Candidate for
Board Member; Chico Unified School District

Issue #1: Academic Excellence

We need to resist the temptation to settle for the status quo. While we should acknowledge our achievements, we need to ask ourselves how to make our schools better. Chico is fortunate to have a university, a community college, a strong medical community and a thriving business community from which to draw resources. Our district is working hard to educate our students, but we need to be doing a better job. Some of our budgetary issues and enrollment issues would be soothed if our schools were a destination of choice for motivated students throughout Butte County. Instead, more and more parents are choosing charter schools, private schools and even home schooling as an alternative to the district. Parents must have faith that our local schools wil give their students the finest in public education.

Issue #2: The Need for Vision

There are a number of important issues confronting the district. While some may say the main concern is budgetary, or others might point to facilities or ADA or declining enrollment, for me what is most pressing is the apparent lack of a vision in the central administration. What do we want our schools to emphasize? Although test scores are an important tool, are there other methods to be used to assess the schools? What kind of education do we wish students to receive in this district? What are our priorities? What is the ideal student/teacher ratio? How big should our schools be?

Like so many other large organizations, I feel that the administration gets side-tracked by the day to day or weekly pressing demands and tries to repair them as they arise. What emerges then is a piecemeal approach to a large institution. I think this community needs a set of focused discussions to set our priorities in order and to make changes as needed toward a focused direction.

Issue #3: Support for students and teachers

The most important ingredients in the educational equation are motivated students and teachers who are willing to work passionately, patiently and exuberantly towards reaching all students. As a teacher myself, I know how many hours are spent weekends, evenings, and throughout the summer "vacation" in preparing for our students' weekly needs. As a CUSD parent, I know it is not uncommon to drive by any of our schools on a Sunday afternoon and see the parking lot half full as teachers prepare classes, grade materials, or even mentor their students.
We must send a strong signal to teachers that we support them. We need to offer and encourage professional development and allow teachers to have a strong voice in decision-making throughout the district. We need to be reminded that the most important ingredients in education are the teachers and the students. The rest of the framework should be in place to serve them and not the other way around.

Issue #4: Greater transparency & communication

Another serious issue is an apparent lack of transparency and open communication between all of the stakeholders in the district: parents, students, teachers, administration and Board members. Too often this results in a top-down approach, where policy and decisions are made at the highest levels and then "applied" to the staff. In my view, when possible, decision making should take place by those closest to the kids. While this cannot always be the case, I see a need for more site-based decision making.

Issue #5: Facilities & overcrowding

Making our facilities safe, clean environments that are conducive to learning is key. As a parent, I have had the opportunity to visit many of the schools, and I would say that far too many have inadequate facilities. Throughout the district ,we have overcrowded classrooms, musty portables, dirty carpets and classrooms, inadequate lunch facilities, and schools that look as if the delayed maintenance has been delayed for several decades.

Issue #6: Fiscal responsibility

The decisions we make today must prepare us for tomorrow. We need to ask tough questions about the budget. For example, with Chico Country Day moving to the former Fair View campus, and with Fair View moving to the former Jay Partridge campus, and with Nord becoming a charter and doubling its enrollment, what are the actual savings from the closure of schools last year?