Open and Honest Communication; School Funding and Student Achievment

By Marge Postel

In the position papers to follow I will discuss my solutions to the area of clear, open and honest communication;inequities in school facilities and funding; and the achievement and curriculum of students in the Poway Unfied School District.

As a member of the Poway Unified School District Board, I will model clear, open and honest communication between the administration, board, teachers, parents, students and community. I will support the District in the goal of improving communication.

A problem I have personally experienced is the difficulty in simply making a phone call to a school and being able to get through. Teachers have noted they are unable to call the school with illnesses or emergencies. The phone system is the first experience many have with the district and there is need for improvement in this basic communication.

School Board member's reports at each meeting need to be limited to three minutes, the same as the public. The public should also be permitted to speak first. Parents and community members cool their heels while the Board members go on and on and then are told they have three minutes and can begin at the green light and stop at the red. This is not a good model for open and honest communication.

Another example is the "thong" incident at Rancho Bernardo High School. How many constituents in the district were aware there had been a problem the year before with the dance? Parents are eager to help solve problems but they need to know they exist in the first place. I believe this entire debacle could have been prevented if the public understood there was a problem.

Communication to the public has come after the fact in recent sexual harassment cases and has cost the district many dollars. Such incidents damage the reputation of the district and take money away from students. A zero tolerance policy on sexual harassment along with a goal of integrity, respect and fairness would enhance the work environment among employees and model higher behavioral standards for students.

Growth and inequities in school facilities and funding

Westview High School sits on 78 acres with facilities that rival most college campuses. Poway High on the other hand is cramped, old and outdated. Poway High vs. Westview demonstrates the inequities in facilities in the Poway Unified School District. The public looks at Westview and questions why a bond issue is necessary when such largesse has been bestowed upon one school. Under current state funding constraints, Poway needs to update the older schools through a bond election. I do not believe this issue has been clearly understood by the average voter.

There are inequities within the district between parents who can afford to contribute heavily to Foundations and parents who can barely afford to keep up with the fees the district requires for basic supplies. Under state law, school districts are required to supply students with a free public education. Field trips, school supplies, yearbooks, bus transportation and a myriad of other expenses hit the average income parents hard in the pocket book.

Each school site is required by the State of California to have a School Site Council consisting of parents and school personnel. Large sums of money for School Improvement come from the state to the district to be distributed directly to the schools. The parents and staff at each site are to develop a budget and priorities for their school. The parents need to take a greater role in the distribution of this money and the priorities as to where it is spent. The money given to each school is meant to be spent for students at that school within the year it is received and not carried over year after year until a large sum is accumulated. Parents need to be empowered to guide the direction these monies are spent and spend them for the students currently attending the school.

Associated Student Body (ASB) fees are collected each year from students. When looking at the carry over at the school sites I feel strongly that these funds need to be monitored closely by the district office so they are spent for the students that currently attend the schools. If there is already enough ASB money to fund student activities, it becomes unnecessary for parents to have fundraisers.

The next issue in finance is the manner in which the district distributes money to school sites from the Average Daily Attendance money generated by the number of students in the district. Poway uses a system called PSUs or Personnel Staffing Units. This means that the smaller older school gets less money than the larger new one. As an example, Garden Road an older school with a smaller school population than Park Village, gets less money to hire personnel, purchase supplies and run general operations. I will work diligently with the new superintendent to assess these practices and make the district financially more equitable.

Student Achievement

Although Poway students score at or near the top in state tests, they do not fare as well when compared with school districts with similar school populations. Districts such as Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas and others score higher on comparison scores. In my opinion, a great deal of the problem in this realm is the curriculum in the district. I support a research-based curriculum that is proven to be successful with students rather then the "cutting edge" that is often the latest educational fad. As an example when "Whole Language' was introduced in the district references to phonics, grammar and other tried and true methods were cast aside for a creative integrated curriculum. For a new teacher to be required to create each lesson, each day without basic guidelines is not only daunting but also virtually impossible. Poway has some great teachers but the infusion of new curriculum at a dizzying pace has left them tired, frustrated and stressed. For instance, DISTAR, was the research based curriculum used for students with learning disabilities. It was discarded for Reading Recovery that is not necessarily effective for these students. I propose that the district select from their exceptional pool of teacher talent and form a cadre of teachers to evaluate the curriculum based upon research and direct the district in implementing a curriculum that meets the Literacy Goals of the Poway Unified School District. Comparison test scores need to be evaluated by the experts, the teachers, and direction needs to come from them.

Questions? margepostel@juno.com