League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara, Santa Cruz County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Board Member; Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District

The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Funding, Instruction, Future Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. How would you determine that the schools are using federal, state, and local funds wisely and fairly and how would you report your findings to the community? Answer from Neil Green: I think the most important thing in looking at district funding, especially in this challenging environment, is the preservation of student programs and services. Keeping budget cuts as far away from the classroom as possible is one of my priorities. By analyzing the breakdown of this district's budget and benchmarking it against similar districts, I will look to identify opportunities for optimizing district funding. If elected, I will work to create greater transparency between the board and the communities. To report my findings and provide transparency, I would use the public board meetings, the district's website, Home and School Club meetings, Parent-Teacher-Student Organization meetings, school booster organizations, using the local weekly newspapers, town/city council meetings, and any other forum where board members can interact and engage with the community. Answer from Cynthia Chang: During my tenure as board member, I have advocated strong oversight of district spending. I made sure the board is well informed on a regular basis about the district spending. I also raised questions to make sure proper procedure and policy have been followed. If there is cost over-run or variance from the original budget, I requested an explanation from the staff for better cost control. I always asked the question if the spending will add any benefit to the education of our students. I firmly believe in transparency and openness of the district operation. I attended monthly school PTA meetings to inform parents about what happened with the district spending. Upon my request, district website has been improved tremendously to better inform the community. I also requested the board meeting minutes to be clearly written and reflected the discussion and decision during the board meetings. 2. Are the schools offering instruction appropriate to the diverse educational abilities of all the students? Answer from Cynthia Chang: It is my firm belief that we should provide the best learning environment for ALL students in our district. Our high schools offer a variety of courses to accommodate students with different interest and abilities. I also advocated strongly about the articulation and collaboration among our high school district and feeder school districts to help the students with a smooth transition from middle school to high school. Answer from Neil Green: I think both schools in this district do a great job preparing our students for college. However, I think the schools can do a better job providing learning environments that benefit ALL students. For example, the district should offer `tracks' or curriculum with specific focus in certain fields (i.e. healthcare, engineering, technology). In addition, I think more attention should be placed on offering programs or services for students who don't thrive in the traditional classroom environment. There's a lot of research and application of alternate learning environments that students in this district could benefit from. 3. Where do want the district to be 5 years from now? What steps should the district take to get there? Answer from Cynthia Chang: 1. Best learning environment for all students. This area is a work in progress and needs continuous improvement to the existing curriculum and programs we have in our district. 2.A balanced budget with a healthy reserve to ensure financial stability.--We need to make the best use of the limited resources we have. We also need to look into creative ways to save money such as shared services with other local school districts. We also need to work with our state legislators to ensure a more stable income source for our district. Answer from Neil Green: I want the district to be fiscally sound while offering a rich curriculum of academics balanced with arts and athletics. The district should maintain small class sizes and continue to recruit and retain experienced and passionate teachers. I'd also like to see the district better leverage the best of both schools by offering programs/classes to students not offered at their assigned (permanent) school. To achieve this vision, the district should work collaboratively with the communities, teachers' union, district suppliers and others to generate the necessary funding to run the district efficiently. Additionally, the district should partner with technology companies in the valley to bring specific tracks to our schools (programs that can better prepare students for the corporate world after their educational pursuits). Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League. Answers must not refer directly or indirectly to another candidate. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.