Candidate for
Board Member; Mount Diablo Unified School District

My political philosophy is that I believe in accountability!

I want to thank the 17,000 folks who voted for me in the 2000 election. It was that support that encouraged me to run again. You know, it's unfortunate that not that much has changed in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) since the last election, but the district really does need to change. If elected I can make that change happen.

I believe in accountability, and here are four areas of accountability that need change:

1) On August 22, 2000, the MDUSD school board, administration, and the teachers' union stated that by 2004, nine out of every ten MDUSD students would score at or above the national average on standardized tests.

First of all you have to understand that this goal is really not that high. This academic achievement is no higher than the top of a "bell curve", which is to say 50% of students nationally would be worse than our students, and 50% of students nationally would be better than MDUSD students. So you see, it's really not that high of a goal to begin with. However, the fact is that MDUSD is no closer in 2002 to this modest goal, than it was in 2000. Actually, across all grades 2-11 the percentile of MDUSD students at or above the national average has decreased in Reading, Math, Language, Spelling, Science and Social Science.

If elected, I would make sure to stop this "back sliding", and I would make sure that the MDUSD lives up to its promise of reaching, this achievable goal, with 9 out of 10 students at or above the national average. No more excuses, let's get it done.

2) In 2000 the Contra Costa County grand jury said that the MDUSD had an adversarial relationship with the Bay Point community. Underperforming schools are actually found throughout the district in Pleasant Hill and Concord, but in Bay Point all three elementary schools, the middle school, and the two primary high schools that MDUSD routes Bay Point students to (Mt. Diablo and Ygnacio Valley), are all underperforming. In fact, all six of these schools are subject to the state's Immediate Intervention Underperforming Schools Program, with three of the schools actually under the control of this state program.

So it's no wonder that Bay Point parents send their kids to other school districts, private schools, or other campuses in the MDUSD. And that's precisely where the problem occurs. MDUSD has no accountability, and no idea whatsoever as to the number of Bay Point kids using intra-district transfers. MDUSD greatly understates the number of Bay Point kids in the district, throughout the various sites. In the case of a needed High School in Bay Point, the district has not updated its population numbers with the California Office of Public School Construction, since 1999. The state allows these numbers to also project five years into the future, based on new housing being built. What this means, is that in the case of Bay Point classroom needs, MDUSD numbers are out of date by nine years! If elected, I would immediately update these numbers to be accurate.

The underperforming schools in Bay Point are not because of a problem with the kids, but because Bay Point schools have the highest number of teachers without credentials, on waivers, directly out of college, or teaching "out of subject". The MDUSD's own numbers show this to be the case.

If elected, I would make sure that no more teachers lacking certification or teaching out of subject are assigned to underperforming schools.

I would also promote what I call "educational sabbaticals", where the best teachers in the district would be encouraged to teach a semester or a full year at one of the underperforming schools. At the same time, new teachers or those just recently receiving their credential would start out in high achievement schools. In the case of the district's best teachers, with proven instructional methods and a strong curriculum, they could make significant impact both in the classroom and in mentoring other teachers at the campus. Those teachers with the least classroom experience or training would benefit from a year of strong parental support and mentorship, found at most high achievement campuses. Both new teachers and underperforming schools would benefit from my plan and its synergy. Also, available state monetary awards (Governor's Award) would be available to those teachers participating in this program, with up to $25,000 for individual teachers who can make a significant impact. As with most difficult jobs in life, that obviously requires experience and training, you don't send an apprentice when you really need a master in solving or fixing a problem.

3) In 2000, MDUSD laid off 27 teachers due to financial constraints, and poor budget management. The Contra Costa County Department of Education was prepared to put MDUSD on a financial probation. Since 2000, a huge amount of state money has poured into the district, raising the MDUSD budget by $40 million, but in the last three years the district has continually submitted deficit budgets, with expenditures exceeding revenues.

With a huge state budget deficit (approaching $17 billion), and most experts predicting that this budget crunch will continue or worsen in the next two years, the district needs to stop spending money it doesn't have, and better manage the money it does have. I have managed multi-million dollar capital and expense budgets for the last ten years in the private sector. I know how to balance a budget and manage the fiscal needs of an organization.

As an active taxpayer advocate for the last fifteen years, both with the Concord Association of Taxpayers and the Alliance of Contra Costa Taxpayers, I know that the pockets of the district taxpayers have become an all too easy and frequent source of revenue, due to the district's poor fiscal management. That can not continue. Necessary spending cuts in the district's enormous bureaucracy and top-heavy administration, where there is one manager for every four district employees (teachers not included), need to me made. More money needs to be directed to the classroom, not to the ever-growing MDUSD administration. If elected I will make that happen.

The recent $250 million school bond (Measure C) will actually cost district property owners more than $560 million in principal and interest. Of the $250 million, by the district's own numbers, $150 million will not improve our schools but goes to soft costs, cost overruns, contingencies, and consultants! In the very first contract awarded under Measure C for project management, MDUSD chose a $14 million bid instead of a $7 million bid, "on staff's recommendation". The district has also approved more than $8 million to five architectural firms, in a wasteful plan that will see 2-3 years between those plans and the actual start of construction, resulting in countless wasted dollars for re-work. The district has already wasted more than $22 million, of the original $250 million bond measure, and nothing has been built yet. If elected I will end this waste of taxpayers' dollars, and protect the district's taxpayers.

4) In 2000 several candidates took money from various school unions, and in 2002 all three incumbents have said they will too. This is an absolute conflict of interest! The responsibilities of a board trustee are to the taxpayers, parents and children of the district. I will not accept money from any school union or special interest group. I am the only MDUSD candidate not taking special interest money.

So for integrity, accountability and change, please cast your vote on November 5th, for Karl Kaste!