League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Trustee; Santa Clara Unified School District; Trustee Area 2

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 Use of Funds, Appropriate Instruction, District Goals 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 Albert Gonzalez: First and foremost, school districts need to be held accountable and there needs to be transparency. To determine that funds are used efficiently and effectively, there needs to be a clear oversight structure. I would continue to improve the processes currently in place by taking into account the recommendations of experts in the area of funding and accountability. I would also ensure that policies are adhered to. The wise use of funds means that the district will distribute the funds according to our strategic 3-year plan, which was created in accordance with our district goals and priorities, such as "To narrow the achievement gap while raising the bar." We will use funds fairly by distributing them equitably across all the district schools, so that each school has the financial means to provide every student with a high quality education. Transparency with the community currently occurs with regular budget reports at board meetings. I would increase transparency by providing more frequent reports concerning how funds are being spent and making them more easily accessible by posting them to the school district's website and publishing them in the School Days quarterly district paper. Answer from Christopher R. Stampolis: Given the shocking conclusions of the County Office of Education's audit of Santa Clara Unified School District, the community now demands more transparency and third-party verification than ever before. To restore trust after the outrageous findings of over $100,000 of fraud, we need an Audit and Budget Committee that includes community involvement/oversight. 2. Are the schools offering instruction appropriate to the diverse educational abilities of all the students? Answer from Christopher R. Stampolis: SCUSD must revisit its offerings for three categories of students: 1) special education; 2) high achievement students who have potential for extraordinary academic proficiency; 3) students classified as English language learners, especially those with parents whose English language skills are very challenged. Answer from Albert Gonzalez: Yes. Our mission is "To prepare students of all ages and abilities to succeed in an ever changing world". To ensure this, there is accountability at all levels of the district organization. The Board has direct oversight over the Superintendent, who has the responsibility to manage the day-to-day operation of the district to ensure that all students receive a high quality education. Our district hires highly qualified teachers who meet the learning needs of our students by differentiating instruction and using the various learning tools and programs available, including READ 180 and ALEKS. We also have resource specialists, SPED, ELL and Migrant Education programs to address our student populations with more specific needs. With all of this in place, there is still work to be done to close the achievement gap. This year, we addressed this by adding more intervention resources at the middle schools to bolster our math proficiency. We will continue to work on addressing this issue 3. Where do you want the District to be five years from now? What steps should the District take to get there? Answer from Christopher R. Stampolis: Santa Clara Unified needs to prioritize transparency and accountability at all levels. Board meetings should be videocast and available for web viewing 24/7. District policies should be uploaded and board member contact info should be available. SCUSD should increase "basics plus" and "open" offerings to respond to the more than 900 K-5 wait-listed families. And, the District must prepare response to the desire of these families for similar offerings in the middle school levels. SCUSD must champion a culture of academic achievement by celebrating a range of student and teacher successes at board meetings. While athletic achievement has value, too often we relegate science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) achievements to side recognition. SCUSD needs to gain a reputation as a high-achievement district that wants parents to understand proficiency trends and expects success. And, SCUSD must develop partnerships with City government, the business community and skilled community members to target support to struggling schools. Rather than hide low achievement, we should target necessary support so students can benefit from these resources. Answer from Albert Gonzalez: In five years, I want the Santa Clara Unified School District as a whole to be recognized at the local, state, and national level as a model for educational excellence. For this to happen, we must eliminate the achievement gap while raising the bar for all students. This can be achieved through intervention and differentiated instruction, technological innovation, and the help of business partnerships such as the current Altera and Texas Instruments partnerships. We must also preserve our fiscal stability by replacing money taken from our reserve fund, Fund 400. This cushion will allow the district to maintain educational programs in tough economic times. Partnering with the community to bring more resources into our school district will be a great help. I will continue to advocate for additional funding for unfunded mandates, as well as utilize my role as a member of the California School Boards Association Legislative Committee to advocate for sound educational legislation. Retaining and recruiting high quality teachers is also extremely important. This can be done by offering innovative benefits such as our teacher housing and mortgage assistance program. We must also work to provide more resources for our staff, such as the new Altera Partnership which will lead to the development of a Professional Development Center at Hughes Elementary. All of this will require an increase in parent and community involvement. We will continue to outreach, especially to those segments of our community that do not usually provide input. Now is the time for us to come together to make our good Santa Clara Unified schools GREAT! Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Please answer each question in no more than 400 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.