The Menifee Union School District is seeking volunteers to serve on its 2008 Bond Oversight Committee. The committee will oversee the spending of the District's recently passed $31.46 million bond to ensure funds are spent only for purposes set forth in the ballot measure.

A minimum of seven volunteers are needed for the group, which should include at least one person in the following categories:

1. One member active in a business organization representing the business community located within the District



2. One member shall be active in a senior citizens' organization



3. One member shall be active in a bona fide taxpayers organization



4. One member shall be the parent or guardian of a child enrolled in the District



5. One member shall be both a parent or guardian of a child enrolled in the District and active in a PTA organization or school site council

Volunteers (who'll serve without pay) must be 18 years old, serve a minimum of two years, attend quarterly meetings and assist in providing an annual report of expenditures to the school board. No employee, vendor, or contractor of the District is eligible to serve on the Committee.

Interested individuals should submit their letter of interest and a resume of qualifications by December 1, 2008 to:

Mr. Bruce Shaw
Director of Facilities
Menifee Union School District
30205 Menifee Road
Menifee, CA 92584

For more information, please contact the District Office at 951-672-1851.

Labels: Bond-Measures, Menifee-Union-School-District

Measure B passes.

As of 10;41am, Wednesday, 100.00% of the precinct votes have been tallied, and the count for Measure B...

Yes: 7,095 56.90%
No: 5,375 43.10%

Total 12,470 100.00%

The bond measure needed at least a 55% yes vote to pass.

Labels: Bond-Measures, Menifee-Union-School-District

One thing about being in Menifee, is living smack dab in the middle of two newspapers, The Californian and The Press Enterprise.

And on top of that, two editorial pages that seem to disagree with each other more often than not.

Today, The Californian stated its opposition against Measure B, the Menifee School Bond...

With several large housing developments already approved for Menifee, there's little doubt the district will one day need those schools, the question is when. If the housing market turns around within a year or two, it could be sooner than later, but it's fairly clear they aren't needed now and likely won't be for at least five more years, and possibly longer.

But a couple of weeks ago, the Press Enterprise stated is approval for Measure B...

The Menifee Union School District cannot provide enough classrooms for one of the state's fastest-growing regions without more money. That circumstance makes the district's school bond on the Feb. 5 ballot a necessity.

To add more confusion to the mix, the editorials offer up some conflicting numbers...

The Californian - "...the district would have about 9,250 students in two years. The capacity of its 11 schools ---- including the two new schools opening in July ----- is 9,600 on a traditional calendar, but 12,000 if it sticks with its year-round schedule."

The Press Enterprise - "But with more than 8,800 students, facilities are crowded. The district grew by about 1,000 students just in the past year, and projects another 3,100 students in the next five years. Without Measure B, the district will be hard-pressed to find places for those children to learn."

One paper seems to think the situation isn't that dire, the other thinks we're going to burst at the seams. Neither one is really touching the subject of moving to a traditional calendar, though The Californian did say it thinks the district isn't being up front with its intentions for Measure B.

Links to the editorials...

• The Californian, against Measure B - February 1, 2008



• The Press Enterprise, favors Measure B - January 17, 2008

For those of you new to Menifee 24/7 and wanting to learn more about Measure B, I've provided links to all the articles published here. The articles involving school boundary changes are tied into the Measure B debate, you'll want to read them as well.

The vote is scheduled for Feb 5, this Tuesday...

• Measure B - Menifee School Bond, Steve Johnson, Dec 21, 2007



• Menifee Schools Face Tighter Budgets, Steve Johnson, Jan 7, 2008



• Ridgemoor School Boundary Meeting, Steve Johnson, Jan 8, 2008



• Measure B: New Schools for Menifee, James Gammill, Jan 14, 2008



• Ridgemoor School Boundary Changes - Jan 14, Steve Johnson, Jan 14, 2008



• School Bonds versus School Buses, Steve Johnson, Jan 15, 2008



• Another Recommendation to the MUSD District Office, Todd Reed, Jan 15, 2008



• Boundary Change Meeting Schedule, Steve Johnson, Jan 16, 2008



• Measure B, Holly Kay, Jan 16, 2008



• School Boundary Meeting - Oak Meadows, Steve Johnson, Jan 17, 2008



• The Single Track vs. Multi-Track Debate, Todd Reed, Jan 21, 2008

Labels: Bond-Measures, Menifee-Union-School-District

It is unclear to me if current homeowners are going to be affected by this new Bond. I have emailed the person behind the Bond this morning and I am waiting for a response. I tried asking for information yesterday at the school district, and they were directed not to talk about it. I know that in certain areas of Menifee/ Sun City, they don't have the Perris HS Bond attached to their property taxes. I lived behind Stater Bros. for 10 years and my taxes never went up after those Bonds passed, but then I moved to the houses off La Ladera and I had those Bonds were Attached. So, I am wondering if this will be attached to new home purchases only. Does any one know for sure? I wonder if this Bond will affect Quail Valley residences.
If you think this bond is bad, live in the Lennar Homes off Lazy Creek and pay a EMWD bond of $1,400.00 a year, plus all the school bonds. My friend pays around $8000 a year in taxes for a 430,000 home.

Labels: Bond-Measures

I did some digging back on what school bond measures we've passed before, considering we're now being asked to support Measure B.

Measure B, which will be up for public ballot this February 5, is asking us to pay an additional $17.90 per year for every $100,000 in assessed value. So, if your home is valued at $300,000 dollars, you'll be paying $53.70 per year, for the next 25 years.

In 2002, we passed Measure J, a bond measure for Menifee Union. Currently, we're paying $16.25 per year, per $100,000 in assessed value.

In 2004, we passed Measure Z, a bond measure for Perris High School District. Currently, we're paying $30.00 per year, per $100,000 in assessed value.

So, if your home is worth $300,000, and Measure B happens to pass, you'll be paying $192.45 per year, for these three bond measures alone. That's about what Menifee Union charges parents to put their child on a school bus.

Labels: Bond-Measures

As most people are aware, Measure B will be on the February 5th ballot. Publisher Steve Johnson has written a previous article and several people have posted comments.

Since I have been a teacher in the Menifee District for several years, I hope to add a few observations that may help people decide on this issue. When I first arrived at Menifee Valley Middle School, student enrollment had increased to a level far beyond the planned capacity of the school. Bell Mountain Middle School opened at that time and the students were divided between the two middle schools. Now, both of these schools have grown and are again approaching the capacity limits. If this measure passes, the new middle school and two additional elementary schools will be completed just when crowding at our existing schools is having a serious impact on teacher morale and student discipline.

I have observed that the school district management and the school board are financially conservative and consistently spend the available funds where they will do the most good for the students. The district is not here for the benefit of the administrators or the teachers; it is here to provide the best educational experience possible for the kids. Working in a great district is just a side benefit we enjoy.

It is hard to ask people to approve higher taxes for themselves. My best argument to do so is that we have a great school district that is an asset for our community and has a positive effect on home values. This bond measure will keep us just ahead of the growing student population. If we put this off, the monetary cost will be much greater later.

Labels: Bell-Mountain-Middle-School, Bond-Measures, Menifee-Union-School-District, Menifee-Valley-Middle-School

Measure B, the Menifee Union School District Bond, will be on the February 5, 2008 ballot.

If approved it will raise $31.46 million to finance the construction of three new schools wtihin the district...

• Elementary School #9 – located in the Canyon Hills Project in Lake Elsinore on Canyon Hills Drive (although located in Lake Elsinore, it is within Menifee Union School District). Local contributions to be matched by State.



• Elementary School #10 – located in the Golden City Specific Plan in Murrieta at the intersection of Meadowlark Lane and Baxter Road (although located in Murrieta, it is within Menifee Union School District). Local contributions to be matched by State.



• Middle School #3 – located north of McCall Blvd and east of I-215. Bounded on the north by Chambers Avenue and on the east by Sherman Road. Local contributions to be matched by State.

In order to pass, Measure B must receive a "yes" vote from 55% or more of the total votes.

If approved, each property owner living within the district will have to pay $17.90 for every $100,000 of assessed valuation, for 25 years, the length of the bond. So, if your property is worth $300,000, your taxes will increase by $53.70 per year.

The assessment will be based upon the actual rate of growth of the District, with a rate higher than 4% resulting in a lower payment and a rate of growth less than 4% resulting in a higher payment.

Anyone who would like to argue the pros and cons of this measure, please feel free to post a comment.

Labels: Bond-Measures, Menifee-Union-School-District

A couple items of interest regarding the aftermath of Measure G's defeat...

The Idyllwild Town Crier published a Special News Update, under the title of, "VHS May Declare Banktruptcy". Here's a telling paragraph from that article...

The district did lay off about 20 employees in August, but no other major changes have been implemented to address the expanding losses. In fact, the district has had to use most of Select's down payment as working capital for the past several months.

Read their full article here...
http://www.towncrier.com/pages/breakingnews/specialupdate20071113.html

The Press Enterprise published an interview with the much maligned Kali P. Chaudhuri, asking for his thoughts on Measure G's defeat. As expected, the doctor didn't say anything we haven't already heard, except that he's not going away, and he wishes for everyone to work together to save Hemet Valley Medical Center...

We don't know. This is democracy. I respect the opposition. I can tell you my view. My view is let's not (allow) the fight between the doctors ... it should not spoil a great hospital like this. Our mother is sick, it's time for us to give up our ego. It's time for us to give up petty jealousy. It's time for us to stop name-calling and come together to save this hospital.

Read the full interview here...
http://www.pe.com/..../PE_News_Local_H_chaudhuri13.3de9d72.html

Labels: Bond-Measures, Valley-Health-System

At 1:40am, on a red-eyed Wednesday morning, the final tally was released. Measure G, the VHS hospital sale proposal, failed to pass.

So what happens now?

1. Select Healthcare is still obligated to purchase Moreno Valley Medical Center for $47 million. It can back out of this deal however, but must forfeit the $14 million deposit it paid to VHS.

2. If Select Healthcare moves forward in purchasing Moreno Valley Medical Center, it will leave VHS with only two hospitals. This will allow VHS to sell off one of the remaining hospitals without a public vote. My guess is that VHS will sell off Menifee Valley Medical Center, either to Select Healthcare, or another buyer. It will use the money from these two hospitals to pay for the seismic retrofit of Hemet Valley.

3. I'm guessing that VHS will retain Hemet Valley Medical Center.

4. VHS will probably place a new bond measure on the ballot, thinking that people are now willing to have their property taxes raised.

5. VHS still doesn't have a hospital management company in place, after it fired Chaudhuri's company earlier this year. It's going to have to find one.

6. If Select Healthcare opts to back out of the purchase of Moreno Valley, then it opens up possible sales to other companies that wanted to buy all three hospitals.

Whatever the case, we're back to the drawing board.

Labels: Bond-Measures, Valley-Health-System

Last month I mentioned a poll that had been set up on Topix regarding Measure G, an initiative to approve the sale of the three Valley Health System hospitals.

As of this writing, the poll shows quite a bit of people who are against...

Vote No - 53%
Vote Yes - 36%
I don't know - 10%

130 responses cast.

You can see the results yourself...
http://www.topix.net/forum/city/menifee-ca/T8I28LJ7SMBNV028U

When the poll was first created, there was an overwhelming percentage of "I don't know" respondents. But as time moved on, these respondents tailed off, then the "No" and "Yes" camps started building up momentum. And then lately, the "No" camp has seemingly gained the most momentum.

The vote is this Tuesday, November 6. Find out where your polling station is, and cast your vote.

You can locate your polling station, by using the County's online address lookup...
http://www.election.co.riverside.ca.us/polls/root1106/pollplac.htm

Labels: Bond-Measures, Valley-Health-System

I started an online poll to see what people's opinions are about Measure G, the approval to sell Valley Health System hospitals to Select Healthcare.

You can take part in the poll here...
http://www.topix.net/....menifee-ca/J7SMBNV028U

Please vote only once, so that we can get a good sense of what we might expect when the real voting starts.

I just launched the poll last night, and thus far 8 people have taken part, with 50% saying "I don't know". That just goes to show that this thing can go either way.

Labels: Bond-Measures, Valley-Health-System

There's some myths being spread around by Measure G opponents, which are higly deceving, and compelling. I wanted to debunk those myths...

Myth #1 - If Measure G passes, the hospitals will become for-profit.

The truth is that the hospitals are already for-profit. Valley Health System is NOT a non-profit group. Rather, it's a government agency. It's supposed to earn profits to pay for its improvements. Problems arose because poor management caused it to lose money, and resorted to taxing its residents to pay for interest on bonds.

Myth #2 - Stop privatization

The facts are that privatization is what creates quality. When investors have earnings at stake, they compete against other hospitals for more business. That competition is what ushers in quality service and state of the art amenities.

The reason why VHS hospitals are so antiquated with its facilities, is because it's a governement agency, with no incentive for improvement. Publicly-owned institutions have no investors, and therefore, no incentive to provide quality.

If you believe that publicly owned institutions can provide quality service, go stand in line at the DMV.

Myth #3 - If Measure G passes, no other hospitals can be built for 20 years.

False. If Measure G passes, any other health care company, or physicians group, or individual is free to build new hospitals in Menifee, Hemet, Moreno Valley, or anywhere in between.

What opponents are referring to is a agreement by VHS not to build any new hospitals. But so what! Why would we want VHS to another hospital?

Myth #4 - If Measure G passes, it will create a monopoly.

Valley Health System effectively has a monopoly right now! Why aren't Measure G opponents saying something about that?

There are still plenty of hospitals throughout south west Riverside county to go to. In fact, many people prefer to go to Inland Valley instead of Menifee Valley. People in Hemet and San Jacinto often go to Beaumont. People in Moreno Valley frequently go to Loma Linda.

Myth #5 - If Measure G passes, people will be denied healthcare.

False. This is the biggest lie of them all.

Hospitals are prohibited from turning away emergency patients just because they don't have money or insurance. In fact, all physicians swear to an oath to treat anyone who needs medical attention.

As it stands now, people are already being denied healthcare because the three VHS hospitals are understaffed and poorly equipped. Anyone who has been to Menifee Valley Medical Center, and had to wait 8 hours to be attended to, knows what I'm talking about.

Myth #6 - We need to keep our hospitals publicly owned.

This is a big deception.

Under the terms of the agreement, if Measure G fails to pass, Select Healthcare is OBLIGATED to purchase Moreno Valley Medical Center. It has already paid $14 million to VHS as a deposit for Moreno Valley. No matter what happens, Moreno Valley will belong to Select Healthcare.

There are still other candidates that want to purchase Hemet Valley and Menifee Valley. Do the Measure G opponents think these buyers are going to go away?

Myth #7 - Bankruptcy protection can bring VHS back to solvency.

False. Bankruptcy will only waive VHS' debts, which are the same debts that VHS hasn't been paying anyways!

Bankruptcy won't bring in new money. Without new money, it's going to have to shut down services, and layoff workers.

Labels: Bond-Measures, Valley-Health-System

Valley Health System (VHS) caregivers, who are members of SEIU United Healthcare Workers - West (UHW), announced they voted overwhelmingly last week to endorse Measure G on the November 6th ballot.

A formal announcement of their support is scheduled for Thursday, October 11th, 12:00pm, at the steps of City of Hemet's Public Library, 300 E. Latham Avenue.

UHW is the largest union of VHS employees, representing more than 1,000 members at Hemet Valley Medical Center, Menifee Valley Medical Center and Moreno Valley Community Hospital.

This endorsement of Measure G by the UHW is probably without surprise. If Measure G were to fail, there would be no money to pay these workers.

Labels: Bond-Measures, Valley-Health-System

Measure G is the voter initiative to decide if Valley Health System should sell its hospitals to Select Healthcare of Del Mar.

Now that the vote is set for November 6, signs are being posted all across the district boundaries, particularly in Hemet where the situation with Hemet Valley Medical Center appears bleak.

Today, the Valley Chronicle reports that Valley Health System board Chairman Patrick Searl warned voters that if they DON'T approve Measure G, the emergency room at Hemet Valley may have to shut down due to dwindling finances...

http://www.thevalleychronicle.com/..../01ner.txt

The same article goes on to report that the Hemet City Council voted unanimously to support Measure G.

The Press Enterprise reported today that a group called "Hospital Defense League" has filed a lawsuit to block the sale. They're concern is that Dr. Kali P. Chaudhuri, the guy who runs the company that manages the three district hospitals, is working behind the scenes with Select Healthcare to become its future owner...

http://www.pe.com/....Local_H_measure28.3daecd4.html

A lot of people are, in fact, in agreement with the Hospital Defense League, and is the basis of their opposition to Measure G. They go on to explain that Chaudhuri's company is what created the big financial mess that the three hospitals are in, and that Chaudhuri is the mastermind behind the sale.

Interestingly, Valley Health System itself, is a 50% owner in the same company that Chaudhuri operates. While I'm not putting any support in Chaudhuri, I still find it hard to point all the blame on him. I feel that Valley Health System is also to blame for the mess these hospitals are in.

I want to also direct your attention to some very insightful comments posted on an earlier article of ours, which highlights the situation with Chaudhuri....

http://www.menifee247.com/....center-goes-to.htm#comments

Chaudhuri orchestrated the Valley Health System’s Board to sell the three district hospitals to Select Healthcare that has no track record of operating hospitals. Board of Directors, Darren Magness is Chaudhuri’s henchman and Dr. William Cherry is a full time employee of Dr. Chaudhuri’s related company.

As for each of you voters reading this, I hope I've presented some arguments in favor of, and against Measure G. There seems to be two major issues going on...

• The three hospitals are NOW providing service at an unacceptable level. Conditions are already bad. Valley Health System failed to operate these hospitals profitably. You can blame this on Chaudhuri's poor management, but I think Valley Health System itself is also to blame, being the 50% owner of Chaudhuri's company.



• The sale of these hospitals may very well end up becoming owned by Chaudhuri. Since none of us really know if that's true, it's just speculation. But for the sake of argument, let assume it's true. If the sale were to fail, then what's the alternative? Valley Health System cannot operate these hospitals, and many voters like myself are not willing to pay for bonds that will allow fiscal irresponsibility to fester.

For the future, if Chaudhuri were to become the owner of Menifee Valley Medical Center, and if Chaudhuri were to continue running it into the ground, then it simply opens up an opportunity for other companies to build competing hospitals.

The demand for quality healthcare already has Menifee residents flocking to Inland Valley Medical Center. That sends a signal to other companies that there is a demand to exploit. No matter what becomes of Chaudhuri, the approval of Measure G lets all healthcare companies know that Southwest County wants better service.

Labels: Bond-Measures, Valley-Health-System

Last August 8, Valley Health System board of directors voted to approve the sale of its three hospitals to Select Healthcare Solutions of Del Mar, CA.

The sale cannot go through, however, pending the outcome of a popular vote from the people within the hospital district this November. If the voters approve the sale, the sale will go through.

However, the sale is not without its critics, namely, the VHS board of directors. Of primary concern, is that Dr. Kali Chaudhuri may one day gain control of the hospitals. Chaudhuri is a 50% owner, and chairman, of a company that VHS hired to manage the hospitals. The other 50% owner is VHS itself. The sale contract prevents Select Heathcare from selling the hospitals to Chaudhuri within the first five years. After that, anything goes.

The reason why the VHS board of directors are concerned about Chaudhuri coming back to own the hospitals is because they feel Chaudhuri's company was responsible for putting the three hospitals into the poor financial situation they are in.

I think VHS's concerns are good, but they're moot. The fact is that the quality of service at Menifee Valley Medical Center is already in the dumps. Why are we concerned about quality of service five years from now, when we don't even have decent quality of service right now?

The poor management of VHS' hospitals continued for years with VHS arguing that the only solution was to sell bonds (plus interest) at the burden of taxpayers. VHS didn't attempt to terminate Chaudhuri and the management company until as recently as last June, well after the problems had settled in, and well after the proposed sale was made. The way I see things, the only way to improve service is to separate Menifee Valley Medical Center from VHS and get entirely new management at the top.

Chaudhuri coming back to run our hospital may certainly be a possibility, but it doesn't make sense to warn us about going to Hell in a handbasket, when we're already in Hell.

Read more about this issue here...

Press Enterprise, August 1, 2007
http://www.pe.com/..../PE_News_Local_H_vhs01.3f2bced.html

Idyllwild Town Crier, August 16, 2007
http://www.towncrier.com/pages/stories/story220070816.html

Labels: Bond-Measures, Menifee-Valley-Medical-Center, Valley-Health-System

Trustees of the the Menifee Union School District voted 3-1 to put another bond measure on the ballot, asking homeowners in Menifee and Sun City to pay higher taxes.

You can read about in the Press Enterprise...
http://www.pe.com/..../ PE_News_Local_S_sbond25.3e999ed.html

Basically, you're going to pay an extra $17.90 per year for every $100,000 of your home's value, on top of what you're already paying now. This means if your house is valued at $400,000, you'll be paying an extra $71.60 per year.

Based on what I read in the article, this additional tax revenue will pay for expansion of classrooms and build more schools.

Interestingly, the trustees are bringing up the subject of switching the school calendar back to a traditional calendar, and away from the year-round system. One trustee was also quoted as suggesting that if parents want their kids in a traditional calendar, they have to approve this measure, because we don't currently have the capacity to do it.

Last month, I posted an article on this subject, but saw the problem as a lack of available private schools.

I know there are many parents in this community that can afford to send their kids to private schools, but don't do so mainly because there aren't many available. If more kids were in private schools, there would be plenty of room in the public school system to keep our taxes down, and to keep kids on a traditional school calendar.

Going down the bond measure route, the higher families have to pay in taxes, the less likely they can afford private schooling. In other words, it's a vicious cycle of self-defeat.

I don't know what it takes to get more private schools in the area, but I think our district trustees ought to put more time into luring them into our valley.

Labels: Bond-Measures, Menifee-Union-School-District

As reported today in The Californian, Measure I, the $485 million bond initiative for Valley Health System is on the brink of defeat. A Valley Health System board member was quoted in the article as conceding defeat.

But the question I have now is "Where do we go from here?"

That question was also asked in the article...

William Cherry, a Valley Health System director, recently said officials hadn't considered what they'd do if the bond failed. It's possible, he said, that the district could continue with measured growth, but more likely, the hospitals will have to cut services ---- possibly emergency room care, which is the most expensive division in medical centers.

I got together with Eric Madrid, a writer here on Menifee 24/7, as well as a medical doctor with a practice in Temecula as a family physician, to discuss some of the issues surrounding Menifee Valley Medical Center, and what should be done. Below is a diatribe we put together...

Steve: Measure I isn't the first bond measure that Valley Health System put before us. Lately it seems they put bond measures on the ballot every year or two. The problem I see isn't that it doesn't have state-of-the-art facilities, but that we receive bad service from its staff, whether it's no service, rude service, or feeling like no one cares. When you have a medical problem, all you want is prompt attention and someone who cares. How is another tax hike going to force the staff to be more friendly and attentive?

Eric: In my opinon, Valley Health may be in trouble and are looking for community bailout. Currently, many Menifee Valley residents go to Southwest Healthcare's hospitals. These include Rancho Springs and Inland Valley. Both of these hospitals are profitable and from what I know, none are asking for money. Also, it has been reported recently in the paper that a new hospital, backed by community physicians, is being planned for the Menifee Valley area. This hospital will be off Antelope road, between Scott and Clinton Keith. It is my opinion that Valley Health is feeling some pressure of potential competition and as a result is asking for tax payers to help.

Steve: I think one reason why this measure failed is because the amount of money involved was enormous, while voters living in the health district are spread across a wide area. It wasn't just $485 million we were talking about, but nearly double that when you factor in the interest payments on the bonds. That's nearly $1 BILLION! Why should residents of Menifee pay even more taxes to fund hospital renovations in Hemet and Moreno Valley? The same is true for Moreno Valley residents being asked to pay for renovations in Menifee.

Eric: Hemet Valley, Menifee Valley, and Moreno Valley hospitals have 519 beds between them. Menifee Valley Hospital only 84 beds. The price tag they are asking for is almost $1 million per hospital bed. If you consider the higher amount of $1 billion, we are pushing $2 million per bed! This is an amazingly ridiculous amount. Furthermore, the fact that Menifee has newer and more expensive homes than Hemet and Moreno Valley makes me think that we are going to be paying a higher share of the taxes than those in Hemet and Moreno Valley, where 435 or the 519 hospital beds are located.

Steve: $485 million is an amazing price. If the hospital is that much in the red, it is basically bankrupt. From what I understand, hospitals the size of Rancho Springs and Inland Valley cost less than $150 million to build in total.

Eric: Correct!. I think this bond is more of a bailout if anything.

Steve: Even though Measure I has failed, I don't think families in Menifee are worrying. Just about every family I know of here goes to Inland Valley or Rancho Springs, because the service is so much better. If families are comfortable with those two hospitals, why can't we instead have a bond measure to pay for traffic lights and road improvements?

Eric: This is exactly the point I made to Brian Eckhouse, when he published the original article about Measure I. Menifee residents have a lot of other concerns that are higher on the priority list. I think since the residents of Menifee are relatively younger than Hemet, our wish list would rather see tax money go to schools, (a new high school), crime and safety, infrastucture development and business development. Bailing out MVH is about 6th or more.

Steve: Valley Health System is not a non-profit organization. That is, they are supposed to earn profits like any other business. They should be using the profits to pay for expansion. If Valley Health System is incapable of running its hospitals profitably, then it has a deep systemic problem that no bond measure can fix.

Eric: Exactly. The hospitals are located in communities with a large senior population. These patients typically are on Medicare which pays well. I am sure they will blame undocumented citizens for their problems but studies show that this population represents less than 5% of admissions. I would like to see the financials of the hospital publicly posted so their budget can be scrutinized.

Steve: Valley Health System should sell Menifee Valley Medical Center to a commercial entity, such as Humana, United Healthcare, or any one of several privately run healthcare businesses. These companies operate state-of-the-art hospitals in other cities, and never have to ask voters to pay for it. I'm sure any other healthcare business can run it better than Valley Health System.

Eric: My thoughts exactly. As long as they don't sell it to Southwest healthcare, who already runs Inland Valley, Rancho Springs and are planning the hospital on 79S.

Steve: Moving forward, this is what Valley Health System needs to do, sell Menifee Valley Medical Center to another group. Residents in the Menifee Valley have no interest in sending their tax dollars to pay for hospitals in Moreno Valley and Hemet. I do want Menifee Valley Medical Center to become a better hospital, with state-of-the-art facilities, and great service from its staff. But Valley Health System has proven itself incapable of running a profitable, top notch, hospital. It's time to get some new ownership in there.

Eric: I agree! Measure I appears to have been a last minute effort to get saved by the taxpyers. Menifee Valley residents need their money to be invested into here in the Menifee Valley, but I think the schools, infracstructure, freeways, police and business developement should be the priority. We have adequate hospitals south of Newport! Bad fiscal management of administrators should not be left to the taxpayers to resolve. If that were the case, we might as well raise taxes to help people payoff high interest credit card loans of community members who are in debt!

Labels: Bond-Measures, Menifee-Valley-Medical-Center, Valley-Health-System

I just got off the phone with a gal who was hired to do a survey concerning a new measure to sell $400 million in bonds to raise money for Valley Health System.

First, this gal seemed to have extreme difficulty reading her computer monitor. She kept wanting to say "Hamlet Valley Medical Center" and "McAfee Valley Medical Center". At first she asked me if I would use any of these hospitals, and I said "no", because I had never heard of them. But several questions later, I realized that she meant "Hemet Valley Medical Center" and "Menifee Valley Medical Center". Well, I guess that part of her survey got skewed!

Anyways, it seems that Valley Health System wants to raise our property taxes, so that it has extra money to improve hospital services, namely adding more beds, building a cancer center in Menifee, and expanding emergency rooms.

But the survey also noted that Valley Health Center was in debt, and in her questioning, the gal mentioned the figure of $95 million. I'm not saying that is accurate, that's simply what her questionnaire noted.

While I certainly do want improved health care services, raising taxes is not the answer in my point of view. In fact, raising money through the sale of bonds is an age old practice with quasi-government institutions such as Valley Health System, and yet look at the state they're in.

I don't know enough of the inner-workings of Valley Health System to understand the dynamics. What I do know is that every election, there is another bond-measure to raise money to fix the problems with our local healthcare system, or our school district, or our law enforcement services. And yet, it seems like those problems never get fixed.

I don't claim to have the solutions for this, but I know that the existing systems don't seem to provide any satisfaction to taxpayers, and if you consider history, it looks like they never will. So instead of throwing more money at it, how about we completely scrap it, and build something entirely different?

Labels: Bond-Measures, Valley-Health-System