All five candidates for school board: Susan Lovenburg, Nancy Peterson, Claire Sherman, Jose Granda and Alan Fernandez have committed to attend and participate.
The format will be unique, with candidates sitting in a circle, surrounded by the audience, asking each other their own questions.
In advance of the oral candidates forum, we will be submitting written questions to the candidates that will be posted on the Vanguard.
At this time, we are asking for Vanguard readers and commenters to submit questions that will be considered as part of the written portion of this forum. The Editorial Board is next meeting on Wednesday evening and will determine at that time which questions to pose to the candidates.
Additional information will be forthcoming shortly on this event.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
Who’s on the editorial board?
We’ll be announcing that shortly.
[quote]At this time, we are asking for Vanguard readers and commenters to submit questions that will be considered as part of the written portion of this forum. [/quote] My question: Given that the Davis school district’s budget relies in large part on state funds, and in the last 5 years at least, those funds have been falling or flat at best, is it reasonable or even preferable that the District should have flexible contracts with its employees, including teachers, administrators and other staff, which automatically reduce salary levels when the levels of funding come up short? In other words, if revenues are 2% short of what is needed to make payroll, would it be better to have all employees take an automatic 2% pay cut or is it better to meet payroll by reducing staff and laying off newly hired teachers?
Question 2: Do you favor implementing a system which evaluates teacher performance and rewards with bonuses those teachers who receive the highest evaluations?
If you favor teacher evaluations, what is the best way to evaluate teacher performance? Peer review? Principals grading them? Parental input? Test scores? Some combination of these?
Finally, if certain teachers receive low evaluations relative to their peers, and the District needs to lay off teachers for budget reasons, do you favor laying off those with the lowest evaluations? Or do you think it is better to lay off those who have the least seniority?
Question 3: Given that the largest share of the District’s budget goes to teacher salaries, should a candidate for the Davis School Board accept direct or indirect campaign contributions from the Davis Teachers Association? Does the acceptance of DTA money or other support create the appearance of a conflict of interest for a candidate who takes this money, much like it has with Davis City Council candidates who have been funded and helped by the firefighters’ union, who then went on to approve generous contracts for those campaign donors?
Question 4: Does it concern you that a large share of K-6 students who live within walking or bicycling distance from their neighborhood schools are being driven to school in cars on fair weather days? And if it does concern you, what can or should the district do to encourage childen to safely walk or bicycle to school and back every day the weather permits?
Rifkin, those are great questions
David, I would like them to answer basically what your column brought up yesterday:
“At some point the voters are going to balk at paying potentially another $240 a year. They are going to argue that if the teachers refuse to take concessions, why should we pay more in taxes?”
Rusty49, you are back!! I thought maybe you were out with some GI infection… 😉
[i]”Rifkin, those are great questions.”[/i]
Thanks, Rusty.
Agree great questions Rich
Mine is somewhat amorphous but is: how would you lead a Board discussion of necessary PROCESS AND STRUCTURE changes that might be effective in tough budget times. I agree with one or two of the candidates who have stated that current Board bemoans funding cuts (agree but it’s what it is) but doesn’t themselves or direct staff to present different ways to accomplish necessary endpoints with less.
SODA: [i]I agree with one or two of the candidates who have stated that current Board bemoans funding cuts (agree but it’s what it is) but doesn’t themselves or direct staff to present different ways to accomplish necessary endpoints with less.[/i]
The board usually asks and the staff usually present several kinds of options for cuts. Options are often presented verbally at board meetings in response to trustee questions or are sometimes presented as part of the board packet. A lot of the options discussed don’t get reported in the Enterprise or the Vanguard. Also, board members have individual conversations with staff members outside of meetings to go over these issues.
Question: In reviewing how the board has handled balancing the budget since 2008, what would you have done differently to balance the budget if you had been on the board?
What steps, if any, do you think should be taken to address enrollment issues at Montgomery?
Wdf1
I am looking for more, more paradigm change ideas rather than ‘options to cuts’ but thx for the info!
This is a version of SODA’s question, I think: “What ideas do you have for reducing expenditures other than layoffs or salary cuts?”
For a long time now, some teachers have been advocating for the Board “re-evaluate our district’s programs through the lens of reduced funding,” as a means to meet the budget. Have you thought about this? What do you think about it?
Under what circumstances is it okay for a DJUSD Board member to exert his or her influence to benefit his or her child as an individual?
Prior to 1978, K-12 spending comprised on average about 28% (with more of the total funding coming from local property tax assessments), and high learning about 17%, of the state budget. After the passing and implementation of Prop-13, state spending on K-12 education increased, while spending on higher learning decreased. For the current school year the state spends 41.98% of the total general fund on K-12 education, and 11.35% on higher learning.
Given the unlikelihood that the state will materially increase education spending beyond the the current percentage of its annual general fund budget, the unlikelihood that Proposition-13 will every be overturned, and the likelihood that California will continue to experience slower economic growth when compared to our economic history and other states, after the Prop-98 windfall schools will receive this next year if Governor Brown hold true to his commitments, what is your expectation/vision for future K-12 school funding for the state and for Davis?