January 202 , the Eoard aSSroved a comSrehensive study to assess the impact of enrollment changes on Orange 8ni¿ed, and to e[ plore whether school consolidations could Srovide oSSortunities to upgrade facilities while cutting costs 7his initiative aligns with our commitment to serving stu dents in modern, well-equi pped campuses while ensuring responsible use of resources. Facilities planning remains a key focus :ith 0easure S SroM ects nearing completion, our high school facilities are serving our students well. The board has now turned its attention to elementary schools, which are in clear need of upgrades. Our $sset 0anagement Plan aims to oStimi]e revenue streams and maintain district assets for the long term. Consolidations, if deemed necessary, could lead to signi¿cant investments in camSus imSrovements and the Sotential for state matching funds, ensuring our schools are not only well maintained, but equi pped for the future. 8ltimately, our goal is to en hance educational Tuality for all students Ey • Reducing combination classes • Reintroducing assistant principals ,ncreasing staff collaEoration to imSrove student outcomes In December, the board brought in former Superintendent 0ichael Christensen as ,nterim SuSerintendent He has offered steady, e[Serienced, and thought ful leadership during a crucial time of transition. He will continue to serve through the end of the school year, and the Eoard is grateful for his service Orange 8ni¿ed School 'istrict is preparing to welcome its next Superintendent—a milestone moment for the community 7he board expects the name to be public soon. The search for a permanent suSerintendent attracted 2 highly Tuali¿ed aSSlicants )ollowing a thorough selection process, the Eoard unanimously chose a leader they Eelieve will drive the district¶s Srogress Community engagement was instrumental in the search, with more than a dozen forums and over 2,000 survey responses shaping the criteria for selection 7he Eoard is con¿dent that its ¿nal choice reÀects the Sriorities identi¿ed Ey those who participated. $s the district moves forward, the board encourages continued involvement from Sarents, stu dents and community memEers :hile meetings have Eecome less contentious, they remain an important space for discussion. Our students are our number one Sriority, and a well informed and engaged community ensures that Orange 8ni¿ed will continue to thrive and uShold its commit ment to excellence in education. .ris (ricNson is president of the 28S' %oard of (ducation. Local college district faces leadership challenges By Barry Resnick Over my four decades as a fac ulty memEer in the 5ancho Santi ago Community College 'istrict (5SCC'), ,¶ve had the Srivilege of working with some outstanding educational leaders. U nfortunately, ,¶ve also witnessed a few whose failed leadership brought embarrassment to our community¶s two colleges ,n the early 1 0s, Santa $na College was led Ey J :illiam :enrich, a visionary who recog ni]ed the need for a community college in East Orange. His leadershiS was instrumental in laying the foundation for what would Eecome Santiago Canyon Col lege His legacy set a high stan dard that has Sroven di൶cult for successors to match. )ifteen years ago, 5aul 5odri gue] assumed leadershiS over both Santa Ana and Santiago Canyon Colleges One of his most controversial decisions was entering into a training contract with two colleges in Saudi AraEia, SurSortedly to generate ad ditional revenue 7he deal Tuickly unraveled when Rodriguez stated that female emSloyees from the district would not be allowed to particiSate on site :hat was originally touted as a 100 million oSSor tunity ultimately yielded a mere 0,000, which was not even enough to helS offset the legal costs of a faculty ¿led lawsuit 7oday, 5SCC' serves over 50,000 students across multiple sites, with an annual budget nearing a Eillion dollars 0arvin 0ar tinez, who became chancellor in 201 , initially insSired oStimism However, his recent actions have cast doubts upon his leadership. Some may think community college leadership is of limited relevance, Eut it¶s your ta[ dollars that operate both our community¶s two colleges and related sites $dditionally, local Eond 0ea sures E and Q, which imposed long term ¿nancial commitments on ta[Sayers, are administered Ey this very leadershiS 2൵ site and oXt oI sight 0artine] is now at the center of a growing controversy involving 1 million in ta[Sayer funds 0ultiSle news outlets²includ ing the Orange County 5egister, Times/ OC, and Foothills Sen tr\²have reSorted that the funds were kept in an account managed Ey a vendor, not on the district¶s books. The Alliance of Schools for CooSerative ,nsurance Programs ($SC,P), which has managed 5SCC'¶s various insurance cov erages since 1 , oSerates as a risk pool with other school districts $SC,P was e[Sected to re turn excess premiums after reconciliation of the pool, but instead those funds were retained in an $SC,P controlled account 5SCC' 7rustee PhilliS Yar brough called for the immediate return of the money uSon discov ering its e[istence last June He also alleged that district leadership had withheld information about the fund from the board. A forensic audit, initiated at YarErough¶s reTuest, con¿rmed that the funds had Eeen keSt off the district¶s Eooks since 1 (ven the auditors were keSt in the dark about the fund. The audit also found education code viola tions and inherent ¿nancial con Àicts of interest 7his Slaces 0artine] in a di൶ cult position. There is no record showing the Eoard was ever in formed of the account during his tenure. At the same time, he cannot crediEly claim ignorance Ee cause he is ultimately resSonsiEle for overseeing the district¶s ¿nan cial stewardship. ,nstead, 0artine] has gone on the defensive, SuElicly dismiss ing YarErough¶s concerns as ³reckless´ and hiring a law ¿rm to refute the audit’s conclusions. Regardless of how this unfolds, one thing is clear it¶s Eecoming yet another leadershiS challenge for our community colleges²one that ta[Sayers cannot afford to ig nore. 'r. %arr\ 5esnicN retired as a professor of counseling from the 5SCC' in haYing serYed for \ears. Old fire departǼent headȮuarters to house teǼporary fire ǼuseuǼ Orange¶s decommissioned ¿re department headqua rters, unused and slated for demolition, will be the temSorary home of a ¿re mu seum and learning center, beginning in early summer 7he ¿re station on $lmond and Grand Street in Old Towne has Eeen emSty since the deSartment moved into its new headTuarters on ChaSman $venue in 2022 7he Orange City Council agreed, $Sril , to lease the ground Àoor of the building to the Call to Adventure California )ire 0useum for 1 until it is ultimately torn down 7he second Àoor of the building is considered unsafe, and the stairway will Ee Elocked off 7he ground level will Ee re furbished and cleaned up before exhibits are installed. :hat Eetter location for a ¿re museum than a ¿re station, Hoddi Hurlings, president of Call to Adventure, says :hile the museum will feature disSlays of historical apparatus and artifacts, it will also be a learning center, designed to teach the SuElic aEout safety Sre cautions, how to mitigate risks and live more resilient lives Virtual learning exhibits will enaEle visitors to SarticiSate in ³adventures´ related to ¿res, un intentional inMuries and natural disasters 7he adventures will Ee Euilt around interactive disSlays, multimedia and theater presentations, and focus on experiential learning. ³7he goal,´ says Hurlings, ³is to infuse fun into safety learning e[Seriences Call to $dventure¶s goal is to create a world without unintentional inMuries and death The organization notes that accidental inMuries are the third lead ing cause of death in the U .S., and accidental deaths in ¿res has in creased 22 in the last 10 years 7he temSorary museum in Or ange is, Hurlings says, ³an in cuEator for a Sermanent facility that will be located in the Great Park in ,rvine ´ 7hat SroMect has Eeen aSSroved Ey the *reat Park Board and three and a half acres set aside for it. In the meantime, Orange will, at no cost to the city, have a Sroductive use of an other wise inhospitable space that also enhances the historic district and encourages more visitors 7he Call to $dventure Cali fornia )ire 0useum is ready to launch ³:e already have e[hiE its,” Hurlings reports. “ Once the lease is signed, we’ll start work on the ground Àoor and get ready to move in ´ 7he city has no immediate plans to raze the old headqua rters and expects the lease to continue for at least a year
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