Answers to Questions published in NCT

By Cyndy Minnery

All candidates were asked the same questions regarding ongoing issues in the San Marcos School District.

The current deficit is $670,000 thanks to an infusion of cash from the state. However, the deficit did not occur overnight and cannot be fixed overnight. The budget has to be proportionate in salaries, benefits, and programs to increase student achievement. All staff should to be paid a competitive wage and benefit program. But, staff and students should have adequate resources to maximize student achievement. To ensure a competitive balance the district should compare wage and benefit packages of surrounding districts with SMUSD and evaluate student programs and test scores. Gary Hammels, Assistant Superintendent of Finance for, states that SMUSD is in the top three unified districts out of twelve in expenses but in twelfth place in revenue. The district is spending more than it is receiving in revenue and is out of alignment with other districts. That is a problem that needs to be fixed. Focus needs to be placed on increasing our sources of revenue. One goal is to encourage student attendance throughout the district. Each percent increase in attendance allows the district $800,000. Another way to increase resources is through grant writing and due to socioeconomic conditions in San Marcos the district is a prime candidate to receive those funds. The Gates foundation and millennium foundation should be contacted for grants.

2. Do you agree with the district's plan to acquire the land for the 11th elementary school site (Oleander) through eminent domain? Why or why not? (NCTIMES)

Finding a site for a new elementary school is not easy. The question is should we build a school where students live or bus them in? Or do we want to increase the housing density with no school? Most kids can walk to the site chosen. Four or five sites were under review for a new elementary school. Some sites were close to rail road tracks or had other hazards associated with them. While the site chosen may not be ideal it was the best choice possible. The site is vacant, raw land and won't displace people. In addition, an offer was made to the previous owner in 2003 from the school district. The new owner was aware of the offer the district made.

3. How well do you think Brand's "Partnership for Success" will do even though the board did not approve financing for a coordinator for the program this year? Also, what other ways can the district improve its number of college-bound students? (NCTIMES)

I think not having a coordinator for the program is going to slow down the progress of the program and reduce the rate of change expected for kids to go to college. There will be less accountability if the program is not monitored and it becomes optional; the focus is lost. I find it hard to believe that in $1,200,000,000 budget we couldn't find $100,000 for this position. The district needs to motivate kids to want to go to college. The goal is college at the end of the road. Other ways the district can improve the number of kids going to college is explore offering more college search programs in high school. "Solutions" is a college articulation program and career based network to help kids with career exploration. GEAR up is a program offered in middle school to give kids information and get them excited for college. We need to provide more counselors and offer career counseling for all students. Our current ratio of counselors to students is 600:1 according to Gary Hammels and the state recommendation is 300:1.

4. Do you think the district has been responsible with its handling of financial resources? Why or why not? (NCTIMES)

Responsible spending is a question of establishing priorities and aligning the budget with the priorities. The district had a deficit of over 2 million last year and over 1 million this year before a state infusion of cash left the deficit at $670,000 for 2005-2006. According to Gary Hammels, programs and staff have been cut over the years or, not added, to balance the budget. Some of the cuts Hammels sited are class size ratios, counselors, computer technicians, and transportation to name a few. My goal is to see the district continually increase student achievement and test scores and I believe to accomplish this goal the necessary resources need to be provided. Therefore, I believe it is not responsible to continue to cut staff and programs to balance the budget. Hammels further stated if the current rate of spending in the district continues the reserve fund could be depleted in 3-4 years.

5. Do you agree with the district's decision to demolish the FFA site on Discovery Street and San Marcos Boulevard and rebuild only the horticulture part of the program at San Marcos High? (NCTIMES)

It was a re-deployment not demolishment of the program. The golf course maintenance, landscape maintenance, and horticulture are relevant courses that remain intact. There were only 25 students in the animal husbandry class this year and the needs of the current agriculture facility were in excess of $2,000,000 to bring it up to code according to Gary Hammels. The facility had no restrooms and was not compliant with the American Disability Act. In addition, the facility was located far from the main campus and there was a student safety concern.

6. In your opinion, what does the district need to do to improve secondary level test scores, which have been consistently lower than primary level test scores for years? (NCTIMES)

The district needs to have realistic goals and ensure that the most important curriculum standards are taught by grade level. The state has defined the academic standards and effort needs to be made to reverse engineer a way to teach to the state standards. I am a big proponent of staff training and staff development. Teachers should be offered training in the most effective teaching techniques to ensure that children are engaged in learning. The district also needs to provide the necessary vocational programs for kids that do not want to go to college immediately after high school.

7. Do you support the district's long-term plan to make San Marcos Elementary school a "model school" through the use of student teachers and a new administration? (NCTIMES)

San Marcos elementary is the school that has the poorest performance in the district. I applaud the district for tying something new. I think that aligning with a university that has the latest techniques is worth a try.

8. Do you feel the district has done a good job of focusing on the success of English language learners? The group has been steadily increasing every year and makes up the bulk of those who did not pass the California Exit Exam. (NCTIMES)

The ELL learner is not going to learn English in one hr. per day. They need to have multiple English classes in a day. That means we need to spend more money to ensure that these kids have the best possible chance of learning to speak the language. SM high school is offering this approach in the current year and it will be interesting to see the results. To ensure that students meet all of the requirements to graduate they may need to go to summer school.

9. What are the biggest challenges facing the San Marcos Unified School District in the next five years? (NCTIMES)

Increase student achievement, allocate more resources to technology and balance the budget. All students should have the opportunity to be successful. The district needs to focus more resources at the secondary level. Technology plays a more important role in all of our lives each year and the district should provide the students with that edge. Balancing the budget will be the key to meeting ongoing needs. The budget has to be proportionate between providing necessary programs to meet the needs of the students and offering a competitive salary and benefit package to employees. The budget needs to be in line with other districts and regional averages.

10. Being one of the fastest growing districts in North County, do you feel officials have planned accordingly to be prepared for that growth? (NCTIMES)

I am a proponent of long range planning. A good working relationship with the city and county is necessary to stay in tune with upcoming development and adequately predict the need for more schools. With the current cost of housing we are seeing more than one family per house and need to consult with expert demographers to determine the amount of children the district will be responsible for in the future. There are already pockets of San Marcos with a higher density of children per neighborhood. There is some work done with efficiency measures but we need to be better aligned to get state dollars for facilities with a long range facilities plan. State building programs require a long range plan and sometimes will match up to 50% of building costs. I believe in sharing with the community what the district is doing well and areas that need improvement.