The Temecula Valley school board is facing increased pressure and scrutiny for financial problems and program cuts. Board member Ken Ray has identified autism, a developmental disability, as a "huge hunk" of the problem, and as an answer to the question of where the money is going.

At a board meeting on May 3 of this year, Ray made a public comment about the money spent on autistic children, calling for a separate state agency to take responsibility for them, and calling the children themselves "the unwanted stepchildren under the public schools."

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.

He added that students with autism deserve services, but not from the public schools. He urged the audience to "get on Sacramento" so that the state assumes responsibility for all autistic students.

The Temecula Valley Unified School District has an annual budget of $150 million, and their financial problems are on the order of millions of dollars. In coming years their revenues will stagnate, their new schools will age and their mounting debt will, along with other factors, turn millions into tens of millions.

They are currently dealing with a grand jury investigation, harassment and wrongful termination lawsuits, and a growing morale crisis among their employees. The administration and board continue to deny that the situation is bad or that they have any problems at all. The position they take makes it impossible for them to improve, and they blame Congress, the state of California, special education, the grand jury, whatever they can find that is not themselves.

Ken Ray told the audience on May 3 that they "are not the bad guys here." In other words, they're the good guys, but that doesn't mean much. Perhaps he can tell us where the responsible guys are. The stand-up guys.

Perhaps Ken Ray sees the writing on the wall and is concerned as to what will be the legacy of the current board. However, publicly blaming a minority of children and setting the community against them into the bargain is an irresponsible act for an elected official. His naive suggestion that we just change California law shows he does not understand how discrimination has been outlawed over decades.

His actions shed light on the problems associated with autism, but they also raise the big question of whether he and the rest of the board have the judgment needed to realistically deal with their growing responsibilities. By singling out a small group of disabled children as the cause of widespread and systemic problems, he gives himself the appearance of a man who is in over his head.

Brian Hulihan lives in Temecula.