Donna Vanderdonck wrote on Oct 24, 2005 5:14 AM:Sounds to me as if the Board needs people that can stay within their budget. Since 1 in 166 children are now born with autism we better do something about research and find out what the reason for this problem. As a grandmother of two Autistic grandchildren I know the nightmare.

Concern Parent wrote on Oct 24, 2005 3:04 PM:It is an outrage that the board member of a school board could be so irresponsible and ignorant on the issues of education. The author of the article rightly points out when the board has no insight nor the ability to resolve real issues of education for special children, it is the sign of imcompetency. Autism is a very real issue. Contrary to Mr. Ray's opinion, according to the law of the land, it is the school district's responsibility to provide ALL children a free and appropriate education.

Michele wrote on Oct 24, 2005 4:08 PM:Well, then the school district shouldn't require children to have so many vaccines that contain thimerosal. If it wasn't for so many required vaccines, we wouldn't have an autism epidemic. In the mean time, the school district should quit there griping!

Ben's Mom wrote on Oct 24, 2005 5:07 PM:Ray's comments are abhorrent- but he may be on to something. If, as many people- both parents and open minded professionals- believe, the autism epidemic turns out to be related to toxic vaccinations- it might be quite appropriate to look to someone else to fund the educational needs of the autistic students: namely the pharmaceutical industry who promoted products they knew put thousands of children at risk. Local and state politicians should watch the developing mercury toxicity liability issue closely. It may ultimately provide the resolution to this nightmare called the autism epidemic.

David Neiman wrote on Oct 24, 2005 6:03 PM:If Mr. Ray thinks educating autistic children is expensive, he should look into what it costs the taxpayer to take care of uneducated autistic people over the course of their lifetimes. If he would look into it, he might be impressed enough with the cost benefit, that he would find even more money for the kids.

Linda wrote on Oct 25, 2005 12:09 AM:I agree with Ray in that another agency needs to pick up the 'huge' tab associated with autism. That agency should receive it's funds from the people who decided that injecting mercury into babies was harmless. The consequences of this senseless tragedy have not only devastated families but now schools are being required to supply 1 on 1 care for the autistic student. Get the money from Eli Lily and Merck...they saw the problem with their vaccines way back in 1992. Get involved and make sure the financial burden falls on the culprits behind the problem. The financial burden of autism is big and getting bigger. Find out about the 'Lily Rider'. Linda

Betsy wrote on Oct 25, 2005 1:09 AM:Segregation was outlawed long ago, but apparently no one notified the Temecula Valley USD board. Mr. Ray proposes that children who are "different" don't deserve band or physical education, and their teachers should be paid less. Mr. Ray has a lot to learn; maybe he should start with Brown v. Board of Education.

Christine wrote on Oct 25, 2005 6:19 AM:What this man did was deplorable, but for Linda to blame Autism on Mercury is just plain dumb. There has not been one Scientifically proven study to show that Mercury is the cause of Autism. Anyone who thinks that is merely looking for a scapegoat. If mercury caused autism, there would have been a rise in diagnosis 50+ years ago when they started using mercury in the vaccines. Autism is a Genetic disorder, that begins to show symptoms at 18 months old, the same time children are given the MMR vaccine. Why do so many people want to blame this on the government?

krnewman wrote on Oct 25, 2005 8:53 AM:that was a well-written editorial.

Tiffany wrote on Oct 25, 2005 9:22 AM:I am floored by the idiotic comments of someone who would claim to be an advocate for children. Is he only an advocate for non-disabled children? Yes autism is an epidemic. Yes autism creates a financial burden. It isn't going away. It is time for EVERYONE to face up to it and meet the needs of ALL children. An opinion is one thing, we all have one, but firing of careless comments without concern for the children those words will wound is unacceptable for a public official. I believe he owes everyone an apology.

Carolyn wrote on Oct 25, 2005 10:42 AM:I need to correct Christine's comment. A baby who weighs 10 pounds and was given 4 shots containing mercury was given 100 times the safe leve in ONE DAY. THis did not happen 50 years ago. They did not bundle shots and they did not give so many so early. She needs to get educated. Start at robertfkennedyjr.com for facts that will change you forever. This is the new tobacco--where they pretended it was safe while it was killing us left and right. And I agree, the biotechs ought to pay for the damage done to so many vulnerable infants .

KJS's Mom wrote on Oct 25, 2005 11:33 AM:Mr. Ray's comments are absolutely heartbreaking. As the mother of an autistic child who currently relies on the school system, I can honestly say that Mr. Ray is totally out of line. Without special education, my son's future and the possibility that he could be mainstreamed into classes for "regular" kids would be out of the question. As for the money alotted for his program, I can honestly say that like other programs, it is woefully underfunded - with parents being asked to donate food and supplies. Placing blame on the program for autistic kids is just as ridiculous as blaming it on the necessity for 3rd grade. It makes no sense. And it's a sign of utter ignorance. Mr. Ray should be ashamed.

Helen wrote on Oct 25, 2005 11:46 AM: I think it would help if the public knew a little more about this district. Perhaps then they would understand, not agree, why comments like these were made. These people continue to waste money on lawyers fighting parents rather than provide appropriate programs for these children. They also continue to use attorneys that have questionable tactics (they've been fined, in Federal Court for lying, among other things, & the entire firm has been ordered to take ethics training). Also wanted to share that, according to Ralph Scott from Focused Monitoring in the CA Dept. of Ed., Temecula's Verification Review that found "systemic" violations of special education law is still open. The corrective actions ordered were due by March of '04 & then extended to June of '04. It is my opinion that the review was not even properly conducted as issues raised in the parent meeting were not verified by parents (they asked the district if IEPs were being implemented after parents complained that they were not!). They have also NOT been back for a follow up review/visit. They do not want to follow the law here & NO ONE, Feds, CDE or the Riverside County SELPA's making them. We have repeatedly asked these people to work with us & not against us. The appropriate training of staff is the key here and would save this district a lot of money. Instead, they continue to offer inferior programs that will not allow these children to progress appropriately. Many of the services that Mr. Ray is complaining about were not provided to children out of the goodness of the district's heart but rather either awarded by a hearing officer or offered through a settlement ONLY after parents had to file for hearing against this district. Districts normally settle these issues prior to hearing ONLY when they know they will lose because they have not offered these kids what the law guarentees them; a Free and APPROPRIATE Education.

Paula wrote on Oct 25, 2005 12:13 PM:I find it quite ironic that I read this the day after Rosa Parks has died. With her one, simple, dignified act of defiance, Rosa Parks started the civil rights movement which shamed and changed a nation and how that nation dealt with racial and social injustice. Can anyone imagine how Mr. Ray's comments would have been received if he stood up and said that all the financial problems in his district were due to African Americans and Brown v. Board of Ed? Well, bigotry against disabled people, especially against people with bio-behavioral "special needs," is the last bastion which has yet to be effectively shamed by our society. Why is it OK with us for people to villainize the small special education (about 10%) population when defending their out of control and bizarrly managed budgets? It should not be! It should not be at all! Is it really because the majority want what's good for the 90% of children without special needs, and the rest be damned? Will we always let the social conditions of the majority tyrannize the special needs minority? A brilliant special education attorney I know says, "To the parents whose children do not have special needs: you are the power. You must lock arms with us, the parents of special needs children, to resist the evil of bigotry. Only then can we awaken the shame which may lead us to the 'promised land' of social equality." Mr. Ray needs to be run out of town on a rail.

Stacy wrote on Oct 25, 2005 2:52 PM:I'm more concerned about the cost paid by taxpayers for supporting irresponsible figures in authority like Mr. Ray. Now who can we blame and ask to pick up the cost of his mistakes?

Jennifer wrote on Oct 25, 2005 4:47 PM:The taxpayers need to ask Mr. Ray exactly WHERE all the money comes that is supposed to support the students with autism. The federal government is obliged to (and does) provide a significant "hunk" of funding for these children. It is highly unlikely that funds are being siphoned from other programs to be the sole support for them. Taxpayers need to make Ray accountable for where these monies are going. We have an awesome program in our school district, and nobody seems to be suffering. On the contrary.

jkl's father wrote on Oct 25, 2005 5:38 PM:Mr. Ray should resign from the school board immediately!! The comments he made are and were deplorable, if this trustee cannot act on behalf of ALL children he needs to get away from our children and the sooner the better. No wonder with this attitude, the lawsuits run rampant in our district....Where does the money go?LAWSUITS!!!!! Follow the law Mr. Ray or GET OUT!!

A TVUSD teacher wrote on Oct 25, 2005 8:46 PM:Shame on Ken Ray! There are no unwanted stepchildren in Temecula. They all are our kids! If one of his children needed orthodontics and the others didn't, would he consider that child a thief stealing from the others? Of course not! He is suppose to be a representative for ALL children, first, last and always. They don't have an exception listed on that banner under which he sits during board meeting. Get this man off the board!

Krissy wrote on Oct 26, 2005 12:35 AM:In response to Christine. Do your homework before making such statements. Autism was around 50 years ago, the same time mercury was put into vaccines. But babies didn't get nearly as many and they didn't get them at birth. When they started giving Hep B at birth that is when the rise began. If you educated yourself on the topic you would find that there have been studies that have been burried. There is a big cover up, the gov't cannot say that vaccines cause autism. The public outrage would be huge and parents would refuse vaccines left and right. Leaving children to die from Measles etc. Autism is an epidemic and guess what, epidemics are not genetic! No study needs to be done to prove that.

Tim Edmondson wrote on Oct 26, 2005 6:59 AM:As a proud parent of a courageous child with Autism...I have never read a more reprehensible statement as that of Ken Ray. Yet another influence in California education whose "sage wisdom" we can not afford. On the subject of fair and equal education for "all" california students, Mr Ray, your ignorance exceeds your negligance which in my mind only underlines the need for your prompt dismissal. For you perhaps, a less challenging carreer, like "balloon animals".

Jeff W wrote on Oct 26, 2005 7:49 AM:It appears as if discrimination is alive and well at the TVUSD. No wonder they have so many lawsuits. Perhaps the Grand Jury should re-visit the district or the Office of Civil Rights should investigate Mr. Ray's comments. In the old days Mr. Ray would have been "tarred and feathered" and chased out of town!

Marlene wrote on Oct 26, 2005 9:10 AM:The blame goes to greedy pharmaceuticals, government coverups, FDA and CDC lies, and mandated vaccination policies that cause the autism in the first place. Autistic children are the victims, now the government and school districts at all levels has the moral obligation to step up and take responsiblity for educating them. Government should also be responsible for their medical treatment including detox of mercury (under guise of thimerosol) that they claimed was "safe". If the vaccine damage compensation fund had paid each victims family $5 million, then the families could foot the bill for education and medical treatments. So put up or shut up.

Helen wrote on Oct 26, 2005 10:24 AM:Regarding the comment made by a TVUSD teacher: if one of Mr. Ray's kids needed orthodontics, would he think that was "stealing" from his other children. Don't know how many children he has but I do think I remember hearing that he's won a lottery in the past. Also, since I am the parent of a child with Autism who attends school in the TVUSD, I thank you for your other comments.

Helen wrote on Oct 26, 2005 10:48 AM:Maybe they could create a charter school, isolated from every "normal" child, and have the kids taught eugenics. It could be cradle to grave care...now wait, wasn't that the reason that state mental hospitals were created, so we wouldn't have to look at them??? And that worked so well, didn't it? Federal law still stipulates free and appropriate education for every child. How about a junket for the school board -- an all expense paid trip to Napa State Hospital.

A Special Education parent wrote on Oct 26, 2005 11:42 AM:In Response to Marlene.......you have no idea the way district treats parents and students. Ken Ray's comment goes to the core of this school board's arrogance, blame all of the problems on someone else and get re-elected at any cost. The BIG question is why are these political positions so valuable? Can they be they be that profitable?

Larry wrote on Oct 26, 2005 5:34 PM:We all know this is not Mr. Ray speaking. This board does nothing without the approval of Dave Allmen. Once again they are letting him lead them down the path to another law suit and fees to his attorney friends.Shame on you board members for being so lax and letting someone like Dave Allmen ruin this district. Stand up now and take charge of things.

Craig E. wrote on Oct 26, 2005 10:10 PM:"At a public meeting on Sept. 20 he did it again, telling the audience that the board is "stealing" from their kids to pay for autism, and that the results are cuts to band programs, physical education programs and raises for teachers." Who's stealing from whom? Mr. Ray are you saying that these children are taking money that does not belong to them? Don't beleive everthing your told about the special education children being an "unfunded mandate." School districts get plenty of money from the feds and the state, it is how they choose to spend the money that differs. Perhaps the TVUSD should practice more fiscal responsibility and stop blaming a small percentage of children for their financial woes.

Lori wrote on Oct 27, 2005 9:42 AM:This school board votes 5-0 on everything. They couldn't buy a dissenting opinion at Wal-Mart. Should the public assume that the rest of the board agrees with Ken Ray on this? Do Dave Allmen and Dick Glock have something to do with it? After all, the board is supposed to provide mandates for the administration to follow, but they spend their time and money defending the actions of their plodding administrators. Is this another example of them acting first and explaining it later? Maybe they think they can just dump these autistic kids on the state now and pay their lawyers to get them out of it. There is a pattern here: the administration blunders into trouble, the board decides some law they broke is "unfair", and they draft a resolution telling us how to vote in the next election. Meanwhile they pay lawyers and consultants to dig them out, never wondering what they could have done to prevent the crisis. It's an expensive way to do business, and if it is ever going to stop, we need to separate the puppets from the puppeteers.

A teacher wrote on Oct 27, 2005 11:19 AM:Thank you Lori!! you are spot on! The only thing I would change would be your take on seperating the puppets from the puppeteers. We need to get rid of the puppets (the school board) and the puppeteers (administration). Watch how much this board spends on an "independent" consultant to replace Allmen, then they will give the job to Gary Wilson (or worse, Glock).

George wrote on Oct 28, 2005 9:08 AM:It is truly encouraging to note that so many people now realize that mercury in vaccines has finally been identified as a major causal factor in the dramatic rise in autism in recent years. Now, if we can only have the AMA and governmental organizations stop advising (and sometimes requiring) that a myriad of vaccines be giving children, (particularly newborn babies, who's immune systems have yet to develope), merely as a routine matter, perhaps we can stem the tide in the continuing rise of autism and stop this unnecessary waste of lives. As to Ken Ray and the other members of the Board, they seem to be perfect examples of incompetants that manage to worm their way into positions of authority.

Another Parent wrote on Nov 7, 2005 1:26 PM:Another teacher: While I entirely agree that justice does not often prevail when it comes to child advocates being retaliated against, doesn't the $75,000 payment to the TVUSD administrator prove that sometimes it does? This administrator had enormous courage in light of the fact that she had no union to support her. My point is simply that teachers have a union that can and should support them should they be retaliated against for speaking out on behalf of a child with disabilities - or any child for that matter. Laws can only work if they are applied. Board member Bob Brown made a recent remark that it is always the same 'few people' complaining. And why is that? Why do so few teachers stay silent when there is wrong being done? Especially when they have the additional protection of their union? Parents and others don't have that luxury. And while it is true that parents may not lose a career over the matter, the district's retaliation can cause other losses that, hopefully, teachers and their union will never experience.

Thank the lord I moved to MIssouri wrote on Nov 7, 2005 5:41 PM:I am a former resident of the Temecula/Murrieta area. I now live in Missouri in an area where the average yearly income is less than a third of that of the residents of California, but somehow they find the funds to help children with and without disabilities. They have programs like PAT (Parent as Teachers) this program visit a child’s home from birth to 3 years once a month for 1 hours and works with the parent to help their child achieve developmental milestones. They often can discover children with development delay at a very early age. As in my case they were able to determine that my youngest child speech was not developing. They referred me to the public school system to have my son tested. My son was delayed and was enrolled into a pre-k program in the afternoons the day he turned 3 years old. This public school program is to help children with any development delay so that they can work toward catching up by time they reach kindergarten. My son was still not progressing and was referred to a ‘Development Center’ in the mornings for Speech and Occupation Therapies (The development center also offers physical therapies and work with children from birth on). I took my son to see a pediatric neurologist after several month of being evaluated by the physicians, development center and the school district it was determined that my son has PDD/Asperger’s a form of autism and a mild form of epilepsy. He now takes medicine to control his ‘seizures’ and he has been attending the development center and the pre-k program for 9 months. Everyone is happy with at his progress and everyone agrees that by the age of 5 you may not be able to tell him apart from most other 5 years olds, because he received early intervention. Now what is really amazing is these programs are available to parent regardless of income level. So it does not matter if you make $15,000 or $150,000 a year your child will not be left behind. I have to applaud the state of Missouri for truly embracing - No child left behind. Instead of blaming the budget problems these innocent children Mr. Ray you should consider similar programs to that in Missouri and yes Missouri is paying for 2-3 years of special services for my child, but that is a lot cheaper than a lifetime of expenses. Now as a parent of a very special child, how dare you Mr. Ray single out any group of innocent children. Every child is special whether they have Autism, Down Syndrome, or any other disability these children are truly a blessing. If you don’t believe me ask their parents. I was truly blessed the day my little guy came into my life and I thank the lord every day for giving me such a wonderful child.

Juliette , Encinitas,CA wrote on Nov 17, 2005 5:33 PM:It would be a fine thing if Mr.Ray were to be born in the next life as a boy with Autism in the Temecula school district. Good Luck to you.

Cole's Dad wrote on Jan 27, 2006 8:07 AM:As a parent of a child in the TVSD I am very aware of the budget problems of my sons classes. Relyng on parent "donations" of paper and supplies is the norm. It is a sad state of affairs that - I thought - the school didn't have enough money for a ream of paper. The budget per student per year is horrifically low. But now I find out that that above is NOT the case. There is alot of money. It is just that ths money is being given to a very small selection of people (0.6%) for custom care for their child outside of school hours in the form of private aids/tutors. So where is the custom care for my child? Why does my son have a hard time getting paper for his class when others are getting private tutors during all waking hours - paid for by the same fund that can't afford paper for the other 99.4% of the students. I have no problem paying for special needs during school hours. But paying for a live in aid/tutor outside of school hours is simply not fair to the other 99.4% of us that are getting the shaft. And I am surprised about all of this whining on this board and elsewhere. You're riding a gravy train and you know it. If I had the school district pay for all non-school hour needs for my child I would just shut-up so that no one would notice that I am getting the free lunch of a lifetime. A majority of us 99.4% do not even know that these handful of families are taking SO much money for non-school hour needs. It will be my mission to educate them.

Thanks Cole's Dad wrote on Oct 7, 2006 3:26 PM:But if you'd care to get yourself educated about this & actually look at the district's financial reports & documents, you'd see that they underspent what they expected to spend by more than $ 5.5 Million dollars on supplies (paper...you know, basic supplies). Did the money go somewhere else? NO, but since the school site carry over is only $813 K, they won't let the schools spend it. They'll be rolling it into their reserves. In fact, over the last 5 years, the TVUSD has underspent in the supplies category by nearly $ 15 MILIION dollars. I know you're sick of the schools telling you they have no money for supplies. The teachers have to beg parents for them & the PTAs & PTSAs have to fundraise to buy them...but its not a few children in this district's fault. Its our administrations fault & probably our current school board's too because they are supposed to be GOVERNING our district. Either they know what's been going on or they can claim that they do not but isn't that why they're elected....to make those tough decisions or to govern those that do....so wouldn't you think they should know what's going on?

Brandon's mom wrote on Oct 25, 2006 10:23 AM:As a parent with a child w/high-functioning Autism, it has been my personal experience that school districts end up spending much more money trying to "fix" the problem or defend their poor choices, than providing F.A.P.E. for these students in the first place. All while creating excessive stress on the student, teachers and parents. Seems to me (in the big picture), doing what's needed from the beginning would save them money?

To Cole's Dad... wrote on Oct 28, 2006 9:31 PM:I hope you will check back to read this.. I live in Temecula and have a child with autism. My son who is of average intelligence (which means he can learn anything) has not been taught anything by the special ed system this district has. Why do you think this is? It is because the teachers that the district has do not know how to teach him. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. There are many reasons for this, mainly because the district refuses to find and hire teachers that know what they're doing, secondly the teachers that they have are provided with very shotty training. So the kids with autism are put into classrooms with teachers, some that are so inexperienced that they are afraid of the kids and they don't know what to do, so they put all of the responsibility on the school aide (who is probably just a mom who lives near by that needs a part time job). Of course goals are made and experts brought in (from outside of course), but the staff doesn't know how to follow through, but they don't tell anyone because they don't want to look inadequate. So when parents catch wind of it, they take the District to a Hearing with a Judge, because not teaching kids is illegal. Then the District is ordered to do certain things, like pay an NPA (non-public agency) to provide services, often in the home. Thanks to such NPAs and myself, my son is receiving an education. The district's propaganda is that the NPAs are providing medical or supervisory services, or something other than an education, because they can't admit to the public that they can't actually teach these kids. If they did that then everyone would take them to court.Year after year I have watched this go on and the district has done absolutly nothing to make it better. So take your anger out on them. They are the ones who don't fix the problem. The district is not paying for live-in aides(I know of none), but for an education that they ARE NOT, CAN NOT provide. "Gravy train" "free lunch" Those are the words of an uninformed dolt and I'm sure the people you preach it to will think the same.

Parent wrote on Nov 6, 2006 2:18 PM:"stupid is as stupid does" - F. Gump. By law, all kids are entitled to a FAPE. The law should be changed or Mr. Ray should be proactive to identify funding options. As an elected voice, you would think the Board would approach Congress and lobby hard....but no instead they "punt" and "shirk" their responsibility. This is evidenced by what they say about autistic kids which is they are "the unwanted stepchildren under the public schools." Stupid is as stupid does...... and their comments tell the capacity they have as Board members. Mr. Ray should resign let alone run for the school board.

Robin wrote on Jun 6, 2007 9:11 AM:I see this is an old story, But i would just like to say. How anyone could blame Autism. Thats like saying its these childrens fault they develop Autism. They are Autistic, thats the fact. And they deserve just as many rights as anyone else. Including a fair an just education. Im appauled at anyone suggesting otherwise.

Della wrote on Jun 7, 2007 7:57 AM:So we're going to stop 'wasting' money on all disabilities that are expensive? How NICE of this trustee to feel that autistic children deserve less than other kids get. Let's pray his child isn't diagnosed. After all, it's not 1 in 166 children -- it's 1 in 150 children, 1 in 94 boys. Typical, let's protect race, lifestyle and religion choices but not the disabled. Get real, Mr. Ray. These kids didn't ask for autism. Your prejudice is showing. You need off the board before you hurt more children. And don't be fooled, that's what it's doing.