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The questions were prepared by the LWV Berkeley/Albany/Emeryville and asked of all candidates for this office.
See below for questions on
Local Control Funding,
Common Core Standards,
Early Childhood Education
Click on a name for candidate information. See also more information about this contest.
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1. The new Local Control Funding Formula moved many decisions about allocating funding from the state to the local school boards; how well has the District followed the spirit of the Formula in identifying what our children need? Would you change anything in the process of developing the Local Control (LCAP) budget for next year?
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Answer from Paul R Black:
Although the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) is intended to eliminate most restricted ("categorical") funds and put them into the district's general fund, in fact this was done several years ago when the categorical funds were "flexed" by the State during the recession to make it easier for school districts to maintain programs and balance their budgets. At Albany USD, we have always tried to maintain the intent and spirit of the original purpose of these funds. For example, the State used to provide funds specifically targeted to individual school sites to be used for their own priorities. Even though the State "flexed" these funds during the recession and eliminated the category in LCFF, AUSD continues to allocate funds to each school to be spent by that school's site council. We have taken a similar approach with funds intended for English language learners and other special categories of students.
It's important to understand that the new funding formula (LCFF) gives less money to AUSD than we would receive under the old funding formula, and that the State has not provided the Proposition 98-mandated minimum funding to school districts for several years. In 2010, California ranked 49th in the nation in per-student funding adjusted for cost of living (according to Education Week). Although AUSD has cut our budget during the recession, we are still projected to run a $1M budget deficit for the foreseeable future if nothing else changes. We have begun the process of examining the budget to determine how we can live within our means. We are seeking input from all stakeholder groups, including parents, teachers, other staff, and the Albany community. This process will determine how we allocate the LCFF funds in coming years. The Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) that we are required to file every year as part of LCFF will document how we are fulfilling our mission of providing an excellent education for every student in our schools.
Whereas the LCAP is a new requirement, AUSD developed a strategic plan almost six years ago and our LCAP conforms to our strategic plan. In our strategic plan and mission statement, we are committed to serving every student, from the highest achieving to those with special needs and challenges. We are also committed to an education that includes not only basic academic subjects such as math and reading, but also subjects that nourish the body and soul, such as music, art, humanities, and physical education. We are looking forward to using the Smarter Balanced Assessments that come with the LCFF along with locally developed assessments to monitor the progress of our students and we will revise our curricula and programs as needed to reach all of our students.
Answer from Ross Stapleton-Gray:
AUSD has, in the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), a structure for allocating resources across the schools; the current Board is even now convening sessions to allow for all of the stakeholders to develop the process to best reflect needs. As a candidate to the Board, I feel qualified to be a participant in that process, but wouldn't presume to anticipate what these sessions will conclude. I think the District has done well, despite a very challenging economy.
Answer from Charles Blanchard:
AUSD's curriculum has always focused on student needs, with a variety of processes used to broadly gather input and formulate direction. The AUSD Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) (http://www.ausdk12.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=92444&type=d&pREC_ID=582506) has been built upon AUSD's 2009 Strategic Plan (http://www.ausdk12.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=97077&type=d), the 2013 Strategic Plan update and alignment of school site plans with the Strategic Plan, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accrediting of AHS in 2013, regularly-scheduled meetings of the AUSD District English Language Learners Advisory Committee (DELAC) (http://www.ausdk12.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=92423&type=d&pREC_ID=173258&hideMenu=1), and the LCAP Parent Advisory Committee formed earlier this year. All of these activities were designed to address the most important and basic question: what do we want our students to know and to be able to do at each grade level?
The LCAP is a comprehensive planning tool. AUSD's budget is developed by reference to the LCAP and the goals and policies established by the Board of Education. District staff members are responsible for carrying out the specific projections of revenues expected under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and the anticipated expenditures that will be required for fully staffing schools and implementing AUSD goals and policies. It is the Board's responsibility to review the budget development, and to ensure that the adopted budget is consistent with the LCAP and the Board's goals. Budget development and adoption is an open, public process, as it should be.
It appears that LCFF will not provide more revenue to AUSD than the earlier state funding approach, and might in fact reduce AUSD's state funding levels. In the 2014-15 adopted budget and the 2013-2014 final budget, AUSD's expenditures were 1.5 to 2 million dollars greater each year than its total revenues, out of an annual budget of about $35 million. AUSD has sufficient reserves to carry it through another year or two of deficit spending, because actual expenditures were about 1 million dollars less than revenues each year from 2010-11 through 2012-13. There will need to be an inclusive and collaborative examination of spending priorities for 2015-16.
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2. How well has the District done in introducing the Common Core standards and methods in classes K-12? What improvements would you recommend or do you anticipate for the coming year?
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Answer from Charles Blanchard:
Common Core is a work in progress. The District has been moving steadily toward aligning its curriculum with Common Core standards and methods. Equipment for administering the online tests is available. For some grade levels and subjects, textbooks compatible with Common Core do not yet exist. This year will be a time to gather input from teachers about their experiences teaching in the classroom, from students about learning in the styles encouraged by Common Core, and from test results. More time will be needed to assess those experiences and results. In recent years, Albany's curriculum has been consistent with the spirit of Common Core, emphasizing, for example, critical thinking and writing in high school classes. Common Core encourages conceptual understanding as well as mastering skills, which is what education should be about.
Answer from Paul R Black:
Our district, like every district in the State, has just begun the process of transitioning to Common Core. Textbook publishers have not yet provided Common Core-compliant textbooks for every subject and every grade. The State is still developing curricula for many subjects. We have adopted textbooks wherever they are available. We have purchased enough computers for every student in our schools to be able to take the Smarter Balanced Assessments, which are all done online. We have started training teachers in the new curriculum, and that will be an ongoing priority for the next several years. We have established professional learning communities for our teachers so they can work together to develop new curricula and teaching methods. I expect implementation of Common Core to improve year to year as the Common Core consortium, the State, and the district gain experience in it.
Answer from Ross Stapleton-Gray:
Like most District parents, I'm relatively new to the Common Core standards. Some AUSD teachers I trust are enthusiastic about them; presentations by AUSD staff have also been reassuring that (1) the District has a plan for their introduction; and (2) that communicating with the stakeholders (including parents) is important.
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3. Is early childhood education being well implemented in the District? What would you recommend in this area?
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Answer from Paul R Black:
We have an excellent preschool, with certificated early childhood educators and excellent aides in every classroom. The parents who have their children in this program are very happy with it.
We used to get enough funding from federal and state programs so that we could offer scholarships to a majority of our preschool students, which meant that the low-socioeconomic status families who cannot afford to send their children to other preschools had an opportunity to provide their children with as good a foundation for school as their wealthier contemporaries. However, that funding ended during the recession, and we have far fewer scholarships than formerly. Furthermore, the need to provide more kindergarten and transitional kindergarten classrooms in the district, without the money to build new facilities, has resulted in less classroom space for the preschool. The only solution to this that I know of is for the State to do a better job of funding preschool. My recommendation is for the District and every parent in the District to lobby their representatives in Sacramento to step up to the plate and honor the commitment to fund schools that is enshrined in the State constitution.
Answer from Charles Blanchard:
The Albany Children's Center provides excellent, full-day early childhood education at its own site, as well as before-school and after-school programs at each of the three elementary schools. The programs are fee-based. Scholarships were at one time available, but losses of state and federal funding have meant that opportunities are more limited for those children who might benefit most from early childhood education. What is needed most is funding.
Answer from Ross Stapleton-Gray:
Our daughters both attended a non-AUSD preschool, so I am largely unfamiliar with pre-K in Albany, but welcome learning more.
Responses to questions asked of each candidate
are reproduced as submitted to the League.
Candidates' statements are presented as
submitted. 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.
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League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
