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Alameda County, CA November 2, 2004 Election
Smart Voter

I support the Dublin Schools Bond Measure C

By John B. Ledahl

Candidate for Board Member; Dublin Unified School District

This information is provided by the candidate
With eliminated state, federal, and city funding; AND with the facilities, technology, and support systems in steady decay - the district will cease its positive trends toward excellence without this Bond.
I support the $184 million construction bond measure. To begin with, the state will not be there to help school districts with their facilities as they have in the past. There is no facility Modernization money left. Actually the requested amount - $60. per $100,000 taxed home value - is about the same as what we spent for the last bond. It is my understanding, after speaking with the key district administrators, that the following has been identified for how the bond money will be spent:

  • The major components of the bond are the rebuilding of Dublin High School for approximately $100 million, the refreshment of the Voice and Computing technology (which is 8 years or older) for both district-wide communication and classroom instruction, and the modernization of all elementary schools and Wells Middle school. It does not include new school construction.

  • A construction, technology, and repair assessment of every school has been done and includes roofs, HVAC, classrooms, offices; etc.

  • The costs of all these areas have been estimated to be $184 million.

As a school board member in the late 1990s I was involved with the use of the last bond for $36 million. There was too much discretion by the staff then as to how the money was to be used. Consequently, serious overspending was identified and had to be curtailed at times. For example, I was involved in reducing the initial technology expenditures by $4 million that existed due to poor planning and implementation practices. To avoid that again, the following should be developed:

  • In addition to the current Construction Plan, a five year technology plan with input from staff, parents, and teachers. It should have been done 7 years ago to prepare us for the eventual obsolescence that is inherent in technology. A clearer approach to the use of technology in the classroom is needed.

  • This plan should identify maintenance needs and computer obsolescence over the five years with possible solutions. One major recurring problem is the lack of human resources to maintain our technology systems.

  • A strong analysis of the three factors + Large vs. small schools, salaries, and rich programs needs updating. You cannot have all three. Boundary changes may become a necessity soon.

I believe we need this bond because of the obvious state of our facilities and technology plus the lack of support from the state.

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ca/alm Created from information supplied by the candidate: September 27, 2004 07:45
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