Questions and Answers

By Jeffrey L. "Jeff" Adams

Below please find some questions I have been asked and answers I have provided.

Yes. My wife of 26 years and I have six wonderful children. They have attended elementary, middle and high schools in MDUSD. My four oldest children graduated from Concord High School and were accepted to out-of-state universities. My oldest daughter graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology and is currently in an MBA program. Three sons are pursuing engineering, communications and chemistry degrees, respectively. I also have a son who is a junior at Concord High School and a daughter who is in the seventh grade at El Dorado Middle School.

Question: Have you worked on any school committees or participated in any school activities.

Yes. I have served two site council terms with respect to usage of School Improvement Program (SIP) funds. I helped draft written material as part of my work on these two councils. In addition, I have also taught high school aged students on a volunteer basis. For example, I have taught students in a joint program with the California Court of Appeals preparing high school students to view actual oral argument before justices of the court and understand the issues prior to observing court activities; assisted with the Contra Costa County Education high school trial court program for high school students; volunteered with the Contra Costa County educational decathlon competition for high school students, and taught over 700 classes of high school age students since 2001.

I am also a founding and current board member of the United Mount Diablo Athletic Foundation formed last year when the MDUSD cut all funding for after school sports. We were able to propose a plan for the district and raise funds (hundreds of thousands of dollars) to support and save our high school after-school sports program. I was also a founding board member of the Mount Diablo Music Education Foundation formed to obtain financing to support MDUSD music programs.

My wife has likewise been very active teaching for many years in the Parent Educator Program (PEP) and providing assistance to elementary school students in literacy programs.

These activities were, of course, voluntary and without remuneration, and I paid my own expenses. In some instances, I also paid for books and supplies for some students out of my own pocket and made financial contributions to the foundations to support music and athletics in MDUSD. This is in addition to annual financial contributions to booster programs at our schools.

Question: Would you please disclose your other volunteer community and/or business activities?

I have participated in many additional volunteer activities in the community since we moved into the MDUSD district over 18 years ago. These include: (1) providing pro bono legal services to those who cannot afford legal representation in our community, (2) overseeing an volunteer organization dedicated in major part to helping those in need get back on their feet (with short term help including food, housing, and help finding a job), (3) assisting the elderly (primarily widows) who have needed some very practical assistance from time to time, (4) coach of girls and boys AYSO soccer teams for 20 years (including coaching multiple teams at the same time on occasions where others did not volunteer or to coach), (5) coach of two youth basketball teams, and institute and provide three annual, after-school basketball training sessions for 8 + 12 year olds in the community, (6) Cub Scout Master, Boy Scouts of America and then institutional head of a scout committee, scout troup and cub scout pack, Boy Scouts of America; (7) Girls Camp Leader at Camp Liahona for three years (including taking groups of 14-15 year old girls on multiple night backpacking trips); and (8) Committee Member (two terms) of the Contra Costa County Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Committee. Again, this was volunteer service for which I paid my own expenses, and in some instances, I paid for youth summer camp fees for boys and girls who would not otherwise have been able to afford to go to summer camps.

Question: What do you see as the purpose of public schools?

The primary purpose of public schools is to ensure that every student, regardless of economic circumstances and social background, has a full and fair opportunity for educational opportunities to allow him or her to prepare and become a law-abiding, self-sufficient and productive member of the community and thereby achieve a degree of joy and happiness in life. Our task is to maximize the use of available resources for the benefit and advocacy of all children.

Question: What challenges would you say most affect student achievement in MDUSD?

This is a complex issue which I will break down into three parts.

Part 1.

Student achievement is generally viewed in terms of inferences drawn from the results of mandated student assessments. The reports provided by MDUSD (including Accountability Progress Reports for the district and its schools) have shown some improvement over the past few years in connection with the State Accountability Academic Performance Index (API) and the Federal Accountability Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). However, there is clearly room for more improvement, especially (and specifically) in regard to six MDUSD currently underperforming schools--that is a major challenge.

The district must continue its efforts to ensure that curriculum supports expected, minimal achievement such that all students will have the best possible opportunities to learn and master the basics and meet (and exceed) the minimal state and federally mandated standards. And in respect to underperforming schools, the board must ensure plans are in place with specific goals for improvement with reporting over time to ensure school performance is improving.

In addition, we must continue our efforts to closing the achievement gap so that every student succeeds. There is, for example, currently a particular challenge in MDUSD pertaining to the numbers of students who do not speak English fluently. Every such student should and must be required to learn English, or else their attendance in many classes will simply be in vain (as they will not fully understand what is going on) and they and their parents will be handcuffed and frustrated with the result that they will not be able to achieve to their highest potential in this society. I support requiring those students who do not speak English as their native tongue to learn and master English.

Part 2.

Student success, and teacher performance, cannot be measured solely from test scores. I was fortunate to attend bay area public schools while growing up where teachers generally were supported when they thought and taught "out of the box" while still positioning their students to succeed as determined by test results. Great teachers taught me how to think critically, accurately and honestly before coming to my own conclusions, insisting that we as students be able to sift through facts and theories, look at issues from a variety of different perspectives and distil that down to useful proportions. In short, they taught me how to think and perform. They also taught me how to respect the ideas and approaches of others who were doing the same thing, no matter their particular background or circumstances. And they taught me that success is not just measured by conformity but also can be measured by creative thoughts, ideas and actions--while still living in accordance with the rules.

In raising my children for the past 18 years, I have found great teachers in MDUSD who do likewise. If I am privileged to represent the voters of this district on the MDUSD Board of Education, I intend to do what I can to hire, support, and retain quality teachers who are willing to teach in a way that not only results in good test scores, but also engages the students in the ways I have just described.

Part 3.

There are students who do not go on to colleges and universities and, who, nonetheless must have the tools to succeed. Student achievement for such students must therefore include a component of career integrated academic options to help these students find gainful employment in order to achieve financial independence. Again, every student must succeed.

Question: What is the role of the MDUSD Board of Education in regard to the Superintendent?

The Board of Education is charged with hiring and overseeing the performance of the Superintendent. This is one of its major responsibilities. In this regard, the board must provide a vision for MDUSD coupled with clear direction and oversight of the superintendent as he or she performs the responsibilities of that position to ensure the objectives to achieving the vision are achieved. The board must also be willing to accurately and honestly review (including the good and the bad) the superintendent's performance in periodic reviews and provide direction where specific areas of performance must be improved.

Question: What skills, professional and personal, do possess that will enhance and contribute to the school district leadership and membership on the Board of Education?

We sometimes forget that MDUSD is a very large organization. It includes 56 schools, hundreds of millions of dollars in general fund and categorical fund budget monies annually in addition to hundreds of millions of dollars in bond moneys, and thousands of employees. It also functions in a highly regulated, legally challenging environment.

In my view, the collective skill set and experience of five members of the MDUSD Board of Education must be broad and varied. And board members must be able to quickly understand and act as issues tied to administration of this large organization, including financial, legal, and personnel related matters. This is in addition to being able to administrate in connection with curriculum, facilities management, long-range strategic planning, policies, and community relations issues. If privileged to be a member of the Board of Education, I would bring the following professional and personal skills to the board. Professional Skills.

First, I earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Texas, Austin in1987 after receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree in finance at Brigham Young University in 1984. I also worked for Prudential Bache Securities and then as a financial analyst, credit analyst and resources analyst for Burroughs Corporation (now Unisys Corporation), and started and ran my own business to earn money to simultaneously provide for my family and pay for law school. In short, my initial professional career focused specifically business administration and finance, which included the development, oversight and reporting of budgets, credit issues and available resources and successfully running my own business--within a budget. Analyzing complex financial and budgetary reports and using that information to make sound decisions and ensure fiscal responsibility is second nature to me. I believe such experience and education qualifies me to credibly administrate and oversee the affairs of MDUSD as a board member.

Second, I have significant legal experience. I have worked locally as an attorney since 1991 after receiving a Juris Doctor degree from the J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University in 1990. My work as an attorney practice has included labor relations and employment matters, contractual matters, litigation avoidance, representation before administrative agencies, state courts and federal courts, and (when necessary) defense litigation--all matters which are routinely considered and acted upon by MDUSD board members. The California Education Code and associated regulations form a complex legal environment in which MDUSD must perform its work. Although board members do not, and should not, act as attorneys in their board roles, they must nonetheless know how to quickly decipher, break down and understand legal issues, determine alternative courses of action available given the applicable legal and financial constraints, articulate those options in a useful way to determine the best courses of action, and then make the tough decisions to get the work of the MDUSD done. With the retirement of two board members in this election cycle, I am the only candidate with the combination of both significant business and legal education coupled with long experience thereafter to provide this important aspect of leadership and oversight at the board level. For example, MDUSD currently has collective bargaining agreements with seven employee units, several with anticipated negotiations on the near-term horizon. I am the only candidate with actual professional experience to oversee district negotiations and relationships with employee units--where about 90% of the general fund is directed. It is absolutely imperative that the board have someone with that background and experience to get things done in an atmosphere of open communication, insistence on respect of employee unit proposals, real and careful consideration of creative solutions proposed by employee representatives, trust and fairness in the districts relationship with these employee units, and the ability to fight for the best possible result for all involved--the students, the teachers and other district employees, and the district.

Third, a major part of the MDUSD Board of Education concerns school facilities management, i.e. oversight of district properties, including construction projects. I have worked gathering and placing in report form real property appraisals in addition to my MBA focus on real property development. I also worked for a short time for a law firm that focused on real estate issues. In short, I am conversant with the issues that are raised when construction and other improvement projects are proposes and can demand that the district get the best deals available consistent with fiscal responsibility.

Personal Skills. There are several personal skills I believe I can offer the Board.

First, I have the skill and desire to be an effective advocate on behalf of children. I have already done so in a variety of settings and have spent literally thousands of hours of my volunteer time to the benefit of children in our community.

Second, I am willing to work and get things done.

Third, I am able to respectfully disagree (or agree, for that matter) to provide what I feel to be a necessary perspective to be considered without being disagreeable or unprofessional. I also have the skill of helping create a necessary unity once a final decision is made. I believe there is an important place for reasonable and respectful debate of issues (rather than personalities) and that there is a necessity for unity once a decision by a majority is made. I have the ability and desire to perform both roles.

Fourth, I have enjoyed, and continue to enjoy interacting and working with the good people in this community in a variety of volunteer and social settings.