Linda's Letter to the Community

By Linda K. Mayo

"I take pleasure in supporting our schools, our great students, our outstanding staff. I hope you will support me so I may continue with this wonderful work."

Dear Friends of Public Education:

Since first elected to the Board of Education nine years ago, I have spent at least one day a week visiting schools and classrooms throughout the Mt. Diablo Unified School District. I have talked with teachers in the seventeen District schools that have been named "Distinguished" by the state of California and the two National Blue Ribbon Schools over that time. I have met with teachers who work in schools considered to be "underperforming," based on overall standardized test scores. Initially, the schools I visited were in great need of repair and modernization. Just as I worked hard to pass Measure A in 1989, I and my fellow Board members worked diligently to pass Measure C in 2002. Voters in Mt. Diablo rewarded our efforts by approving these two bond measures that, coupled with the state construction bond (Proposition 55), have funded $430 million in capital improvements to classrooms, schools, playfields, and facilities throughout the district.

In addition to observing students engaged in their lessons, I am delighted to see them and their teachers working in rooms that are clean, well-equipped for technology, and safe. The improved facilities are the most visible of many improvements the district is accomplishing. Higher test scores at all schools and for all student subgroups, higher graduation rates, increased attendance, and a stable workforce are among some other achievements.

During the past nine years, the school district budget has experienced the same fluctuations as the state economy. In 2001, when state revenues were bountiful, I and my fellow Board members were able to approve 10 percent salary increases for district employees. Between 2003 and 2005, the state economy suffered a severe downturn, reducing the revenues the district received. Although the Board cut the district budget by $14 million during that time, student programs were not affected until the third year. Fortunately, 2006 found the state and the district returning to fiscal good health, and I was happy to vote to restore those programs and to give additional salary increases to all employees. The economic fluctuations point out the need to monitor the district budget closely, to understand the idiosyncrasies of school finance, and to question everything. I took on these responsibilities when I joined the Board nine years ago and consider them the most important of all I do as a Board member. Without fiscal health, the district cannot fulfill our primary goal: to serve all students well.

I have been committed to that goal from the day in 1978 the oldest of my three daughters started kindergarten in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District and I began my long career in public education as a parent volunteer. All my girls have graduated, the youngest in 1998, but my commitment remains as strong as ever. Public education depends on parent and community support. With it, and through the expertise and dedication of our teachers and other employees, our district is making great strides.

I take pleasure in supporting our schools, our great students, our outstanding staff. I hope you will support me so I may continue with this wonderful work.

Warm regards,

Linda Mayo