Ken Mettler- Rosedale School Board Campaign Statement

By Ken Mettler

Background, Accomplishments, & Policy

MY #1 GOAL- "ALL OUR KIDS TO READ AT GRADE LEVEL BY 3RD GRADE !"

I am seeking re-election as your representative on the Rosedale Union School District Board of Trustees. I need your help and support. My wife Barbara and I are parents of a son attending school in the district. I am a lifelong local resident and earn my living as a home builder. I hold a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of California.

As the current President of the Board of Trustees, I have helped accomplish the following: · Early Literacy Program including a crucial tutoring component & class size reduction, so that all of our children are reading at grade level by 3rd grade. · Highest paid teachers and the lowest administration expense ratio of any elementary district in Kern County. · SAT/9 scores among the top 3 districts in Kern County, but nationwide is only average- we can do better! · School Accountability Report Card mailed to every parent. · All school communications to use English in its grammatically correct form. · Mission Statement & Goals committee. · Revised public meeting agenda and initiated a simpler budget format. · Zero tolerance of drugs and violence. · National Blue Ribbon School & California Distinguished School Awards. · New Schools & Facilities….Rosedale Middle $4.3 million remodel; New middle school $10.4 million; New bus barn site search. · Materials Grants: Site Block $102k, Library $96k, Science Lab $42k, & Instructional $147k.

We have a healthy school district but we must be vigilant and do better. We need parental choice and involvement. I believe in making "child" centered decisions and not doing what may be politically correct today but a disaster for our children later. We must be sure that the education of our children is the top priority, not the agenda of the teachers'union or the school bureaucracy. We must be financially astute since 85% of the operating budget is for salaries & fringe benefits, leaving only 15% for everything else. An emphasis on mastering the basics is needed. Our public (government) schools must be accountable just as we are accountable in our daily lives.

Ask the other candidates: · Do you have a wife or daughter working for the district? I do not, this is a conflict of interest. How can a board member make unbiased decisions when it affects their own wife or daughter? Why are three candidates running together? Three is the majority of the Board and would control every vote. All three have a wife or daughter who is a union teacher at Centennial school. · Why is the teachers' contract an issue? The Rosedale Teachers' Association/CTA/NEA has had the final draft contract since June 10th. · Do you support "binding" arbitration? I do not, this moves decision making to non-elected and non-accountable bureaucrats. The community though their elected school board must make these decisions.

I am not obligated to any special interest group and strive to be fair to all. May I depend on you?

Sincerely,

Ken Mettler