Candidate for
Board Member; Carmel Unified School District

My name is Richard Kreitman and I live in Carmel with my wife Barbara and our two sons, Nicholas in 7th grade at Carmel Middle School and Aaron in 2nd grade at Carmel River School.

I am running for school board because I passionately believe in academic excellence and public education, and want our children, yours and mine, to get the best possible education.

As we come down to the last weeks before this very important election for Carmel's Schools on November 8th I'd like to share with you my qualifications for School Board, my participation, and what specifically I would like to see happen in our school district.

Briefly, my qualifications begin with a good education, starting with Stuyvesant High School, one of the great public high schools in America, and then Stanford University (B.A., 1970) and Cornell University (M.A. 1974). I began my professional career as a program economist and budget analyst in the public sector (USAID) before moving to the private sector, where I've spent nearly 30 years in planning, analysis, finance, and management. I've worked in large and small companies, public and private and know what it takes to successfully set goals and achieve results. Since 1997 I have worked in partnership with my wife Barbara as a financial consultant and Certified Financial Planner with Smith Barney.

Carmel Schools Participation: Since my sons entered school in the District four years ago I have been an extremely active participant and volunteer in the Carmel Schools, serving on the River School PTA Board (currently Parliamentarian), the Middle School PTA Board (not current), the FOCUS Foundation Board (currently Secretary), the River School Site Council, and several District committees, including the academic measurement committee and an academic improvement working group that was formed largely at my request. I have volunteered and tutored in the classrooms and have been active in fundraising and events.

In addition, and particularly relevant to the current election, I have attended nearly every public board meeting of the Carmel Unified School District for the past 3 years, as both a careful independent observer and active community participant, frequently presenting the Board and administration with analyses of how our students are doing academically and how our academic performance measures up to our peers. I have in the past and continue to challenge the District and Board with questions and positions that have not always been popular.

Goals As Board Member: My primary goal as your elected Board member would be to support academic excellence at all levels in the District. You can be absolutely sure that I will be the most passionate advocate for education standards, learning improvements, and academic excellence on the Board. Towards these ends, specific goals include:

- Raising academic standards at Carmel High School, for graduation and for participation in sports and extra-curricular activities.
- Raising the academic aspirations and goals of our students, in terms of what they hope to attain for themselves in higher education.
- Promoting an academic culture at all campuses, particularly the High School. A culture that values, respects, and celebrates learning and academic achievement.
- Supporting the District in attracting, motivating and retaining great teachers, of whom we are already fortunate to have so many.

We have the opportunity to create the best school district in California. We have very bright children, excellent teachers, good District leadership, and more financial resources than any comparable district in the State. What's been missing until recently was an honest assessment of where we stood and the determination to improve. That is no longer the case, partly due to my efforts, and our District goal now is academic excellence at all levels within a few years. It won't be easy, excellence never is, but with leadership and focus, we can do this. As your School Board Member, I promise you that leadership and focus.