League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Board Member; Mountain View-Los Altos Union High 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 Funding, Curriculum, 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 Dana Marie Bunnett: As a nonprofit director I have experience developing and managing budgets. As a Board member I will use this experience to ensure the fiscal stability of the district and to provide effective stewardship of the public's dollars. I would not merely report my findings to the community, I would work to involve the community in the budget-making process. The budget process should be transparent and have strong community input, perhaps through the board hosting annual budget workshops with an invitation to the public to attend. A budget conveys the priorities and the values of the district -- reaching out to the public to request input to the budget process is one way to develop community-wide support for its goals. Answer from Debbie Torok: Will provide soon. Answer from Joe Mitchner: My professional career has been in Financial Management for employers that include Oracle Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, and Stanford University. I'm extremely comfortable analyzing budgets and financial reports, at both macro and micro levels. I'm also practiced at explaining and presenting financials. One of Oracle's early CFO's used to say, "If you can't explain it, then you don't really understand it." And I believe that's true. As a Basic Aid District funded primarily through local property taxes, MVLA qualifies for very little federal and state funding (approximately 5% of the General Fund). Federal funding, broken out by category, is detailed in the annual budget, which is presented at least twice in public board meetings prior to adoption and is also posted on the District website. Each year, the annual audit report (a public document) includes an "Expenditures of Federal Awards" review, which details how Federal funds are spent. The majority of General Fund state funding is for Common Core, Lottery (unrestricted / instructional materials), and Special Education. Each of these line items is also included in the annual budget. Common Core spending plans are separately reviewed and approved by the board over the course of two public meetings. One area that would qualify for federal and state funding in a Revenue Limit District is the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). Although MVLA doesn't qualify for specific federal or state LCAP funding, the LCAP report was presented to the board, and details all of the goals, action plans, and planned expenditures for each area. Prior to reaching the Board, the LCAP was reviewed at 21 different input meetings with a wide range of stakeholders. The General Fund annual budget is a comprehensive report of District spending plans. The supporting documentation for the budget provides detail by expenditure area. The Board has 15 "Board Adopted Indicators", which measure District performance on metrics aligned with District Goals. Improvement in each of those metrics, which include academic achievement broken out by subgroups, is an indicator of proper funding allocation. Funding can and should be re-apportioned if progress is unsatisfactory on important metrics. The Board Adopted indicators are reviewed annually at board meetings, and are included in the published annual report for each school in the District. Answer from Sanjay Dave: I would examine the previous year's budget and based on the metrics we have devised, check if the appropriate gains are being made. If certain gains are lower than expected, such as performance of our low-income, at-risk, or college-bound students, I would look to see if adjustments to the budget is needed to reach the goals we had set at the beginning of the year. Moreover, I would ensure that our budget is forward looking to ensure we have adequate funding for the new programs, curriculum, and infrastructure we are looking to add to our district, including a safety-net so we remain solvent in troubled times. To achieve this, I would make sure that our budget has proper oversight by our outside auditors, the Santa Clara County Office of Education, and Citizen Advisory Committee. Our district website will contain an easy to find link to the current budget, decision process, and archive of previous budgets. In addition, we will notify parents which board meeting our budget will be reviewed and approved so they can attend and provide input. Answer from Kevin T. Kramer: The Board should undertake a benchmarking exercise to compare its spend to those of other schools nationwide. Using and comparing data from other similarly situated school districts will help shed light on whether our district is spending its funds wisely and fairly. In addition, we need to report the results of that exercise in a transparency report that will be made available online to the public. Answer from Fiona Walter: [Apologies - formatting isn't coming through from my word doc. There should be paragraph breaks!] The budget and its details are truly the best tools for answering this question. The budget is presented three times a year + in June for approval for the next fiscal year, in December for the First Interim check/adjustment, and again in March/April for the Second Interim check/adjustment. All three of these public presentations inform the board and allow the general community to learn how the district's money is being spent. As a basic aid district, we are heavily dependent on local property tax revenues to support our schools. Additional local funding comes in the form of the Measure A facilities bond (projects are nearing conclusion at this point in time) and contributions from the MVLA Education Foundation. The Locally Controlled Funding Formula (LCFF) determines additional state monies coming to our district while the Locally Controlled Accountability Plan (LCAP) is the governing document for how these funds will be spent. Currently, 84% of MVLA's budget is being spent on personnel, perfectly within the California School Boards Association recommended range of 80-85%. This leaves the remaining 16% for books and supplies, programming, athletics, extracurriculars, professional development, and other critical items that round out a quality education. Ensuring that money is being spent appropriately can be determined by linking the various budget line items back to their sources and intended purposes. An example of this would be money received from the Foundation. Foundation monies for 14-15 should be spent on smaller freshmen class sizes, chrome books, and college and career centers (to name a few items). These expenditures are easily confirmed in the budget reports. Discretionary funds should be used to support ongoing district goals as part of the current six year strategic plan (again, easily confirmed by comparing the expense to the goals). The board can and should ask questions about the budget during these major presentations (and in between should something come up) as should the greater community. The CFO for MVLA is highly qualified for his current position and has been well trained by his recently retired predecessor. In addition, the district has always earned the highest budget ratings available as a result of their annual audits. 2. Are the schools offering instruction appropriate to the diverse educational abilities of all the students? Answer from Joe Mitchner: The MVLA District has a wide range of learners...ranging from students who take multiple AP courses to students learning English, to students best served by alternative programs. The District has an obligation to serve EVERY student. Currently, 23 AP courses are offered at each of the two comprehensive high schools. Classes are added based on student demand, and the number of AP "seats" increased by 15% in the past year. Much of that increase is driven by Latino participation in AP courses, which has grown by 83% in the past four years. In the past five years, the District has recognized the importance of providing for students in the "middle" range, and has added many new courses in the college prep ("middle") band. New courses include: Introduction to Computer Science, Introduction to Statistics, Robotics, Introduction to Journalism, and BioTech. In addition, some of the recently added AP classes (e.g., AP Psychology, AP Environmental Science...) appeal to a broader range of students, including some who previously might not have been inclined to attempt an AP course. District also offers a significant number of skills courses and support programs. These include classes in math, English, and social studies. There is a strong AVID program. Support programs include homework clubs, student assistance teams, and tutorial centers. Outreach through parent networking groups and bilingual counselors has also been helpful for students and families. The District provides a program for English Language Learners, and serves its growing special education population. For students interested in careers (or career exploration), there are many ROP/CTE courses. The more recent additions include Robotics, Broadcast Journalism, and Construction. Courses are also offered in Auto Mechanics, Culinary, and Health Science Careers. The District also offers choice programs for students with different learning styles. At Freestyle Academy students blend their learning with multimedia technology; at Middle College, students who don't feel a fit on a traditional high school campus, spend their days taking classes at Foothill College. District also oversees an Adult Education program, which provides GED/HSD, ESL, and CTE as state-funded programs. With this diverse set of programs and support structures, the District's API scores have steadily increased in total and across all subgroups. Answer from Sanjay Dave: One can never be complacent but always strive to improve our educational abilities of all our students. I will always be looking for ways to improve our methods of instruction, programs and curriculum for our students to provide a deeper and a more well-rounded education. As an example, I think technology will continue to play a more important role in our education but we need to use acute judgment in how we use it. Stanford recently completed a study where they took a group of 9th graders who had behavioral problems or had failed 9th grade English before and put them in a class where teachers used technology to practice their English skills. At the end of the year, these kids outperformed the 9th grade AP students in the state exam. This exemplifies that technology can be used as a tool to offer differentiated instruction but it must be the right technology and used effectively. Answer from Dana Marie Bunnett: Yes and no. The elements of the Common Core State Standards - student collaboration, linking what is learned in the classroom to the "real world", developing fluency in technology and the development of complex reasoning, problem-solving and communication are part of many, if not most of the courses taught in the district. Programs such as Middle College, AVID and FreeStyle address the diverse learning needs and styles of our student community. While we have made progress, the achievement gap still exists in our district. I feel a sense of urgency about the students in the gap right now. We need to grow programs that help our most vulnerable students be successful. Programs such as AVID, that bring together students who will be the first in their generation go to college, have had demonstrated success. This program is successful because it focuses on relationships and rigor. Yet only those students who show "promise" are invited into this program. We need to see the promise in every student, even if they are not currently successful academically, and provide them with the opportunity that the AVID program provides. Last, I feel we need to move from a focus on testing to one of mastery of content and skills. While, this is driven by forces beyond the district, I believe we can focus on mastery first and testing second. Testing makes us "fill the bucket" when we should really be lighting fires. The best gift we can give our students is a lifelong love of learning, grit, and curiosity. Too many of our students feel that their test scores and grades define them and too often they are burned out by the time they get to college. We need a focus in our schools that help our youth realize they are unique contributors to the world and so much more than a number. Answer from Kevin T. Kramer: Yes, but there is room for improvement in this area. The schools offer an array of AP and Honors classes for the top students and many programs for disadvantaged students. However, based on the experiences of my son and from other parents that we have spoken with, it appears that there is a gap between honors and AP classes on the one hand and ordinary classes on the other. Honors and AP classes are overwhelming and often dominate homework hours, but normal classes seem not to be challenging enough for many students. We need to find ways to provide challenging, advanced level classes for our students without overwhelming them with too many AP classes. We could possibly achieve this through better integration of technology and a broader set of courses for each subject so that we can target different learning abilities more effectively. Answer from Fiona Walter: [Apologies for formatting issues. "One final comment..." below should be a new paragraph.] The short answer to this is yes. The longer answer is that we can be doing more. We currently provide courses with the intention of helping every child be successful in school with the goal being as many options as possible upon graduation. I'll provide a few comments regarding the upper, middle/core, struggling populations, and STEAM: Higher achieving students: MVLA offers many AP/Honors courses available to any student at our schools. These course offerings continually expand, most recently adding AP Civics/Econ at MVHS (was already offered at LAHS). Middle/core instruction: Electives fall into this category and MVLA is very good about providing a wide variety of options to our students ranging from engineering to photography to music and foreign language. "Regular" versions of AP/Honors courses also fall into this category and here is where I have some concerns. I want to be sure that we are not eliminating strong core offerings when an AP/Honors version of the class is offered. This occurred with regular physics at LAHS this year. While the AP Physics that was added is accessible to algebra/geometry students, not everyone wants an AP Physics class. The added workload can simply be too much in an already loaded schedule. Struggling students: These students often include our second language learners as well as special needs children. We have highly trained teachers to help us in these areas along with upwards of 30 specific programs directly targeting second language students. The district is gradually closing the achievement gap between these kids and their native English speaking colleagues. This is an area where even more can be done to impact students. One example is through targeted professional development tools such as EL Achieve. One final comment centers on STEM education. I am not willing to let go of the arts. We should be saying STEAM. MVLA supports STEAM throughout its programming with amazing high school bands, choirs, photography classes, visual arts classes, and of course Freestyle Academy. I am pleased with the current offerings and do not want to lose these in the future. While I am an engineer by training, I have enough units for a minor in music and was actually on a small music scholarship sponsored by an engineering alumni. If you query current students, arts are why many of them come to school each day and I will continue to support these if elected. Answer from Debbie Torok: Will provide soon. 3. Where do you want the District to be five years from now? What steps should the District take to get there? Answer from Sanjay Dave: 5 years from now I would expect the following Common Core will have taken hold Interactive technology is utilized more to allow for differentiated teaching and learning Achievement gap continues to reduce at a steady decline API scores consistently above 900 (or common core equivalent testing) shoving improvements every year Expansion of our curriculum to offer relevant courses in vocational training and computer applications To achieve these results the board must stay engaged with the staff, teachers and community such that we remain focused on our goals. We must take risks... We must grow... We must challenge ourselves We must be open to looking outside of our own district to see what other successful districts have incorporated into their schools. In addition, we must maintain a strong financial foundation through practicing fiscal discipline. Answer from Kevin T. Kramer: I want the District to be more focused on individual students rather than being concerned about aggregate test scores and rankings. We are responsible for educating each student, but focusing on aggregate scores obscures individual achievement and progress. In order to do this, we need to change the philosophy of the Board and change the fundamental processes by which it does business. The Board needs to be more transparent in its decision-making, more accessible to the public at large, and better at communicating its decisions affecting students. In addition, the Board needs to be more engaged on the issues and openly discuss and wrestle with them. Answer from Debbie Torok: Will provide soon. Answer from Dana Marie Bunnett: Five years from now, I envision a district: -that is financially stable and where funds are used effectively to achieve great results for all students. -where the governing board that culturally diverse, and operates transparently and inclusively. Board meetings are well attended by the public. -where every student, staff and family feels they are a valued member of the school community. -where the achievement gap is gone - every student graduates ready for college and career. -the schools are the hub of the community and students get the resources they need to be successful in learning. Answer from Fiona Walter: Five years from now, I hope that: ...the transition to Common Core Instruction has been successfully managed. This transition requires support for our teachers via professional development, collaboration time with each other, and collaboration time with the feeder districts. The district will need to provide time for these three items along the way. It is off to a great start with its four Teachers on Special Assignment directly supporting the four core subject areas. ...fiscal solvency has been maintained. After eight years on the elementary board, I have a deep understanding of school district finance. MVLA currently employs conservative budgeting practices to remain financially sound. Weathering financial ups and downs depends upon this careful approach. Budget factors such as enrollment trends, property taxes, and health care expenses all must be carefully accounted for when planning for the future. I want to make sure we are maximizing our limited resources. ...academic excellence has permeated all classrooms in the district. As mentioned above, our district is academically solid and continues to add AP and honors courses. We also do a tremendous amount of work with our struggling students. I want to continue to add courses when possible, with the assurance that we are not eliminating strong core offerings. ...technology management and enhancement has occurred across all campuses. Much work was done this past summer to improve wifi across both high school campuses. However, there is still a lot to do. Specifics include: the new website (Fall of 2013) is difficult to use, parent forms can be greatly improved, and online purchasing carries a hefty usage fee. Revisiting and learning from the Bring Your Own Device program will also be critical for its future success. Answer from Joe Mitchner: It is critical to build on the District's positive momentum in academic achievement, and in narrowing the achievement gap. That's the essence of my responsibility as a Trustee, and my highest priority. To do that, we need to provide a full range of classes for students at ALL ability levels, as well as a support structure to ensure student success. We need to continue our initiatives in working with under-represented students and families, while also seeking out new strategies. MVLA must continue to add classes and programs that meet the evolving needs of our students. With the recent emphasis on STEM as a District Goal, MVLA has added courses (computer science, robotics, engineering, statistics), and reduced class sizes in math. Going forward, it is particularly important to continue adding courses at ALL academic levels (AP, College Prep, ROP, and Support). In addition to core programs at the Comprehensive high schools, it's important to have choices because students are all different and have varying needs and learning styles. Freestyle Academy and Middle College, provide students with learning environments that fit their interests. At Alta Vista, students who've fallen behind in units, can get back on track for graduation. I want the District to always provide choices, either in-house, or through partnerships. District graduates are increasingly college-ready. More students are UC-Eligible, and more students are taking, and doing well on AP Tests. It is important to maintain our college and career centers, tutorial centers, and provide the lowest possible academic counseling ratios. Freestyle Academy, which provides a media arts framework for delivery of English and social studies and prepares students for prestigious college programs in media arts, is an example of the rewards that can come from thinking outside the box. This year's pilot of "Cloud Computing" may be next. The next five years will see opportunities in new content delivery (online, blended learning), and our District should be at the forefront in pursuing those. It's a lot. We're doing it now. And we need to look to the future with the same vigor, the same caring for students at all levels, and the same openness to new ideas. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. The answer to each question should be limited to 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.