Candidate for
Board Member; Newark Unified School District

I believe that quality public education is the basis of a strong democracy and it is imperative that students, parents and community members have faith in its schools. To earn this faith the Newark School board:

• Must ensure student success k-12

When a student struggles or fails, we ask why and then provide the needed support. We need to look to research and common sense to find the solutions. We need to be creative. We must work for student success.

• Must build the junior high program

We need to provide students, at this critical developmental period, the support necessary to guarantee success in high school and beyond.

We have exceptional teachers at the junior high level who have worked hard to minimize the impact upon the students when the program was cut at the junior high. But there is a limit to what teachers can do. We have reinstated some of the elective programs for this fall. We need to increase our support of this program.

The junior high school years are pivotal. Kids make life altering decisions. We must be sure that our children make the healthy choices and learn the skills necessary to ensure future success.

• Must eliminate deficit spending

We have the ability to eliminate deficite spending in the next year and use our assets to create a strong fiscal base for the district. We also have the unique opportunity to maintain a reserve that will allow us to take advantage of opportunities to save money.

The offering of the early retire incentive was a good example. We were able to use the reserves to reward the teachers who have worked to build the school district. The early retirement of 40+ teachers and administrators also ensured that we did not have to lay off any teacher.

Smart fiscal planning involves using assets wisely. It requires everyone to be involved in the process of reducing waste. To fulfill our charge of offering a "World Class Education" to Newark's children, we must be fically strong and fiscally smart.