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LWV League of Women Voters of California
San Mateo County, CA November 4, 2003 Election
Smart Voter Political Philosophy for Thomas J. Quiggle

Candidate for
Board Member; San Carlos School District

[photo]
This information is provided by the candidate

  • Fiscal Responsibility

I believe we need to take a fresh look a the district's budget and insure that our spending is aligned with our educational objectives. If we start from the premise that last year's budget is the baseline and we can either add or subtract individual items from it, we are bound to reproduce essentially last years budget. If the baseline budget has fundamental problems built in, adding or subtracting funding for individual programs won't fix it. We need to look at all aspects of spending and build a budget from the bottom up. Student achievement and enrichment should be the yardstick against which all expenditures are measured.

  • Open Communication and Trust

In talking to members of our community, it is clear that there has been an erosion in the public's trust of our district administration and board. Some of this distrust originates from last year's budget crisis and ongoing financial difficulties, but much of the problem stems from a lack of two way communication.

Together, the district administration and school board need to develop mechanisms to improve communication with the public, to obtain feedback, and to become more customer focused. They need to take a more proactive role in communicating decisions to their constituency. They need to foster a spirit of open communication and mutual respect in order to build a partnership with the community to support our schools. The district is relying on continued financial support from the San Carlos Education Foundation to support educational programs. They must assure the public that their contributions are a good investment.

As an individual board member, I promise to be available to the community, to be open, and to listen.

  • Excellence in Education

Throughout the arduous discussion of budgets, facilities, chartering a high school, etc., the most important issue facing this district has somehow taken a back seat. That issue is improving the quality of education for our children. I would like to see the board focus on improving curriculum and increasing student achievement.

I believe our elementary schools are making steady progress; however, our middle schools are lagging. Standardized test score data supports this belief. We need to refocus on setting priorities and establishing specific, measurable, objectives for learning. I want to ensure our graduating 8th graders are well prepared for the rigors of high school. I want to foster a spirit of excellence in all of our schools. We have good schools, but we should always strive for improvement.

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 21, 2003 21:32
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