League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Board Member; Morgan Hill Unified School District

The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Use of Funds, Appropriate Instruction, District Goals Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. How would you determine that the schools are using federal, state and local funds wisely and fairly and how would you report your findings to the community? Answer from Bob Benevento: The Board of Education, as a body, has a fiduciary responsibility for the decisions made regarding the assets of the district and the rights of the stakeholders--the students and citizens of Morgan Hill. Such responsibilities would include avoiding conflicts of interest, acting in the interest of the district, providing oversight to assure legality, and protecting the assets of the district. With the concurrence of my fellow trustees, I would encourage the Superintendent and his cabinet to provide a needs assessment plan and work collaboratively to develop a series of goals that are measurable, attainable and able to be completed within a given timeframe. This needs assessment should reflect the broad spectrum of the district's goals, from Student Achievement (curriculum and programs); Dedicated and Qualified Employees (classified, certificated and administrative); Responsible Financial Practices (balanced budget, required reserves, positive financial audits); a Safe, Healthy & Sustainable Environment (a Facilities master plan, Energy efficiency, healthy living through proper diet and activity, and Safety and Security on all campuses); and Partnership through Communications (with homes, schools and community). The only accurate and true way to assess the finances of the district is to have an independent auditor provide a district assessment. This is something the district has done for as long as I have been affiliated with the school system and should continue to do so. The information gathered in this audit is available to the public and reported at a school board meeting. 2. Are the schools offering instruction appropriate to the diverse educational abilities of all the students? Answer from Bob Benevento: Within the framework of Core Curriculum, I would say yes, but the challenge remains reaching those students whose learning skills differ. Students learn in different ways and at different rates; some auditory, some visual; some hands on, others conceptually; some slowly, others quickly. The challenges that the district and our teachers face daily are to find the method and style that works for each student and then reinforce those methods regularly. In our district we continue to address an expanding population of English Language Learners, a growing number of students from a lower Socio-Economic stratus, students of parents with higher levels of achievement in education and the business world, and students with special education requirements. The district strives to serve all equally and I believe does a very good job, but there is always room for improvement. The greater challenge, in my opinion, is to present lessons that are rigorous, relevant and based on reality. If we raise expectations, challenge students with rigorous academic work, and demonstrate a real world relevance, I believe students of all levels and abilities will respond to the challenge. If we can make learning fun along the way, I think we can achieve academic excellence at all levels. As the district's technological capability expands and as it brings additional electronic resources on line, I believe the upside is limitless. I believe the goal should be to develop life-long learners. I am a strong believer that we need to develop Career Pathways for our students, exposing them to career options as early as seventh (7th) grade and presenting them with options that will prepare them for a productive life after secondary school, whether that be in college, in the military or public service or in the skilled workforce. 3. Where do you want the District to be five years from now? What steps should the District take to get there? Answer from Bob Benevento: As a vision, five years from now every student should be graduating high school either prepared for college or ready to enter the workforce with some type of certificated skill or plan to achieve that certificate at the community college level. Our students, at every level, should be challenged with rigorous academic coursework focused not only in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, but Language, Music and the Arts. They should have opportunities for co-curricular activities involving clubs and sports. In five years, with active community involvement, we should be able to identify and secure funding not only from Federal and State sources but also from business, philanthropy and other local sources. Those funds should be student focused, wisely invested and apportioned fairly. How will we get there? We need to continue to focus on goals and objectives that will help our students continuously improve. We need to hold ourselves accountable, not just the Board, not just the Superintendent and his staff, not just the teachers and administrators, and not just the students. We, as a community of parents and stakeholders in the city of Morgan Hill, need to hold ourselves accountable for the future of our children. We need to continue to develop our local and regional business alliances, our relationships with sources of higher education, our alumni relationships, our community foundations and whatever other resources we can marshall to provide For Our Students, For Our Future. Lastly, we need to actively pursue any and all options to reform our irrational school financing system. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Please answer each question in no more than 400 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.