Text of Speech made at Lafayette Homeowners Council Candidate Night Sept. 30, 2010

By Art Kapoor

The following is the text of a speech I gave at the Lafayette Homeowner's Council Candidates Night on Sept. 30, 2010. Each School Board candidate only had five minutes to speak and it is not as much time as you think.

Good evening. I'd like to start with some information about myself. I grew up in Orinda and graduated from Miramonte High School. I went on to receive my engineering degree from UC Berkeley and later went on to receive an MBA at the University of Michigan. I left the electronics industry in 1991 to run the family business of owning and managing apartment buildings. I moved to Lafayette in 1991 with my wife, Judy. We have three sons all have who attended Lafayette Schools. My oldest, Allan, is a junior at UC Santa Barbara, Brendan is a junior at Acalanes and Ryan is a sixth grader at Stanley.

I originally stood for election to the Lafayette School Board in 2008. The seat I now hold was for a two year term due to the resignation of a previous board member. Prior to joining the Board I helped to develop the District's current strategic plan in 2005-2006. I also served as the chairman of the Acalanes Measure B Citizens' Oversight Committee from 2007-2008 and have been on the campaign committee for several bond and parcel tax measures. I have been a longtime classroom volunteer and coached a number of LMYA baseball and soccer teams.

Serving on the Lafayette School Board has been a fascinating and rewarding experience. It is also hard work. Educating our children is a complex task. There is much for us to learn, to read and to consider as board members. In addition to participating in the public board meetings each board member serves on a number of committees. I have served on the Curriculum Council, LASF general Board, RAPPORT, Green Liaisons, SEED + the special education enrichment and development foundation, the Board Policy Review committee and the District Wellness Committee. We visit classrooms often to observe our students progress. When I joined the Board in 2008 each of my fellow board members told me that it would take at least a year to get up to speed as a board member. They were right.

When first joining a board as an elected member it is natural to think you are elected as an individual. However, your real task is to become part of an effective governance team. Over the past two years the Lafayette School Board has been a very effective governance team for the District. We have carefully managed the district's finances in a time of ongoing state fiscal uncertainty. I and my fellow board members have worked hard to build an inclusive budget process. Board members and the superintendent have met with many different groups throughout the schools and the community to solicit ideas and input on the district's budget. These meetings led to a series of public board sessions devoted entirely to the budget where we worked to reduce district spending. Our district's reputation for careful budgeting has helped the district lower our property owner's tax payments by refinancing the district's bonds at very low interest rates + much lower than many other districts in the state. While the refinancing did not change the operating costs of the district or bring in any additional revenue it does represent our commitment to take care of our taxpayers.

The district continues to drive student achievement. The most recent test results from the statewide California Standards Test places the Lafayette School District among the highest performing districts in the state. This success is due to the hard work and dedication of our teachers and staff in addition to the outstanding support our students receive from home. The district continues to provide a challenging educational experience with innovative educational programs including Thinking Strategies and the New York Writing Project. We have emphasized professional development of our teachers by building our own in-house professional development program. As part of our District Technology program we have developed an internal web based system that allows teachers to video themselves conducting a lesson and share it with other teachers in the district over our network for feedback and learning. These are just a few of the programs the District is undertaking to improve teacher practice and student achievement.

Our district has much to celebrate but we face a substantial challenge with the ongoing state budget crisis. Even for this year we do not yet know how much revenue we will receive from the state and we are already a month into the school year. As the state struggles with its budget problems it is clear that the eventual fix will fall on the schools, cities and counties of California. My budget philosophy for the district has been to keep the cuts we needed to make as far away from the classroom as possible. We have cut janitors, administrative staff and the reprographics department to avoid major cuts in the classroom. For the upcoming 2011-2012 budget year we will have to make further spending cuts. Without increased revenue it will be very difficult to avoid major effects in the classroom. I and my fellow board members are an experienced and effective team that has shown itself up to the task of making good decisions for our kids. I am committed to working with the faculty, parents and community to provide our students with the best education possible, and to protect the district's fiscal health. I appreciate your vote to re-elect me to the Lafayette School Board. Thank you.