League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Rick Costanzo Answers Questions Candidate for Board Member; Campbell Union High 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?

The Campbell Union High School District has a 112 year history of fiscal responsibility and solvency, and the present board is dedicated to maintaining that record of wise financial decision-making during this difficult state budget crisis. Our superintendent and chief financial officer make presentations to community organizations, and to the PTA and staff of each of our schools several times annually. In addition, parents sit on our district financial advisory committee, and we make use of school and district newsletters to update all parents. I intend to push for making greater use of School Loop, our web-based school-parent-teacher-student communication system, to provide more information to stakeholders as well.

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

The district has made many strides towards providing instruction appropriate to the diverse educational abilities of its students.

CUHSD State testing (API) scores, district-wide, have gone up 22 points in the last two years, with the score for white students going up 28 points. However, the score for African American students has gone up 36 points during the same time period, with a 27 point gain for Hispanics, an 18 point gain for English language learners, a 12 point gain for disadvantaged students and a 10 point gain for those with disabilities. Clearly, the achievement gap for CUHSD is being narrowed, so we are on the right track. I will continue to advocate for finding the funds needed to keep the programs targeted to provide the extra student support necessary to continue this trend.

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

In the next five years our school district must continue to build on the community's trust.

The biggest challenge is always how to improve student learning. Today, the biggest obstacle to that challenge, statewide, is the budget crisis. It has brought many districts to the brink of disaster and crippled many others. The challenge, as I see it, is that, when financial times are good, we all tend to do more, but, when financial times are bad, we must do better. We must make certain that what little money we have is spent on the things most likely to improve student performance. I intend to push for greater involvement on the part of teachers in formal committees made up of teachers and school and district administrators to identify the best equipment, training, and materials upon which to spend limited resources, in order to ensure that we maintain and improve the education we afford our students.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Please answer each question in no more than 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 13, 2012 09:22
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