Position Paper, School Board Candidate Roger Anderson

By Roger K "Rog" Anderson

In my view the School Board needs a mission oriented focus. This district must treat the education of students as JOB ONE.

Immediate Action: Our superintendent recently had to leave his post. I would like to examine his contract, and why he can take with him 18 months severance. If all the other employees of the school district can, then it's fair. I suspect not. The Superintendent of Schools for Los Angeles receives $380K/ year. I fail to see the logic of that large a salary for that position, hopefully ours has not been as egregious. The Superintendent is a School District employee since he/she takes his salary from the District's budget.

Cutbacks: Programs or projects that do not directly serve the students of the Redwood City School District. These include projects that tear up perfectly good sidewalks for replacement, and other aesthetic benefit only activities.

Employment: There should never be a distinction between gender, race, or sexual orientation with respect to pay, amount of work, and benefits. Any such distinction would be just wrong. Additionally, it would provide opportunities for litigation against the District, a threat that it and its tax base financially cannot afford.

Contracting out: Contracting with consultants in my view is a waste of time and money. The district ought to be able to do this work themselves without squandering money on pork barrel consulting contracts that remove money that should be available for the labor pool.

As Board Member my priorities shall be: To ferret out any conflict of interest between contractors and the District. To ensure the new Superintendent's contract requires board approval before committing funds, and does not have such lucrative items such as 18 months severance pay included in it. This is a cash strapped School District, not a gold mine or a gravy train. We should be doing all to enrich our student's minds, not some PhD's or contractor's wallet.