Questions & Answers

By Neal S. Millard

Answers to frequently asked questions

Q. What are your qualifications that would make you a valuable member of the Board? A. My experience and skills related to education come from every corner of my life. I am on the Board of a charter school management organization, and I'm also on the Advisory Board of a private college. My law practice is largely education-based. I have been on the board of the LCF Educational Foundation, and my stepson has gone through the LCUSD system. This experience gives me knowledge of LCUSD in particular, its strengths and its weaknesses. My daughter is in private school, and my wife has been a public school teacher. The insight I've derived from all these perspectives clearly goes beyond what is local and enables me to see a broader picture of where LCUSD is and where it should be going.

Q. What is relevant to us about charter school systems? A. The charters I represent are quite successful. They are creative and work collaboratively with their teachers. I think we can learn a lot from the way they operate. Charter schools cannot raise money from taxes and, therefore, have to be very innovative with funding techniques. LCUSD can learn from the inventive and enterprising ways charters raise funds and improve education.

Q. Are you in favor of converting our district to a charter district? A. No, it is too costly. One of the best things about charters is their governance, which allows more state education dollars to go to educating the students, not to supporting administration. LCUSD already has that form of governance as its administration is quite streamlined. So, there is no reason to convert on that account. Conversion requires that alternatives be established by the district for students and teachers who do not want to be part of the charter district and, right now, that would be a waste of precious educational dollars. Fortunately, LCUSD has most of the benefits of a charter system; those it does not have can be adopted easily without the cost and expense of converting. We need to keep in mind that the successful charters are not successful simply because they are charters, they are successful because of their teaching methods, policies, attitudes and teachers. Those are the areas on which we should be focusing. There could be reasons for converting in the future, but for now, the concept of conversion deflects our attention away from the areas on which we really should be focusing.

Q. What are some of the elements LCUSD can adopt from the charter system? A. LCUSD already possesses some of the best attributes of charters. The two that I think are still needed -- and are, perhaps, the most important -- are creative thinking and greater collaboration with teachers. Charters are truly creative when it comes to educational programs and fundraising. I think LCUSD needs to improve in both areas. Further, charters have great relationships with their teachers, whether those teachers are unionized or not. At the upper school level in LCUSD right now, it appears as though there is an element of strain between some teachers and parents, and I think that can be fixed, though LCUSD needs to play a pivotal role. It is crucial to have a good and supportive relationship with teachers and it is important that the teachers work to improve the relationship as well. LCUSD would do well to establish the kind of relationship charter schools have with their teachers and I think this can be done.

Q. Will our teachers and their union oppose those charter elements? A. That is difficult to say. I do not think that teachers or unions oppose charters per se. Every conversion to a charter school requires a majority vote of the teachers and, since there have been conversions, teachers have obviously voted for them, indicating that there is no real opposition to the elements that make charters attractive.

Q. What are your ideas for managing the budget crisis we're now facing? A. We have a major shortfall that will get worse over the years. Most school districts have this problem. The survivors are going to be those that work a little harder and are a little more creative. There are grants out there that are program-based, not need-based, and as far as I know, LCUSD has not tried to get its share. There are programs that charters adopt that help raise money, and these programs, if adopted by LCUSD, would provide funding over and above that raised by the LCF Educational Foundation. It is not easy but these times dictate that the effort be made.

Q. What do you see the role of the Board being? A. The Board is not a rubber stamp of the Superintendent's actions. The Board must make its own decisions and must give guidance to the Superintendent and his staff. The Board should support the Superintendent where it can but it is ultimately answerable to the parents who are the voters. Simply put, the Board needs to make policy decisions and the Superintendent needs to carry them out. And, just as importantly, the Board is responsible for the sound fiscal management of LCUSD and that is a major responsibility these days given the fiscal restraints that have been placed on schools in California and the growing competition for each educational dollar.

Q. In your opinion, what is the nature of the relationship between the Superintendent and the Board? A. In corporate terms, the Board is the Board of Directors and the Superintendent is the CEO. The Superintendent is answerable to the Board and is charged with carrying out the policy decisions of the Board. On the other hand, the Board should not micro-manage LCUSD and should not interfere with day-to-day operations of the system.

Q. What are your suggestions for improving the quality of LCUSD schools? A. We need to look at programs, keep those that work, eliminate those that do not work and improve those needing improvement. We need to do the same with teachers. We need to evaluate the educational results of LCUSD to see where we need to reward exceptional performance and where we need to improve mediocre performance. But again, education is a collaborative effort, so LCUSD, teachers and parents need to work together to improve where improvement is needed and to recognize -- and perhaps reward -- where advancement is not needed. Teacher evaluation is a sensitive topic but it is coming based on recent Federal programs and private grant conditions, so we should work with our teachers to provide evaluation programs that are fair but which will enable LCUSD to get additional funding to pay its teachers and implement educational reforms. I should add that reducing class size is one of the best ways to promote education and the class size at charter schools and private schools is always smaller than at public schools. Class size reduction is difficult to achieve because of the cost involved but it makes such a big difference. While class size reduction is especially difficult to achieve in this economic climate, it is not anything that I would give up on and it is something I would promote at every opportunity.

Q. How would you address chronic issues that students and parents find dissatisfying about our schools? A. To begin with, I would not ignore them. If there are chronic issues that a fair number of people agree exist, these issues should be addressed by the Board and a solution should be reached with all parties participating. The Superintendent then needs to have the conviction to carry out the solution. I have talked to teachers during this campaign and found they acknowledge many of the problems we face -- and even they wonder why LCUSD does not address them. I think all problems, whether they deal with programs, courses, policies or personnel, need to be faced. To have chronic dissatisfaction that goes on year after year is inexcusable unless it has something to do with state law or state standards over which LCUSD has no control. Otherwise, the problem needs to be discussed and resolved.

Q. Why do you think the current and previous Boards have not implemented annual student/parent surveys of teachers for feedback? A. I cannot answer about the reasoning for what has been done or not done in the past. What I can say, however, is that my charter schools implement surveys, both at the start of the year and at the end. The only way you can improve is through feedback. I teach at USC and every year I get an evaluation performance that I take to heart. I try to improve my class based on what the students say. The goal is a great education, not the avoidance of embarrassment or the ignoring of shortcomings. I would not use the surveys to assassinate a particular teacher or group of teachers, but to see where LCUSD is doing a good job and where improvement is needed. Charters do this, private schools do this, colleges do this and LCUSD should do this, consistent with state law on the subject.

Q. Would you agree that it's parents who have instigated action about inferior teachers, and why hasn't that come from the principal or administration? A. I cannot answer this other than to say that I would hope this becomes something that the principals and administration do in the future, if needed. I am a strong advocate of having a principal be responsible for the performance of his or her school.

Q. What is your opinion on the STEP program at LCHS? A. I have heard in great detail both the criticism of the program and its defense. I think the program in theory is fine but its implementation seems a bit flawed. To be successful, I think some of the fluff needs to be removed, and there needs to be a greater degree of participation in it, both from teachers and students. I was really impressed with the presentation made by the teachers who instituted the program. They were excited and enthusiastic. In fact, they acted the way teachers in charter schools act when they find a program that is worthwhile and different and I was elated to see teachers in LCUSD feel that way about a program. However, I agree with former Board member Ron Dietel that an independent evaluation should be done to see if it is being properly implemented, if it is doing what is was designed to do, and if participation is sufficient to justify the costs. My understanding is that WASC, the regional association that accredits schools, is undertaking such an examination of the program, and that's a good thing.

Q. What are the right steps to address declining enrollment? A. There are several ways to address declining enrollment, an issue that many districts are facing due to a declining birthrate. Clearly, you need either a plan to increase enrollment, which may be difficult if it involves obtaining students from other districts, or a plan to provide for the replacement of the decreased funding, which also may be difficult. I do not know if there are "right" steps but it is a difficult problem. LCUSD has an excellent reputation, so bringing in students from elsewhere may be a successful temporary answer but it does have drawbacks and can create ill-will with other districts. I believe we may have caps on how many students can come from outside the district and I definitely think that needs to be reviewed and reconsidered. LCUSD has a large physical plant and a deficit, so declining enrollment exacerbates the problem and I think the only resolution is going to involve creative thinking and perhaps some modifications to existing policies.

Q. How would you bring back LCF families who now send their children to private school? A. My daughter goes to a private school and loves it. It is an all-girls school so maybe that makes it a bit different. Charter schools and private schools have an esprit de corps that is difficult to duplicate in a public school setting. Teachers in these schools are, for the most part, very innovative, enthusiastic and highly education-oriented. They are less involved in minutes taught and more involved in education provided. It is something that comes from the top. It is hard to duplicate, though there no reason why a school district like LCUSD cannot emulate the best practices of private schools and charter schools and maybe, if it succeeds, more families will come back and maybe fewer will leave. I do know of families that have come back to LCUSD after sending a child to a private institution and it might be good to take a survey of that group to find out what motivated the change. Similarly, a survey might be done to question those families who have left LCUSD for a private institution. You can only learn if you ask, and this applies not only to our students, but to LCUSD and the board as well

Q. Why does your daughter attend a private school? A. It is an all-girls school and, when she visited a friend who was enrolled, she fell in love with it. At the time she transferred, we had no complaints with LCUSD and had she not been accepted at this particular private school, we would have stayed in LCUSD. I will say that her school has many programs and policies that can be emulated by LCUSD and I would hope that, where appropriate, LCUSD might consider looking into the adoption of some of these programs and policies for its own schools.

Q. Were you satisfied with the education your stepson received in LCUSD schools? A. Yes, he went through the system and had some excellent teachers and experiences that changed his life for the good. He also had some teachers -- not many -- who might be called insensitive and seemed not to care about education at all. As someone who works in the field of education, I was shocked and dismayed to see such teachers existed. I think LCUSD really needs to make an effort to identify these teachers and do all it can to improve their teaching abilities and classroom behavior. This is not to say that LCUSD is alone in this problem. Charter schools and private schools have teachers like this too but I would have to say that their administrations are typically more proactive in trying to identify such problems and correct them. Nevertheless, my stepson received a good education and, with just one or two exceptions, I was satisfied with it.

Q. How do you know what our district needs if you currently don't have children in our schools? A. Now and in the past, the LCUSD Board includes members without children in the system. The Board on which I serve for the charter school system does not have one member who sent his or her child to a charter school in that system. Yet, we have gone into the inner city and produced schools that have sent students to Dartmouth, UCLA, USC, Bryn Mawr and other to top colleges. We have developed schools that have won California Distinguished School Awards and are among the top three public schools in LAUSD. The Board needs people with experience in education, not in driving up Palm. We need people whose horizon extends beyond Chevy Chase and Angeles Crest Highway. I think I have been exposed to the best ideas in private, public and charter school practice and I would like to put those ideas to use in LCUSD because, right now, they are desperately needed.