League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Los Angeles County, CA March 3, 2015 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Board Member; Los Angeles Unified School District; District 5

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Most Important Issue, Role of Board, Teacher Evaluation Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. What is the single most important issue facing LAUSD today? As a Board Member, what would you do to deal with it? Answer from Refugio "Ref" Rodriguez: The most important issue facing the LAUSD is its failure to help the %30 of students who aren't graduating from High School. We are leaving children behind. I believe that by increasing local control of schools, empowering teachers, parents, and principals, and by focusing on middle schools, we can dramatically increase the number of students graduating from high school ready for a career or to make it through college. Answer from Andrew Thomas: Continuing to improve student achievement for all students. We need to 1) adopt zero-based budgeting that allows us to focus on instructional needs, 2) Ensure the common core is implemented and instructional practices improve, 3) support teachers to reach higher 2. What is the role of the Board, and what is the role of the Superintendent? How should they interact? Answer from Refugio "Ref" Rodriguez: The role of the Superintendent is to execute a well-crafted strategic plan for how to move the LAUSD forward and improve education for all children in Los Angeles. The role of the Board is to support, oversee, and hold accountable the Superintendent. Too often the Board has taken a managerial role over the Superintendent and that has created confusion about who is in charge. The Board should support the next Superintendent by adopting a strong set of metrics aligned to the strategic plan, and adhering to clear lines of responsibility and oversight. Answer from Andrew Thomas: The board should hire the superintendent, ensure the budget is aligned to priorities, oversee the development of the LCAP, represent schools and communities and advocate for those needs with the superintendent, and otherwise support the district staff and superintendent. 3. What are your criteria for an effective teacher evaluation plan? Answer from Refugio "Ref" Rodriguez: I believe in a comprehensive approach to teacher evaluation. Rather than relying strictly on student data, I believe that it is essential to carefully craft evaluations based on all the available information. That's what we have strived to do at Partnerships to Uplift Communities. Answer from Andrew Thomas: Teacher evaluations should occur at the school level and be the responsibility of principals. Principals need to have the support, resources and authority to support and supervise teachers. The entire schools (administrators, teachers, families and staff) has the responsibility for high achievement. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' answers are presented as submitted. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.