League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Michael S. Goldman Answers Questions Candidate for Board Member; Fremont 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.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

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?

I will consult all state and local regulations, carefully examine all comparable district budgets, and the auditors' reports.

The best scrutiny comes from opening the budget to the general public for examination. The budget should be presented in a clear and easily read format for anyone to examine and question. The board meetings should be televised and available on the web and by DVD and audio. The methods of arriving at the budget should be available in clear and open ways with recordings of all open meetings kept and readily available for download by the public for at least 34 years.

2. Are the schools offering instruction appropriate to the diverse educational abilities of all the students?

Emphatically not! Not for those seeking a challenge and college readiness classes or for those struggling in key basic subjects! For those seeking a challenge, AP classes are either entirely absent (there are no AP World or AP European History classes in the entire district although every neighboring district offers them) or hard to get. E.g., Wilcox HS has more AP English classes than Fremont, Cupertino, or Homestead combined, Mountain view HS has 50% more AP test takers than Cupertino or Homestead, etc,

For those economically disadvantaged struggling with Algebra 1, the last four years have been a disaster, as their scores have slipped from above the state average to far below the state average.

3. Where do want the district to be 5 years from now? What steps should the district take to get there?

I want the district to refocus money on hiring more teachers, cutting administrative overhead, offering more AP and advanced science and math classes, and offering far more support for those struggling with basic math and other key elements to success in college and work. Currently the district is a distinct laggard in AP classes, math, and science classes and I want the district to be a leader in those areas.

Most of the changes are free - it costs no more to offer an AP class than a regular class, the teachers are the same. To hire more teachers we need to cut back on administrative overhead which has gotten way out of line with state norms.

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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.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: September 20, 2010 08:11
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