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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.
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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?
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Answer from Ray J. Turner:
I would compare this district's expenses with other comparable districts and County standards/guidelines, with special emphasis on expenses not directly related to students.
As Trustee I would report findings to the community via district web site, newspaper news releases, parent "take home packs" from school, and neighborhood community meetings. I would break down expenses into relevant categories and compare this with districts similar in make-up to ours.
I strongly believe in transparency with our parents and citizens. You have a right to know if we are spending your money to educate our children in the most effective way.
Answer from Frank Chavez:
All expenditures for programs, facilities, travel and payroll and much more are presented for Board approval and shown on the consent calendar at the Board meeting for the public to see.
Answer from Gustavo Gonzalez:
I do this today as a current trustee by visiting two schools every Friday from 9 - 1pm. I ask many questions of our school site leaders, teacher, parents and students. I personally see how we are doing in all of our schools. I report back to the community by taking time to go to many community meetings such as ARNC and sending updates to our community via emails. Also during my Presidency I made videos after every board meeting highlighting any action taken during our board meetings for example go to: http://www.arusd.org/20251081214311850/cwp/view.asp?A=3&Q=276069&C=55576 .
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2. Are the schools offering instruction appropriate to the diverse educational abilities of all the students?
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Answer from Ray J. Turner:
No. We currently focus most of our attention on the students who are not at grade level to improve their performance. In part this is due to federal and state requirements and the desire to get all of our students at least up to grade level. Of course we must do this. But we must not forget to provide an opportunity for our proficient and advanced students to achieve their maximum potential. We need a variety of enrichment programs and I believe this is an area where we can tap the resources of our community such as Dr. George Castro has done with his science program. This program partners San Jose State University engineering students with local companies, the San Jose City's Parks and Rec. dept., with funding from Mountain Winery Kid's Foundation and Agilent to create great results.
Answer from Gustavo Gonzalez:
Yes. We do this by offering many different educational choices. We have:
1. Visual and Performing Arts Program (Linda Vista and Joseph Gorge schools)
2. Science and Technology (McEntee/Russo schools)
3. Dual Language Academy (Adelante)
And many others. Everyone learns differently and our school district provide many choices.
Answer from Frank Chavez:
Yes, with a continuous Improvement Strategies for Subgroups and continuous Improvement for English Learners.
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3. Where do want the district to be 5 years from now? What steps should the district take to get there?
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Answer from Frank Chavez:
All students proficient/advanced in ELA and math by 2014.
Answer from Ray J. Turner:
As a baseline, all students need to be performing at or above grade level. But that's not nearly good enough. We need to be bringing in additional funding beyond the inadequate amount from the State, through grants and local and national foundations. We need to have established enrichment programs by partnering with local companies, community organizations, and parents to help ALL our students reach their full potential. When we see parents and community members actively involved with our children, we will know we are well on our way. After all, it takes a village to raise a child.
Answer from Gustavo Gonzalez:
I would like the district to be one of the highest achieving districts in the country. First step has already taken place. As President of the Board we came up with a goal to have all our students be proficient or advanced with in two years, this sets the bar high for all in our district. Next step is to measure how we are doing against this very aggressive two year goal. Lastly, we need to provide high levels of support to our school site administrators, teachers, parents and students. We must eliminate all the excuses, roll up our sleeves and go to work.
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.
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League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
