1.) I am running for re-election as I feel I bring valuable and unique experience and knowledge to the board. I am the only person on the board or in the election process that has a position that brings them into direct contact with the schools and staff.
As
a local law enforcement officer for the past 21 years, I have developed a
working relationship with the school district.
I
have been exposed to your working conditions as I taught DARE inside the
classrooms as recently as 2002.
I
am currently on the ROP Criminal Justice Committee at Burroughs Highs School and
am an instructor for the Police Reserve Program at Cerro Coso College.
As
the only union member on the board, I understand your issues as we both face the
same problems.
And
most important, as a parent, I will and always have pursued the best interest of
our students.
2.)
It appears that our working relationship with DATA has improved recently and I
am hoping we can continue progress in this area. It is very important to have a
good working relationship and quality working conditions for the employees. We
need to work on recruitment and retention issues which obviously bring salary
and health benefits into the picture. We must be able to compete with other
districts or we will not be able to bring quality teachers to our district.
Without quality teachers our goal of having great schools will suffer. I want
the district to continue to identify itself as an outstanding school district by
increasing test scores and having sites selected as Distinguished Schools. I
want us to stay ahead of the State Accountability Program by providing all staff
members the tools they will require to complete this task. I will continue to
support safe schools as well as all district sites. I expect all employees to
work in quality conditions, which means they should have A/C and heating, copy
machines that work, and the right tools to do their job. Nothing frustrates me
more then spending an hour doing a five-minute job because I didn’t have the
right tool available to me or a machine was broken.
3.)
I have always felt that I have been open to communication with DATA and the
community in general. As I have been in local law enforcement for the past 21
years, I am always out in public. I handle calls at the schools sites, perform
security at sporting events, and stop by sites when I am on patrol. I have my
telephone numbers and address listed and welcome any type of telephone calls or
letters. I feel I am very accessible to anyone that wishes to speak to me and
invite you to contact me.
4.)
Yes, every dollar should be spent as I feel it is in the best interest of the
students to serve then right then, however, this is not always possible as we
don’t always know how much money we will be receiving until later in the
school year. Also funding like the Military Impact Aid is always a year behind.
Based on these issues, we need to remain flexible and make sure we plan well and
make informed decisions.
5.)
I am always open to meet with representatives from DATA. This should not be
limited to the election process or just during contract negotiations. I strongly
feel that the President of DATA should meet with the President of the Board
before every meeting to go over the entire agenda to get the association’s
point of view and any concerns or support. We have this same type of meeting
with the Superintendent and we should look at the benefit of having one with
DATA. It will only take a small effort on both parties to make this work. Once
it is in place it should continue throughout the school year. I have personally
done this in the past with Paul Nelson when he was President and I feel this is
one of the best tools to keep open communications.
6.)
I have always felt comfortable talking to DATA members. They should feel free to
call me at home, at work, or approach me in public including all board meetings.
7.)
Your recommendation is the most important endorsement any candidate can receive.
It sends a strong message to the community that the teachers support this
person. As a union member, I always support the union’s endorsement, as they
obviously know who is the right choice for their organization.
8.)
Our children have ALWAYS attended public schools. Linsy is currently a junior at
Burroughs H.S.
9.)
All of our programs are under funded and all are being run at a bare minimum!
10.)
No, I don’t believe school board members should have the same package as full
time employees. I do think there should be some type of compensation to attract
quality candidates. My concern is that if there were no compensation whatsoever,
it would decrease the amount of time and meetings board members would attend.
11.)
Of course but we must look at the total compensation package and consider the
rising costs of health benefits, workers compensation and unemployment
insurance.
I
support a yearly wage increase. I think teachers are one of the lowest paid
professional careers in the nation (along with police officers!) and I
personally feel that they should be one of the highest. We need to improve this
and at the same time maintain a balanced budget. I think our district has done
well in obtaining outside funding through grants and establishing our own SELPA.
We will have to continue these efforts and try to take care of our own employees
as we continue to fight for our fair share of State and Federal dollars.
12.)
Adequately funding our programs and responding to the accountability laws, which
include No Child Left Behind, and the 1999 Public School Accountability Act.
Recruitment and retention issues and maintaining a balanced budget are some of
the pressing issues. We are working very diligently in our efforts to address
theses issues and need to continue to look at other ways to increase funding. We
need to continue to fight to get more money from the State and more local
control so we can direct these increased revenues to fully fund programs and
increase our wages so we can keep competitive with other districts.
13.)
Historically we have consistently had high achieving schools that produce
quality students. We have an outstanding workforce that has a vested interest in
our children and community. Our schools lead the County and are in the top 25 %
in the State.
Also
we have a huge local alumni working in our schools. This establishes positive
role models for our district. Burroughs High School alone has 25 out of 80 of
their faculty that were former students!
14.)
As a union member for the past 21 years, I have faced the same issues we face
today. I have seen little or no pay raises and I have seen health care benefits
decrease. As a police officer, I have to work with the same problems in society
that come into your classrooms. I know my place on the board and feel that I
bring a unique advantage to this position which will not only benefit DATA but
the entire community.