Why I'm Running

By Mark G. Graff

A quick summary of the challenges that face the district and how I can help resolve them.

I'm running because I believe that to fix our schools we need to reach out. We must approach in a spirit of openness and humility every child and parent who lives here, asking how we can best serve them. Parents who have removed their kids to private schools might tell us how to earn back their trust and respect. Families who home school their kids might share with us their reasons. But we must also engage the wider community. Farmers and other employers can teach us about the skills they look for in folks they hire. Local bankers, builders and conservationists could help us plan and invest for our future needs. We must engage them; because whenever a Board meeting or planning session takes place without involving the community as a whole, the result will be less than our best. I will work hard to build the bridges we need to do better.

I'm running because as an engineer and businessperson trained in analysis, planning, and management, I have skills I believe our district needs. The Board currently exercises little scrutiny over the district budget. (This year, they approved a $4.5M budget after about an hour of discussion.) I will spur them to look harder, making sure that each expenditure will pay off in the classroom. Our district today has no long-term plans in place for reversing the decline of enrollment, ensuring fiscal soundness, updating curricula, or even maintaining fields, buildings, and equipment. I can help with long-term planning: just this year, I helped analyze our nation's security needs over the next 50 years as part of a government-sponsored think tank. And my management experience will be useful as I work with the new superintendent, helping to institute professional review and evaluation procedures throughout the district.

I'm running as a citizen with a passion for open government. I will help open up the Board's work to greater public involvement and scrutiny. When I am on the Board, I will insist that all votes cast in closed sessions be disclosed (they aren't today). I will argue against hiding controversial actions under meaningless generic agenda headings. I will work hard to bring about meaningful public dialogue (perhaps at periodic "town meetings") on policy questions, such as re-structuring the district's administration or providing municipal services to Pescadero.

I'm running because, as one who grew up in California during the "golden age" of our public schools, I remember what it was like to have well-kept-up school grounds with drinkable water, new textbooks, and unparalleled academic achievement. We had music programs and plenty of after-school sports, too. I want that for our kids. I will work hard to find new sources of program funding. I will continue to ask our superintendent, principals and teaching professionals how we can best support them. And, teaming with other public officials, I will try to find some way to pay our educators a decent wage---or at least defray the high cost of living in our district---so we can keep these good folks on the job longer.

We will all have to work together as never before to create the education our children deserve. But for that to happen, we need more members on the School Board who see the community's parents as partners, its residents as teachers, and themselves as the students. We need a change. And that's why I'm running.

[For district statistics, see http://www.cde.gov/. For information about the candidate, please see http://www.markgraff.com/.]