Candidate for
Board Member; Poway Unified School District

"Importance of Education" -- One of the greatest investments that a society can make is the education of its children. Education is the key to allowing a person to be able to enjoy "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." I support safe, academically challenging, well-rounded, K-12 public education. This includes a focus on essential literacy in all core subjects and exposure to the arts, athletics and extracurricular activities.

"Budget" -- The Sacramento budget disaster is causing massive cuts in PUSD. This is increasing class size, reducing support personnel and programs, and making everyone work harder for less pay. While the recession has caused tax revenues to plummet, foolish Sacramento spending and backwards priorities have led to the cuts we are seeing in K-12 funding. Unfortunately, the state controls the income we receive. We only control the expenditures. Therefore, we must do more with less than ever before and ensure that every dollar spent is spent wisely.

"Transparency" -- The citizens and employees of PUSD have a right to know how each tax dollar is spent. This is true at the district level and the school site level. Our PUSD budget needs to be put into a format that any lay person can understand. The full costs of programs, employment contracts and of outside vendor contracts need to be publicly available. An honest, up-to-date and understandable disclosure of all expenditures, in a web-based format, needs to become the norm for PUSD.

"Taxes" - The Bush tax cuts are set to expire in 3 months. Unless these cuts are extended or a new law is passed, this will mean a massive tax increase for every tax payer in the country. In 2009, the State of California increased income taxes, sales taxes and a myriad of fees. The Obama Health Care bill just passed which will be increasing taxes by more than $1 Trillion beginning in 2011. Additionally, PUSD passed bond measures (which increased our property taxes) in 2002 and 2008 to pay for the recent upgrades to our building. In the depth of a recession and with these taxes all hitting us right now, I cannot in good conscience endorse an additional parcel tax. I understand the benefit of raising parcel tax funds which we can control locally, but now is not the time.

"PUSD Strategic Vision" -- I strongly endorse the PUSD "Strategic Vision" for the allocation of resources and believe that all children in our district should have access to every opportunity to succeed and graduate "college ready."

"Support of the Arts, Athletics and Extracurricular Activities" -- As a 1984 graduate of The San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts and a varsity basketball player in High School, I support the arts, athletics and other extracurricular activities as essential to a well rounded education. In my experience, students who participate in these activities tend to be better students, more engaged on campus and better prepared to engage in post high school life.

"Student Safety" -- I believe that our schools are safe and that extraordinary measures are in place to keep our students safe. However, in light of the Chelsea King and Amber Dubois abductions, I would support a top-to-bottom review of current policies and would support adding self defense classes to our P.E. and/or Health curriculum. This may be of equal or greater importance than some of the topics that currently are given more attention.

"The Importance of Families in the Education Process" -- I believe that strong families raise children with the highest probability for success in life. I believe that schools and community organizations should support the growth and maturation of kids. I believe that PUSD policies should support the family and encourage the engagement of parents in the learning experience of their children.