Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

Q: Describe your personal experience and involvement with public schools that qualifies you as a SMMUSD school board member.

A: I grew up in our community and attended SMMUSD schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. My sister-in-law teaches in the district, and my niece and nephew are students in the district. My mom and dad are both educators. I taught in a West Oakland public school while I was a law student, and also served as the student member of the University of California's Board of Regents, where much of my work focused on K-12 to UC pipeline issues. My main research paper at law school focused on the law and politics of school finance in California, and prior to my election, I served on SMMUSD's Financial Oversight Committee. I teach education law and policy at UCLA Law School, and have served for the past four years as a member of the school board, currently as the board's president.

Q: What will be your top objectives, if elected to the SMMUSD school board?

A: Looking out for all students, finding ways to improve outcomes and opportunities for students from every background. Setting high academic expectations and standards. Preserving the core programs that make our district great: from the arts and athletics to strong academic programs. Pushing for environmentally sustainable practices. Addressing the needs of both Santa Monica and Malibu. Early childhood programming. Seeking out new revenues for the district.

Q: Do you have any specific changes you want to make in school district policies, finances, growth, programs, curriculum, staffing, and/or parental involvement?

A: Obviously, parental involvement is part of what makes our district so strong, but there is certainly room for improvement at all levels, especially at the middle school level, where we often see a significant drop in parental engagement. I'd like to see us strengthen our environmental practices, and would like to see us be a lot more strategic in the way we think about early childhood programming. I am excited about an initiative that we've begun with our teachers' union to revamp our teacher evaluation program, and I am hopeful that will bring some positive change to the district as well.

Q: Describe the strategies you would champion to improve meaningful communication, foster successful partnerships with public school families bringing parent voices to the decision-making table. Do you think the current board has positively achieved this?

A: The state's Brown Act delineates the rules for public comment and public engagement during the school board meetings, but I've always felt as though it is an imperfect process, and one that often leaves participants feeling dissatisfied. I think SMMUSD's district advisory committees oftentimes provide a more meaningful forum for discussion and conversation among parents, board members and staff, focusing on various areas of great importance to the community. In addition, site councils at the various school campuses and the PTA (both at the campus and district levels) play an important role in bringing parent voices to the decision-making table. I think that the district should invest a little more in communication, and that board members and high level staff should try their hardest to make sure to get out to community, campus, and parent events and meetings.

It is often in the conversations during and after such meetings where key concerns are raised, issues discussed, important ideas bandied about that help board members better understand the community's concerns, feelings, and interests. I know this because I have attend numerous Malibu High School basketball and football games, MHS and Webster PTA meetings, MHS awards and commencement-related events, fundraisers, fairs, and silent auctions, have regular meetings in Malibu, and have walked MHS with neighborhood groups. These meetings and experiences have made an enormous difference in helping me to be a more knowledgeable and informed board member. But I know that we can do more, and I hope to work with parents, board members, and other leaders to think through new ways that we can improve communication and increase representation, both in Malibu and across the district.

Q: SMMUSD continues to grapple with painful budget decisions, what new ideas could you implement to alleviate some of these budget shortfalls?

A: Obviously, passing Proposition 30 is a major priority. It will bring in vitally needed funds to our schools. On the local level, we have been able to pass Measures Y and YY in Santa Monica, which are bringing in $6 million sales and use tax monies from sales in Santa Monica that are used to help schools throughout the district. We were able to negotiate a ten-year extension to the Joint Use Agreement between the City of Santa Monica and SMMUSD, which is now bringing in $8 million annually to the district's coffers, with cost of living increases built in. We should look at growing our cooperation with the City of Malibu along similar lines. Some of the November bond monies could be used to alleviate some of the operational costs of the district. We are asking for a much more robust fundraising operation from our Education Foundation, and we also need to figure out new ways to engage our business community in bringing in funds to support programming in the district. I continue to be interested in branding, and looking for creative market-based solutions for revenues. We have made major cuts already, including by increasing class size, and I think we really need to hold the line on class size increases. We need to bring in the money that will allow us to remain financially solvent and keep our programs strong.

Q: What is your opinion of the current school district policies and continued funding towards students with special needs, i.e. mainstreaming behavioral problem students, English as a second language, students who face the problems of poverty, family problems, etc.?

A: There are tremendous needs that exist within our student and family population, and the public schools have been tasked by state and federal law with addressing many of those needs. I think that the district works hard to balance these students' needs with its responsibilities to the broader student community. But we struggle to strike this balance properly, and one of the realities of this work in public education is that there is always so much more that can and should be done to help our students. Our challenge is taking our limited resources and putting them to the best use. I haven't always agreed with the board's every allocation, but I think that under the difficult financial circumstances, we have struck a reasonable balance in funding and support for our English language learners, impoverished students, and those with behavioral and family challenges.

Q: What is your opinion of recent school board's vote to include The Board of Education's 385 million dollar bond on November's ballot? A: It was a difficult decision, but it was the right one at the end of the day. There are tremendous infrastructural and maintenance needs in our century-old school district, and the bond will bring in money for needed safety improvements, technology upgrades, new classrooms, and addressing deferred maintenance needs. It will also bring in monies that will help us on the operational side of the ledger as well. The world continues to change, and our community deserves a modernized school district that is safe and clean. I hope that people support it!

Q: Please add anything else you might think pertinent.

A: It has been an honor to serve this school system that raised me, and I am grateful to the community for giving me this opportunity. It hasn't been easy work, but with the community's support we have been able to get the extra support we needed to keep the school system strong. We have a lot of work to do, and with the state funding crisis, we need to be particularly vigilant. I am committed to strong, engaged, open communication, and have worked hard to reach out to the whole community.