Forum questions submitted by the public

Questions submitted for the AUSD BOE Candidates Forum on Oct. 19th. (Sorted into similar groupings)

1. What are you currently doing to support public education in Alameda? Are you active in the PTA? Do you have a history with the Alameda Education Foundation? With the school sites?
2. What experience do you have with education issues in Alameda?
3. Why are you running for the AUSD BOE seat?
4. What is the primary role of the AUSD BOE?
5. How will you influence this roll to represent over 9,000 students and provide excellent educational opportunities?
6. What is the primary roll of the AUSD? Where would you focus your attention to ensure adequate funding and excellent education?
7. If AUSD is a K-12 institution, why is AUSD spending so much time and money supporting toddler & Pre-K programs, Adult School and Senior Centers?
8. What do you see the role of the BOE vs the role of the Superintendent?
9. As a member of the BOE, how will you personally work with the numerous stakeholders (and all their various positions) involved in public education here in Alameda, in order to bring conscious and unity to achieve the goal of educating Alameda’s children?
10. Who do YOU consider the primary stakeholders in decisions for public education and how do YOU plan to collaborate with these groups? What specific experience do you have in collaborating with these groups of stakeholders?
11. What role do you see Charter Schools playing in this District?
12. AUSD provided information on charting the District, including financial information showing that this was not a fiscally viable option for Alameda. What is the fiscal impact of charters on the rest ala Alameda’s public schools? Do you support more charter schools? How will more charter schools impact equity in education for Alameda’s students?
13. What are your thoughts regarding magnet schools and do you envision any for Alameda?
14. Some current board members have come out in support of a sq ft parcel tax. ­­­­­ What structure of a parcel tax would you support and why?
15. If the parcel tax doesn’t pass, AUSD proposes closing approx half of Alameda’s  Schools?  Is this cutting in the right area?  Should we have more furloughs days?  What other sources of Revenue can the District go after?
16. “Do you support a parcel tax for the benefit of Alameda schools? What do you think is the best structure for the next parcel tax?
17. Do you support a new parcel tax to raise separately needed funds?   If yes, what would you like to see as the top funding priorities? If you don’t support a new parcel tax, what is your alternative for addressing the District’s financial problems?
18. How would you work with the Mayor and City Council to get more support for the School District?  Would you request money from the City Redevelopment funds like the City of Richmond to keep schools open?
19. What strategies would you recommend for continuing to improve academic quality at all AUSD schools? What are these recommendations based on?
20. Without a new parcel tax, AUSD is proposing school closures.  Do you see any alternatives? If yes, what?  If necessary, what system should be used to determine which schools are closed?
21. Based on current funding from the State, Alameda’s secondary schools will be restructured into one middle school (gr. 7-9) and one high school (gr. 10-12) as well as elementary schools reconfigured to K-6. According to AUSD, even with the passage of a parcel tax, additional cuts will be needed next year resulting in the loss of additional programs. What programs would you try to keep in the schools?
22. With school closures, how will the AUSD BOE address transportation needs to ensure equal access to school?
23. Title one schools receive supplemental funding to support various programs during and after school.
24. What can you contribute to AUSD that will support educational excellence?
25. What do you see as the primary way the BOE will work to keep AUSD fiscally solvent and still provide excellent education?
26. What can the BOE do to address pension issues for teacher and staff?
27. Do you support reforms to teacher evaluations so that seniority is not the only basis for keeping teachers when faced with layoffs?
28. How will you work with the unions and with the community to ensure that parents and volunteers can work at school sites without the unions penalizing schools?
29. How important do you think the arts are in elementary education?
30. What are your views about changing school boundaries? What determinations should be used to establish new boundaries?
31. Do you support Lesson 9 and the AUSD Anti Bullying Policy? Why or why not? What would be an alternative to the options AUSD is currently using and would you spend time and money on this issue when facing the fiscal crisis of the overall district?

The last question asked of each of the candidates was to gauge where they rank their priorities

32.  Please rank the following topics on your priorities as a potential member if the AUSD Board of Education.  ­(1 being lowest priority & 5 being highest priority): Keeping schools open, Class size, Core academics/Academic excellence, Creating more charter schools, The Academic achievement gap. Teacher Retention, AUSD Fiscal Solvency, Community input to public education, Avoiding State Take-Over of AUSD.