How We Can Improve the Schools Now

By Brian Block

Some Ideas for Improving our Schools and Board Meetings

First, be honest. This administration, and this board have made mistakes, major mistakes and major blunders. However, we cannot reach accurate solutions until we have accurate and trustworthy numbers about permits, budgets, deficits and projections. It is clear that budget deficits have been ignored (or unseen) for years, that classroom stuffing has occurred without mention at board meetings, and that serious issues about teacher credentialing have been left unwatched. Don't make the community dig for these problems, let us know about them.

Make a decision to drastically reduce out of district permits NOW. By making the commitment to roll back permits to pre-2002 levels or earlier at the present time, we will be able to plan our future budget based on realistic class sizes and enrollment. Let's try to prevent our best students from leaving the school district by giving them the reasonable class sizes they enjoy at the Elementary Schools. Let them go to Middle School with the same friends that they play with in Little League, Soccer and other neighborhood activities.

Fire the public relations person that was recently hired, and hire a fundraiser who can help us get grant money from the Federal Government, State, and private and public foundations. My own High School has earned 2 million dollars in grants over the past three years; this school district has earned about $200,000 in that time. We need a fundraiser, not a spin-doctor.

Be honest about our AYP and API ratings. Sure, we have "met our state goals" but anyone who compares our results from three years ago, to those of the most recent test, notices a disturbing pattern. Three years ago we were close to the scores of Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach and El Segundo. WE HAVE LOST GROUND TO ALL these school districts in past 3 years. Perhaps the School Board takes pride in that we are holding our own against Inglewood Unified and LAUSD, but I do not. I expected more from our schools.

Return the first hour of every board meeting will be turned over to the public for your comments. Criticize, praise, question, ask + Open debate WORKS. I have done more to open discussion in two months than my opponents have done in four years.

Give the public all information possible. Without a properly informed public, debate is meaningless. Anyone who has attended one of the board meetings that my opponents have run knows what it is like to hear a senseless debate without relevant information. The public needs information explained in an understandable, not confusing manner.

Listening to the public is the key. I believe that an informed public makes the right decisions, but I don't believe we have been receiving all the information we are entitled to. Once this happens our schools, and our community will benefit greatly.