Candidate for
Board Member; Fresno Unified School District; Trustee Area 5

We need principle-centered, ethical leadership for FUSD Board members. There must be adherence to the Brown Act in spirit as well as letter of the law. There must be equity in opportunity to speak freely to the Board at their meetings under the "Unscheduled Oral Communication" to encourage parent and community input. Our District must become more "user friendly," beginning at the top with Board members.

Board members must be able to justify fully the need for adding any new administrative positions. They must work hard to put service over self-interest, putting students on top of the pyramid management system, with teachers next to students, and the District office as actual support for school sites.

The Board must put on as a regular agenda item, any pending litigation for or against the District. To be uninformed about a matter brought before the Board implies that the appropriate questions have not been asked. Board members must be strong enough to take a risk and ask hard questions.

Making decisions in the District must be decentralized. Site administrators, teachers, and parents know the personality and character of the school, and must be allowed to make decisions that reflect the personality and character. Principals being shuffled for the sake of shuffling is to discourage ownership at the site. School Site Councils often have a five-year site plan, and interrupting the plan to move a principal in the middle of the plan is not an appropriate decision. Our schools need ownership by the administrator, teachers, classified personnel and parents in order to thrive.