Candidate for
Board Member; Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District

I believe in responsible and responsive governance, including transparent decision making, being accessible and inclusive, and being engaged on the substance of the issues.

For example, in my quest to obtain an exemption to the state mandated PE requirement for my son because he is heavily engaged in school-sponsored after school sports, it became apparent to me that the district lacks any guidelines as to when students qualify for the exemption. Although my son was not exempted, two other students received the exemption. However, there was no explanation and no communication as to why. Because the exemption is a legal benefit, it is patently unfair for it to be given to some but withheld from others on an arbitrary basis and without explanation. The Board is responsible for this issue and needs to improve its process by creating guidelines for decision-making, communicating to the public at large those guidelines, and making sure that the district adheres to them in response to requests for the legal benefit.

If elected, I promise to resolve this issue so that students are treated fairly and have equal access to this tremendous benefit. Having broader participation will only help students obtain more balanced lives and enable them to pursue different electives or ease their study burdens.

In addition, it is apparent that one of the biggest problems facing the district is the achievement gap between its best students and its most disadvantaged. That gap has persisted for years without resolution and has been disproportionally disadvantaged one certain section of the population. Despite this persistent problem, the current members of the Board have not created their own committees to address the issue and have not recruited members of that community to help solve the problem. The Board needs to be more inclusive on this issue, otherwise the problem will continue to persist.

If elected, I promise to serve only one four year term and to recruit a potential successor from a different background who can help provide better perspective on what might work to narrow the achievement gap.