Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Culver City Unified School District

Like you, we moved to Culver City for the schools. I have some simple Ideas for making parents and programs our priority:

Open the first hour of every board meeting to parent and community opinion. If working parents and teachers cannot publicly share ideas, representative government is lost. We must represent your concerns, not our own.

Focus on programs, parents, and teachers, and classified staff, not test scores and board benefits. Schools should be positively judged by opportunities provided before, during and after class. Schools should be hubs of community activity. Pursuing corporate grants and parental involvement are essential.

Meaningful information without undue delay is paramount. Without access to complete information, parents, teachers and community members cannot make knowledgeable judgments even when attending board meetings. Parents and teachers must be invited and involved at multiple decision-making phases to insure accountability. Fiascos involving the 2005-2006 school calendar, GATE, and school board health benefits are glaring examples of this board's failure to involve and inform.

Since August, even more issues have come to the forefront. A long term debt of 46 million dollars (which exceeds the yearly budget of the school). A mysterious million dollar "accounting error." A board that has not taken a position on Ladera Heights more than two months after being notified of a completed petition. Overcrowding in the Middle School and High School. Failure to timely provide full time staff. Teaching Staff and Classified staff that are hired part-time, rather than full time, so that the administration can avoid having to offer benefits. These are all signs of an administration that does not know how to budget, and is keeping the details secret.

We also need to scrutinize outside district permits. While the stuffing of students in our Middle School is scary, there does not appear to be proper resources to insure that individuals are not faking their residency in Culver City. Permit children adding to our children's educational experience should be rewarded, outside students costly or detrimental to our children's education should not benefit from our tax dollars. With the current stuffing of our Middle Schools and High Schools, the accurate count of Culver City residents is paramount.