Richard's thoughts on a few important issues

By Richard B. Grahlman

Bottom Line: Excellence in education through leadership, creative thought, courage, hard work, teamwork and compromise.

Superintendent Selection: The search and selection of a qualified superintendent to lead this district forward is a priority. The School Board must work together, be open to new possibilities, and conduct a thorough nationwide search to find an experienced and capable leader that will implement the future we define.

Teacher's Settlement: Resolving this issue needs to be a priority. It is divisive and is an impediment to moving forward.

Facilities: Improving our facilities will increase enrollment. Increased enrollment will increase revenues. Increased revenues means MPUSD will have money for pay raises, class size reduction, and a host of other things we currently can't afford. The Interim Superintendent has formed a stakeholders committee to look at the facilities issues facing MPUSD. The School Board needs to pay attention to their findings and recommendations. While we're waiting for those recommendations we can start on the MHS field/track project. It can be the first of a long list of public/private improvement projects.

Empower Qualified Staff and Faculty: The School Board should not, and cannot, oversee the day to day management of the district. Qualified Staff and Faculty need to be empowered through clear policy and consistent decisive support from the School Board.

Teacher : Student ratios: We need to reach out to the community and find the people with the skills and the time to help our teachers in our overcrowded classrooms. We can do that now. Class size reduction will come later as the financial health of the School District improves.

Help teachers teach more (and parent less): I've been told, and my parental experience supports, that too much energy is spent on our classrooms dealing with "disruptions" to learning. The Board needs to send a clear message that education is a privilege and anything that interferes will not be tolerated.

Recruiting and Retention: We've already lost a large number of employees through retirement and relocation. We have to stop this hemorrhage of talent and we have to become competitive in term of salary, benefits and professional development opportunities. That's going to take some time but in the short term we can start by addressing the high cost of housing. How many of you would like to live in an affordable ocean view home and keep the market appreciation it generates? Two years ago the District was working on making that a possibility for a good number of our employees and their families. This Board had other priorities.