Dr Roger Rice has a distinguished career of more than 20 years of service to Ventura County youth.

The Board of Education is pleased to announce their unanimous vote to appoint Dr Roger Rice as the new Superintendent of Ventura Unified School District (VUSD). Dr Rice, who currently serves as the Deputy Superintendent of Student Services for the Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE), comes to the district with a wealth of knowledge and skills he will use to further VUSD’s commitment “For the Future of Every Student.”

The community was very clear in their request that the new Superintendent be someone who will advocate for all students, who has experience working with at-risk and marginalized youth, and who will effectively communicate with our students, staff and community. When considering whether to spend several months and thousands of dollars conducting its third search in four years, the Board agreed to look first at local candidates with a proven track record of working with and for all students. Dr Rice immediately came to mind — having been a highly regarded finalist in the previous Superintendent search.

Dr Roger Rice, who has a distinguished career of more than 20 years of service to Ventura County youth, has worked to develop and support innovative programs for Alternative Education, Career and Technical Education (CTE), Special Education, and other programs to meet the needs of At-Risk Youth. Dr Rice served as the Chair of the State of California’s Student Services Group. In addition, he was selected as the County Education Leader of the Year for 2018 by the Ventura County Leadership Academy. Dr Rice has worked as a Classroom Teacher, Dean, Principal, Assistant Superintendent of Oxnard Union High School District and Deputy Superintendent of VCOE. He holds a BA in English from Colorado State University, Masters in Education from Azusa Pacific University, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Southern California.

Dr Rice brings experience and a passion for helping students with both their academic and social/emo- tional needs. He has demonstrated himself to be a conscientious, collaborative leader who has invested in his own professional training on issues that directly impact students — cultural proficiency, equity and access, IDEA training, creating professional learning communities, restorative practices and more.

Dr Rice’s first day with Ventura Unified will be Friday, March 1st. Dr Jeff Baarstad, retired Superintendent of Conejo Valley Unified School District, has agreed to serve as Interim Superintendent until that time. Dr Baarstad will work closely with Executive Cabinet, the District Leadership Team, Dr Rice and the Board to ensure that all students and staff have the support they need to be successful during the transition. Our sincere goal is to regain the stability of our District and to remain focused on supporting our students and staff moving forward.

The Board would like to acknowledge and thank Dr Jeff Davis, Assistant Superintendent of Human Re- sources, who has admirably served as Interim Superintendent since December 22nd, and will remain in that role until Monday, January 14th. Dr Davis is a highly valued member of our Executive Cabinet. He worked with staff during the Winter Break to ensure consistent services to our schools and reassured the community that Ventura Unified remains committed to the needs of all our students.

Dr Rice looks forward to working with staff, students and the community to build a bright future for every student in Ventura Unified.

On Jan.3, at approximately 10:30pm, a Nazi swastika was painted on both sides of the exterior sign at Temple Beth Torah located at 7620 Foothill Rd. The Ventura synagogue is the most recent local target of anti-Semitic vandalism.

Temple Rabbi Lisa Hochberg told the Breeze, “Over the front door of Temple Beth Torah is a banner, created in the wake of the Pittsburgh massacre, that reads “stronger than hate”. A swastika painted on our Temple sign was met with so much anger, sadness, and outcry from our non-Jewish Community as well as the Jewish community, that I know that “love over hate” prevails. Anti-Semitism is not new, but it is also not inevitable. Being quiet and complacent cannot educate others to the scourge of racism, intolerance and violent behavior that we are witnessing locally and nationally. Thank you to the many community members, local ministers, pastors and rabbis in Ventura who have reached out with love and support to Temple Beth Torah. We are not deterred from living in the world as Jews and continuing the work of *Tikkun Olam, making this world a place where people live with mutual respect. Sadly, racism may be at the top of the list of things we must fight, together with good people of all faiths, backgrounds and sensibilities.”

She continued, “Someone driving by Temple saw the swastika and called 911. Thank you for doing what we all must be reminded to do, to take action when we see unacceptable behavior. The graffiti has been removed and Temple continues to be an active vibrant place with doors open to all people of good heart. We are grateful to the Ventura Police Department for their support and assistance in this vandalism.”

Ventura resident Esther Cole stated, “That’s all it takes. One swastika led to the death of millions of people,

and World War II. Any one, and everyone, who is against any kind of discrimination, should be aware of this episode, and alert to any kind of behavior that discriminates against any religion or any ethnicity.”

Anybody with information or is a witness to this crime is asked to contact the Ventura Police Department at 339-4488 or 339-4416.

*Tikkun Olam is a concept in Judaism, interpreted in Orthodox Judaism as the prospect of overcoming all forms of idolatry, and by other Jewish denominations as an aspiration to behave and act constructively and beneficially. Documented use of the term dates back to the Mishnaic period.

by Dottie Rosenbaum

If the partial government shutdown that began in late December continues into February, there may not be sufficient appropriations for food assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to provide full benefits for that month. And if the shutdown continues into March, little or no benefits likely will be paid in that month. As a result, millions of low-income households — including millions of poor children, parents, elderly people, and people with disabilities — could have their basic food assistance cut back substantially in February and then virtually eliminated altogether starting in March if the shutdown continues. The President stated several days ago that the shutdown could go on for months or even years.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) may rule, however, that the only appropriation available for SNAP after January is the program’s $3 billion “contingency reserve,” which was made available through the fiscal year 2018 appropriations act. But SNAP benefits currently amount to about $4.8 billion a month, so the $3 billion reserve cannot fully fund February benefits.

The guidance that USDA has issued so far during the shutdown makes clear that “[eligible households will still receive monthly . . . SNAP benefits for January.” But by mid-January, states typically would begin sending the necessary data regarding households’ February SNAP benefits to the electronic benefit transfer (EBT) contractors that they use. This information shows how much in SNAP benefits to load on to each eligible household’s EBT card, which households then swipe at the store to redeem their SNAP benefits.

SNAP provides food assistance averaging about $125 per person, and about $245 per household, per month to more than 38 million individuals in more than 19 million households. SNAP is heavily focused on the poor: 92 percent of benefits go to households with cash incomes at or below the poverty line, and 56 percent go to households at or below half of the poverty line (about $10,390 for a family of three in 2019). Families with the greatest need receive the largest benefits. Close to 70 percent of SNAP participants are in families with children; nearly a third are in households with seniors or people with disabilities.

Those USDA officials and others in the Administration who are able to work during the shutdown are apparently assessing their options and developing a plan for how to proceed. It isn’t clear when USDA will notify states and EBT contractors about the steps it is requiring them to take to reduce February benefits. For now, participants and others who may wish to apply should continue operating as though the shutdown were not in effect.

What will happen in coming weeks with respect to SNAP thus is cause for very substantial concern. If the shutdown continues and USDA determines it does not have the authority to extend SNAP in the absence of congressional action, many low-income households would be at risk of serious hunger and hardship. Emergency food assistance providers such as food banks and food pantries, as well as other local community service providers, would likely see dramatic increases in demand as families and individuals scrambled to fill the hole in their monthly food budgets. In addition, the more than 250,000 supermarkets, grocery stores, and other retailers that participate in SNAP would see a substantial drop in SNAP redemptions, which in many cases constitute a significant share of their sales.