Candidate for
Board Member; San Carlos School District

My priorities, both in my current term as board member, and if I am elected for a second term, are:

• COMMUNICATION: Keeping parents informed about the work of the district, as well as about issues currently before the board is crucial to an engaged parent population. When I joined the board in 2012, I instituted the practice of pushing out to parents an easy-to-read summary of board agenda topics of interest in advance of board meetings. We must continue to improve our communications both to parents as well as to staff and the broader community.

• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Supporting our teachers as we transition to the Common Core Standards, Smarter Balanced Assessments, and a 21st century learning model is going to be crucial for student success. The District must make significant investments in highly effective professional development in this area.

• STRATEGIC PLAN IMPLEMENTATION: Although the process of developing the District's Strategic Plan is complete, the process of implementing it has just begun. We must keep our eye on measurable outcomes as markers for progress towards the ambitious goals laid out in the Plan, and be diligent in evaluating annual progress towards those goals.

• FACILITIES: We must ensure that the projects in the Facilities Master Plan come in on time and on budget, that they meet the needs of students and teachers, and that we are diligent in accessing the outside funds needed to complete the full Facilities Master Plan

• FISCAL MANAGEMENT: The District must continue to be very conservative about our financial projections and budgeting under the new Local Control Funding Formula. Support from outside revenue sources, including SCEF, our two parcel taxes, and our revenue stream through our SMARTE and preschool programs will continue to be a crucial element of our fiscal stability.

• TRANSPARENCY & ACCOUNTABILITY: Ensuring the trust of the public through transparent operations is key to achieving our goals as laid out in our Strategic Plan, and as such we must be vigilant about our accountability to the public on fiscal and programmatic operations.

• BOARD MEMBER AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PUBLIC: I take seriously the responsibility I have as a board member to be a liaison between the public and the work of the board. I have made it a priority throughout my term on the board to be responsive to the public on issues before the board and to take the time to meet with constituents to understand their positions and discuss with them various issues before the board in a constructive, productive manner.