Responses to Questions from:

By Rick Raushenbush

Piedmont Post & Piedmonter

1. What is your range of experience as a volunteer for Piedmont schools? What committees have you taken part in? When?

I have been a volunteer member of the School Board since 2008 and, as a result, my range of experience includes essentially all of the issues facing our District. While on the School Board, I have served as liaison to a host of committees and organizations, including the Bond Steering Committee, the Citizens Oversight Committee, the Parcel Tax Advisory Committee, most of the Parents' Clubs, and the PHS Site Council. Before joining the School Board, I served as President of the Citizens Oversight Committee, coached soccer, drove on field trips, made phone calls for school fundraising, and served hot lunch.

2. How do you plan to create opportunities for public input?

Piedmont has many smart, interested, and motivated residents interested in its schools. Many opportunities for public input exist through the School Board (public meetings and communications with Board members), District Committees (including the Budget Advisory Committee, Parcel Tax Advisory Committee, Citizens Oversight Committee, Bond Steering Committee, Curriculum Forum, Special Education Advisory Committee, Diversity and Respect Task Force, Technology Committee, Environmental Committee), Site Councils at each school, and through parent and support organizations (Parent Clubs, PADC, CHIME, GATE, PAINTS, PRAISE, Boosters).

Our challenges include communicating with, and obtaining input from, a wide spectrum of our community given busy schedules. The Board and District have expanded efforts to do so through the District website, email, online surveys, KCOM, special Board meetings on specific topics, evening forums at schools on site-specific topics, Board meeting summaries in school newsletters, and now the e-magazine, The Magnolia. I anticipate that all of these efforts will continue to ensure that as many members of the public as feasible are aware of school-related issues and have opportunities to provide input at the appropriate time.

3. Do you think PUSD should change its capacity policies and add more students? What are some of the ways it can do so?

Because this question relates to the inter-district transfer issue currently before the Board, I cannot take a firm position on this issue until after receiving additional information from staff and hearing public input and Board discussion. However, speaking only for myself, and not for the Board, I can make the following observations.

The District's legal obligation, and foremost responsibility, is to serve the children residing in our District. If there is capacity for additional students, then, under state law, such capacity goes first to current non-resident PUSD students, then students from certain lower-performing schools who apply, and then other inter-district transfer students who PUSD agrees to accept.

PUSD's "capacity" is determined not only by physical capacity, but by staffing ratios set in the District's Guidelines for Enrollment Capacity. The Guidelines reflect the District's conclusion that lower class sizes help provide a high quality educational program. A portion of local parcel tax revenue is designated for "maintaining small sizes."

According to staff, "empty seats" do not exist in enough existing classes for additional students to complete the required K-12 curriculum within our existing Capacity Guidelines. To add more students, the Board would have to either: (a) change our Capacity Guidelines to increase class sizes or (b) find both physical space and funding to add classes and teachers. Increasing class size is contrary to staff's educational recommendation and, at the least, would require considerable public discussion. As for physical capacity, there is none at the elementary schools and it is uncertain if there is sufficient physical capacity at PMS or PHS. Finally, even assuming physical capacity, the major cuts in State funding require the Board to carefully assess the risk of potential shortfalls in funding the necessary educational services for additional students.

I strongly support every student having access to a high quality public education, such as that offered by PUSD. However, expanding capacity to serve out-of-district students must not degrade our District's educational and fiscal ability to serve resident students.

4. What are some of the ways PUSD can improve its program to keep up with other high performing districts?

PUSD is a high-performing school district that fosters a culture of growth and "continuous improvement." To maintain and increase our academic excellence to properly prepare students for the future, we must be open to new ideas and instructional practices, carefully assess them to judge whether they will improve student learning, and adopt those that hold promise of doing so. Teachers and administrators are looking both externally and internally to inspire potential improvements in teaching and student learning. In the new evaluation process, teachers are visiting other colleague's classrooms to reflect on different teaching methods and reviewing student data to determine which methods are most effective for individual students. Teachers and administrators also are visiting other schools and attending professional development seminars to learn about new ideas and effective practices. They then discuss what they have learned with other teachers informally and during teacher collaboration days. In addition, parents and community members serve as beneficial resources to the PUSD. The key is to remain open to change and innovation.

5. The City of Piedmont and Piedmont School District have been working for more than a year to create an equitable replacement fund for artificial turf fields. The City and School District co-operatively have decided that participants in all sports programs + city-sponsored, school-sponsored and youth sports organizations + should pay a fee (surcharge) to cover the cost of maintenance (such as the resurfacing of the city-owned tennis courts), and ultimately the replacement of artificial turf fields, which generally have a life span of about 8-10 years.

a. Do you support such a concept?

b. Should such a system include all participants and sports programs for children in grades K-12, or are there exceptions?

I support the Facilities Preservation Proposal recently adopted by the District and City. District athletic facilities, including the Witter Athletic Complex, gyms and Becker Field, are heavily used by students and Piedmont residents generally. Major equipment, including artificial turf, track surface, and bleachers, will wear out. Warranties on Witter Field and Track will expire in 2015. Prudence requires that the District set aside funds for these known future costs.

Given severe State funding cuts (nearly 20%), it would be imprudent to assume the District can bear this expense alone. All users of the District's athletic facilities have an interest in preserving their continued availability. However, the District cannot charge students to participate in school-sponsored programs and, under the Civic Center Act, cannot charge local sports organizations more than its 'direct costs', which do not include replacement costs. Only the City Recreation Department, which uses District athletic facilities roughly 25% of the time, has the legal ability to require its participants pay a facilities preservation surcharge.

The current facilities preservation proposal looks for donations by or on behalf of student athletes and local sports groups who use District facilities. I was a member of the District's Sub-Committee on Facilities, which first raised this issue with the City, and am pleased that the City agrees that money should be set aside in reserved funds for the known future costs. Because the time to replacement is shrinking, I recommend that all users reach a prompt agreement on funding preservation of our community's facilities.

6. For many years the City and School District have granted one another use of their facilities on a no-fee basis. In addition, the City's Recreation Department for more than two decades has operated the Middle School sports program initiated by a request by the school district.

a. Do you believe the mutual no-fee use of facilities should continue?

b. If fees are imposed, do you believe they should be reciprocal?

Such fees might include:

• City use of school-owned school facilities (Witter Field, 2 gyms at middle school, High school gym)
• School use of city-owned facilities (Rec and Park tennis courts, Beach Field, Coaches Field, community pool)

The District and City are faced with tight budgets to maintain these community resources. Given severe State funding cuts, the District must look to non-student users of its athletic facilities to help set aside funds for known future replacement costs. The City also has budget issues. District use of City facilities used to be essentially no cost to the City (Piedmont Swim Club paid for the pool, the District paid to resurface the main tennis courts, and does not regularly use Beach or Coaches Fields). The City now has pool costs. Both the District and City need to cover the costs to operate and maintain facilities for public use by Piedmont students and residents. It will be important for the District and City to ensure an equitable sharing of such costs as we move forward, recognizing that the District cannot charge students and is limited by the Civic Center Act to charging other users only its 'direct costs.'

7. Most previous questions have focused on the specific issues facing the City Council and School Board. It would be helpful for residents to know what sort of candidate could best contribute to solving these issues. As an elected official, what steps would you take to work with your colleagues and the community to provide leadership on a range of issues before you?

Successful leadership and problem-solving requires teamwork. The team must be able to identify and prioritize issues, learn the relevant facts through inquiry, identify and assess potential improvements or solutions, and make decisions. Board members, the District staff and community members all bring areas of expertise to the table. As none of us is expert in everything, we must remain open to and respectful of others' views, while mindful of our ultimate responsibility to make necessary decisions based upon the best available information. I bring to this process a willingness to raise tough issues, ask questions, listen carefully to input, analyze the available information and options, and be decisive on a broad range of Board matters.

During my first term on the Board, I have shown an ability to work with my colleagues, the staff, and community members, and to provide leadership on issues including the budget, annual and long-term planning, curriculum, renovation and preservation of school facilities, and the development of a new employee evaluation system. If re-elected, I look forward to working with the new Board to build on these efforts and to accomplish even more.

8. At the recent League of Women Voters Candidates Forum, most candidates expressed confidence that the City and School District will move forward in a positive way financially and otherwise.

a) How does the suit filed by Friends of Moraga Canyon impact the community's ability to move forward? While the lawsuit is welcomed by some neighbors, others worry about the impact on children if Piedmont cannot provide adequate field space. What will the lawsuit mean for Piedmont's strong youth sports tradition?

b) Should the city worry that residents may not continue to dig deep for parcel taxes and donations if the assumption is that their efforts to improve the community will be stymied by lawsuits?

Piedmont residents recognize the fundamental importance of education in the lives of our community's children, and have strongly supported a high quality educational program through both school parcel taxes and private donations to Parent Clubs, the Piedmont Educational Foundation, and other local support groups.

Speculation about a lawsuit and its possible effect on residents' support of City parcel taxes and private fundraising campaigns is not germane to the School Board election. City and School District budgets are entirely separate and managed by different governing bodies. Differing views in the community about the Moraga Canyon + Blair Park issue should not affect school parcel tax elections and school fundraising efforts. I hope and expect that residents on both sides of that issue support adequate funding of our public schools.

9. What do you think the school district can do to better incorporate technology in the classroom?

The District has increased and improved its use of technology in the past several years, both for students and teachers.

At the elementary schools, each classroom has at least one multimedia, internet connected computer (most classrooms have more). Each elementary school also has a computer lab with at least 20 stations where students are taught about computer use by a technology instructor teamed with their classroom teacher.

All students have access to computerized research materials through class, lab and/or library computers.

PHS and PMS teachers post on-line homework, grades and other information for their students. Through use of Google Docs, students can access their written work at school and home.

Most teachers now have interactive whiteboards/smartboards, document projectors and LCDs in their classrooms to improve presentation to students. Teachers also are being trained on DataDirector software so that they can better and more quickly analyze data on student learning in their classrooms.

The District is constantly evaluating instructional software and concepts such as the "flipped" classroom to assess whether it offers improved opportunities for learning, as well as offers of electronic textbooks.

Before new technology or software is adopted by the District, it must be both: (a) affordable (including not only direct costs, but also the supporting infrastructure--hardware, bandwidth and IT personnel); and (b) be shown likely to aid teachers in improving student learning.

10. What are the strengths and weaknesses of PUSD's foreign language program? What can be done to strengthen the weaknesses?

In our increasingly interdependent world, students must have a strong opportunity to learn world languages. The PUSD Curriculum Forum Committee is reviewing the World Languages Curriculum during 2011-12 and 2012-13, and both the PHS and PMS Site Councils are focused on World Languages.

Among the structural issues under consideration are:

a) Should PUSD offer world languages earlier than the second semester of 7th grade or work with Piedmont Language School to enhance outside programs;

b) Should PUSD offer different or more world languages;

c) Can PUSD adequately teach combined classes of different levels in world languages where there are insufficient students for a complete class at either level;

d) Can technology enhance learning of world languages.

In addition, the District must determine whether its world language students are learning effectively through analysis of student assessment data and whether its world language teachers are employing best teaching methods through the new teacher evaluation process. Although offering earlier and more world language classes would be difficult until state education funding is restored, steps to ensure student learning through best practices in teaching methods are under way through the new evaluation process.

11. A bond sale late last year generated a surplus of about $6.7 million for the Seismic Safety Bond Program. Per the Measure E Bond Program, the money is earmarked towards fire and life safety. While some of the money may be absorbed by various deferred Measure E projects, do you think the district should allocate some of the rest of the money toward additional projects? Or, do you think the money should be set aside for use in the future?

As part of Piedmont's Seismic Safety Bond Program, the District has applied for State modernization and seismic funds available from the Prop 1D State Bond Authorization. The District expects to receive at least $14 million in State bond funds plus $56 million in local bonds toward the $69.1 million Program budget. The immediate priority is finishing the Beach seismic retrofit. Replacing aging roofs at Beach and Wildwood, to protect the interiors just retrofitted, also is necessary. Any "surplus" will depend on total State funds obtained and the costs of completing this work. The Board will decide what to do with any remaining funds after receiving Steering Committee recommendations and public input. As a current Board member, I cannot opine on how such funds should be spent until then.

The District and Board have identified (but not prioritized) potential uses for such funds, including:

• holding some funds for an earthquake emergency fund;

• early repayment of Bond Anticipation Notes previously issued to reduce long-term taxpayer expense;

• non-structural and accessibility work deferred at PMS;

• garden and kindergarten shade trellises value-engineered out of the Havens project;

• replacement of HVAC equipment, playground asphalt, garden and other work deferred at Wildwood;

• patio project deferred at PHS;

• District-wide technology infrastructure; and

• renovation of the Alan Harvey Theater.

12. If not elected, how do you plan to keep showing support for Piedmont schools and what do you hope that your new school board will accomplish in the next term?

If I am not elected, I plan to continue to support initiatives that more adequately fund public education in our State, Piedmont schools through the Parent Clubs for my daughter's schools, and District-wide organizations such as the Piedmont Educational Foundation to address issues of particular interest to me. I hope that the new Board will:

a) maintain and improve Piedmont's educational program, including implementation of the new teacher evaluation process and extension of that process to administrators; and

b) fairly allocate the difficult burdens of the State's funding cuts among parents, taxpayers, employees and students, and fairly allocate the lightening of such burdens when State funding improves.

And, I am confident that our District will continue to work in collaboration with the local community to provide our children with an excellent, comprehensive education as its first priority.

PIEDMONTER QUESTIONS & RESPONSES:

1. Should the board amend its policies to allow grandchildren of Piedmont residents to attend Piedmont schools?

"As you may know, I cannot take a firm position on a matter before the Board until hearing all available information, public input and Board discussion. I strongly support every student having access to a high quality public education, such as that offered by PUSD. However, expanding capacity to serve out-of-district students must not degrade our Districts educational and fiscal ability to serve resident students."

2. Aside from the "Every 15 Minutes" anti-drunk driving program, what more can the district do to stem the use of alcohol by students?

"In addition to Every 15 Minutes, the District has many programs and services to assist students in dealing with peer pressure to drink alcohol or use drugs (e.g. Youth Educators, student assemblies,the Parent Educator Program and Wellness Center services), as well as instructing students on the risks involved, disciplining students who drink or use drugs on school grounds, and providing parent education nights. Stemming use of alcohol and drugs requires the involvement of parents and the community as well."

3. The law mandating a pro-gay curriculum in California schools to teach children about the roles and contributions of homosexuals went into effect this month. What are your views on this legislation?

"The Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful Education Act ("FAIR") requires classroom instruction and materials to include the contributions toward the "economic, political and social development of California and the United States" by European Americans, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, persons with disabilities, and members of other cultural groups--as well as the contributions of men and women, Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and members of other ethnic groups that were already included in the state law. The new law also prohibits instructional materials from "reflecting adversely upon persons" because of their sexual orientation."

"I strongly support the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful Education Act. Students should learn about the contributions of all persons toward the economic, political and social development of California and our nation, and no person's contribution should be denigrated based upon that person's sexual orientation. History is history."

4. Is the district managing its money wisely or not? Give two examples.

"Yes. The District has capped its contribution toward employee health insurance costs. The District obtained the right to issue $10 million in Qualified School Construction Bonds, which are essentially interest-free and will save Piedmont taxpayers approximately $40 million over alternative bonds."

5. Are Piedmont students pushed too hard to achieve?

"Balancing student achievement and excessive student stress is difficult. Piedmont students often seek high achievement because they are competing with high-achieving students around the world for admission to highly selective colleges. Although PHS is studying ways to reduce student stress, and the Wellness Center offers resources to help students and their families address this issue, students and their families also must consider what is best for their individual growth."