League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Alameda County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Jon G. Murphy Answers Questions Candidate for Board Member; Alameda Unified School District

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Alameda and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. (Most pressing problem) What is the single most pressing problem facing the Alameda Unified School District in the next 24 months and how would you work with your elected colleagues to solve it?

The Funds are not being spent for direct educational needs of our teachers and students. The current board members have been making poor budgetary decisions in the allocation of our limited finacial resources. I would work towards changing the terms of the contract, the lease on the new Administrative office space in Marina Village and I would work with the Board to restore trust in our district by planning an affordable pay increase for teachers and restoration of important programs which had recently been cancelled.

2. (Community input) What process would you recommend the School Board use for the community to provide advice for the district's consideration in decisionmaking and how would you make it evident that the district considers the advice?

I would recommend an improved Budget Allocation Model based upon the model we use for our college district. The priorities should be student and teachers needs for conducting teaching and learning and all following priorities emanate from there. This is the bottom-up style of prioritizing what gets funded. Recently the School Board has taken a staunch top-down approach to the point where we have not been listening to the teachers' needs. Teachers and students are falling through the cracks and they are frustrated as their classroom needs continue to be unmet. The Budget Allocation Model (BAM) will minimize the value placed on rhetoric and the sales-pitching and special-interest presentations by refocusing the Board's decision on predetermined planning about what is of utmost important followed by a sequential prioritization list. This priority list should follow our mission statement and our long-term goals for our sustainability and based on our 5-Year Strategic Plan. If our Mission Statement ever places teachers and students secondarily then we need to redevelop our Mission Statement.

3. (School District Ð City Cooperation) How might the School District work more effectively with the City?

We need to work with the city to explore alternative affordable office space already owned by AUSD and/or the City of Alameda so the bulk of the budget does not go towards office space and Window Replacementon a structurally unsound building and on a 211,000 dollar fence around same building. The ciy Council and the AUSD must mutually support the cause of sound education and sound decision making for the betterment of Alameda and it's future leaders, our children.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are presented as submitted. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

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

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 19, 2012 14:30
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