|
The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Butte County and asked of all candidates for this office.
See below for questions on
Education Funding,
School Selection,
Charter School Accountability,
Arts in the Schools
Click on a name for candidate information. See also more information about this contest.
 |
1. In light of existing and anticipated budget cuts in every governmental service and shrinking tax bases, what are your ideas to keep education in our district the creative and productive experience our children deserve?
|
Answer from Robert W. "Bob" Purvis:
We must analyze expenditures carefully and eliminate those that do not have a positive impact on children's learning. Top budget priorities should include educational programs which will prepare children for the future.
Answer from Amy Christianson:
From a county board perspective it is important that we support the fiscal needs of our districts in the short-term. It is important that we keep our schools solvent.
As a County Board Member listening to the districts challenges and needs in order to influence policy and legislation at the state level for long-term solutions is a priority.
Answer from Ryne Ladd Johnson:
The BCOE must serve as a leader for all other school districts in Butte County in regard to budgetary planning and management. As a member of the Butte County Board of Education, given the fiscal realities that our schools face today, I would insist upon the adoption of, and strict adherence to, conservative planning principles to ensure that our schools remain solvent and preserve the ability to effectively teach core subjects first. I would then work with BCOE staff to ensure that additional programs and electives are well developed, integrated with the overall educational plan and effectively delivered, reviewed and evaluated. As a member of the Board, I would assist staff in establishing collaborative relationships and potential new sources of funding to support educational enrichment programs, including the arts, external field activities and experiential projects. Finally, I believe that by increasing the use of digital technology in our classrooms, especially where specifically identified capital grants are secured to purchase equipment, we will improve our ability to expand creative learning opportunities at the lowest fiscal impact to our schools.
Answer from Roger C. Steel:
We must allow our teachers to have the freedom to be creative in their teaching and not just teach to scripted learning required by a testing climate. Lessons must follow state standards but individual teachers must have the freedom to bring in their own interests, creativity, and excitement to the lessons. The love of teaching from teachers will help motivate students to be successful.
Budget cuts must be made as much as possible away from the classrooms. As a Board member, it is my responsibility to support efforts to keep our schools creative and productive learning environments for students.
It is also my responsibility to ensure that the Butte County Office of Education provide fiscal support oversite and direction to Butte County districts and charters to help them develop balanced budgets that support student learning.
|
2. What are the key benefits and drawbacks to parents selecting schools for their children, including the relatively new phenomenon of charter schools?
|
Answer from Robert W. "Bob" Purvis:
Parents should have the opportunity to select schools which they feel are best for their children. This would include public schools and public charter schools.
Answer from Ryne Ladd Johnson:
I believe that the primary benefit to providing parents with the ability to select schools for their children is that in many cases, it fosters a greater level of parental buy-in and active involvement in their child's education. Charter schools which offer a focused subject matter orientation or teaching methodology can engender parental support and involvement with the school, and in many cases they foster a special sense of identification amongst students with the school and its approach to education. What must be avoided, however, are situations where public funds are used to create "specialized" schools that leave some children and their families feeling excluded. To ensure that our public education system remains viable and capable of supporting the needs of our entire community, and all tax payers, we must ensure that public funds are not used to create schools that foster segregation.
To that end, I would like correct and clarify information printed by the Enterprise Record in the October 16, 2012 article, "Four Seeking Three Chico Seats on Board of Education".
In response to the question, "What is the biggest challenge facing public education today?" I listed "privatization" as possibly the biggest THREAT after public school financing. I was quoted as "leaning toward" privatization and this is NOT the case.
I have significant experience in the area of privatization, having worked on several high profile projects in airport and energy privatization around the world. This gives me a unique perspective on the benefits and drawbacks of privatization as an alternative to public control and ownership. With assets like airports, which are inherently businesses, privatization can be a useful approach in creating operating efficiencies, introducing new entrepreneurial activities such as enhanced retail operations and marketing to on-site operators. In some cases, privatization can afford greater access to capital, but not in all cases and often times, not at a lower cost than public sources.
With regard to public education, while we are facing a fiscal crisis to be sure, we face an even bigger possible challenge in the slide back toward segregation, where efforts to "fix" our public schools by private and quasi private approaches are in fact creating "classes" of students, hiving off the best and leaving the most challenging and expensive cases to be dealt with by our remaining public schools, which are then criticized as for being greater failures. It is a vicious cycle that is getting worse and will confront most schools boards in our country in the coming years, including the Butte County Board of Education, for which I am a candidate. That is what I tried to convey to the ER.
I am running for the Board largely because I believe that I have experience and skills to objectively evaluate options to "improve" public education. While I believe that a great deal of innovation in education will come from the private sector, privatizing our public schools in NOT the answer.
Answer from Amy Christianson:
The key benefit is that parents have a choice in their child's education. Education is multi-faceted being a music or arts area of concentration, technology, sports or another area important to the family and child. It's a choice
The challenge is not a parent challenge, it really highlights the strong need for proper governance of charter or traditional education. Leadership is essential.
Answer from Roger C. Steel:
Parents have the right and responsibility to select schools for their children that are positive places for them to learn and grow. It is important that parents are in a school they feel their child will be successful.
Parents need to be involved in the schools where their children are attending so they can support the educational programs and hold the school accountable to provide quality education. Parents that are involved in the school are important factors to the success of the schools and students.
Many charters can meet the needs of specific children and are beneficial to the child. A charter or non-charter school can have qualities that meet the needs and interests of individual students. What is best for the child should be a key questions when parents are selecting schools.
A drawback can occur when a parent selects a different school because it sounds good without investigating whether is really is best for their child. Sometimes schools are labeled as bad schools when in fact they provide an outstanding education to students.
|
3. Charter schools are public schools supported by taxpayer dollars. How should they be held accountable to the public? Should their governing boards be required to adhere to the Brown Act?
|
Answer from Robert W. "Bob" Purvis:
Charter schools are accountable the same as other public schools because they are funded by the State. Governing Boards of Charter Schools should adhere to the Brown Act.
Answer from Amy Christianson:
Charter Schools need to be held accountable to their outlined objectives and goals. They should equally be accountable to how the fiscally spend public dollars. Governing boards should adhere to the Brown Act as part of the accountability process in being transparent to their successes and challenges.
Answer from Roger C. Steel:
Charter schools are public schools and must follow the same fiscal accountability and transparency as all public schools. Since they are public schools, their governing boards should be required to follow the Brown Act as should all public agencies using taxpayer money.
Answer from Ryne Ladd Johnson:
All schools that receive public funding should be governed by the same rules, including the Brown Act.
|
4. There is widespread agreement –- and adopted learning standards –-affirming the role of the arts in a complete education. And yet, among schools and districts across the state, access to the arts is inconsistent or nonexistent. How should the state ensure that the arts have their rightful role in every K-12 curriculum?
|
Answer from Roger C. Steel:
The Visual and Performing Arts are an absolute necessity for a quality education to occur. I am saddened when I see the arts being taken out of our curriculum because of a school's primary interest in standardized testing or lack of funding.
The state and school districts should recognize the absolute need for the arts and include them as a priority in the state standards along with math, reading, and writing. Students learn differently and the arts help increase the capacity for learning.
The Butte County Office of Education should take a lead in promoting the arts in our county district schools by providing county wide activities and programs that promote the arts.
Answer from Ryne Ladd Johnson:
Art is about critical thinking, creative problem solving and communication. These are also the fundamental elements of any (good) educational program. Given this, I believe that the arts should not be viewed as separate subject material, but rather incorporated directly into the development and delivery of core curriculum, at all grade levels, K-12. As a member of Board, and a strong supporter of the arts, I would welcome the opportunity to represent the BCOE in working at the local, state and federal level to expand representation of the arts in our public school curriculum.
Answer from Amy Christianson:
While I believe learning standards are important to pace students, it should be a local board decision as to the curriculum and focus on how the standards are met. Art should be ubiquitous in standards based instruction. Arts is a wonderful example of expression that can be used to gage student understanding of a standard.
Answer from Robert W. "Bob" Purvis:
Access to the arts in public schools is a challenge because of significant reduction in funding since 2008. Basic skills instruction is a higher priority than the arts, and will receive more funding until the definition of minimum basic skills is changed. Certainly, the state can mandate the inclusion of the arts in the K-12 curriculum. As a result of reduced funding in California schools, many valuable programs have been eliminated.
Responses to questions asked of each candidate
are reproduced as submitted to the League.
Candidates' statements are presented as
submitted. References to opponents are not permitted.
The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.
| 
League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
