League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	David Gerard Answers Questions Candidate for 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.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

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?

Given the extremely limited funding available to our District, fiscal controls are essential. Annual audits supplemented by monthly reports by Assistant Superintendent, Business Services will provide transparency and proper utilization of all funds provided by the taxpayer. Reports will be available online and summaries will be communicated at public, open School Board meetings. In addition our Measure G funds should be more strictly managed so that we put the $98 million the voters approved into creating a green and clean energy infrastructure so that we avoid wasteful expenditures on excessive water, electricity and fossil fuels.

2. Are the schools offering instruction appropriate to the diverse educational abilities of all the students?

While some steps have been taken by the prior Board--including the Dual Immersion program at San Martin Gwynn--now we must do much more to close the 139 point achievement gap for Latino students, as well as the 156 point SAT (college entrance exam) gap for all students, compared to the county as a whole. There must be a great education for every child. We must not tolerate failure in our schools. Let's build an academic powerhouse in our District, where all schools are outstanding and where very child has the tools to succeed. We must engage the community to support our schools and work closely with teachers and staff to help our students accelerate their progress.

3. Where do you want the District to be five years from now? What steps should the District take to get there?

Five years from now I want this District to be at the top tier of schools in Santa Clara County. Right now, nearly all of the schools in the Morgan Hill Unified School District rank in the bottom third, including six schools landing in the bottom tenth, compared with California schools with similar resources and demographics. Less than 49% of our high school students graduate with the required courses needed to qualify for admission to San Jose State and University of California. Living as we are within Silicon Valley, we must prepare both college-bound students and those who opt for working immediately after high school graduation. We have no time to waste in taking action to offer Pre-Kindergarten in all of our elementarhy schools and lower class size to 24 students kindergarten through third grade. We must add more counseling and provide a more accelerated curriculum for studentsseeking greater challenges. For high schoolers, we must do more, such as enhancing our Advanced Placement course offerings, implementing a much more robust college admission and financial aid counseling program and offering curricula like an electronics academy in our high schools that combines academics as well as career readiness for a technical and business environment with field trips to industry, college and other sites. These actions will be just the start as we build greater parent engagement and strive to build an Academic Powerhouse in MHUSD. Our kids deserve nothing less, so let's move forward with urgency.

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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.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 6, 2014 22:19
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