League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Martha McClatchie Answers Questions Candidate for Board Member; Los Altos School District

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

Questions & Answers

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?

The district follows rules and regulations to ensure fiscal accountability. Compliance includes completion of the Local Control Accountability Plan, the School Accountability Report Card (SARC), the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) the Annual Independent Audit (which is included in the CAFR) and the annual report from the Citizens Advisory Committee on Finance tasked with review of the Parcel Tax expenditures. These reports are all available to the community via the LASD website http://www.losaltos.k12.ca.us/District/Department/147-Business-Services.

The district publishes lots of financial information on its website. Is this information clear enough for our community? All of these documents need to be reviewed in order to determine fiscal accountability. To determine that federal, state and local funds are being used fairly, ongoing communication with all stakeholders, including principals, teachers, parents and kids is necessary. Board members need to act as advocates for all stakeholders and be accessible to the community. Through blogs, personal visits to school sites, Q&A's on the district website we can increase our level of communication. Throughout the year at district board meetings, the district staff informs the board of the financial status of the district.

As a LASD Trustee, I will review all documents, take comments from the community and address issues and concerns with staff for follow up and action as needed.

2. Are the schools offering instruction appropriate to the diverse educational abilities of all the students?

We are truly blessed to live in a district that is consistently ranked in the top 1% of the state for student performance and achievement. This does not mean, however, that some children do not struggle. The district offers those children a supportive learning environment that meets their needs through Special Education resources.

We have outstanding teachers leading our students. To ensure that teachers stay abreast of the latest technologies and developments, we need to offer them the opportunity to expand their knowledge as well as support their individual learning through continued education and training.

All classrooms have a range of student talent and ability. Children who excel at their current level have historically been offered enrichment through a program called Gifted And Talented Education (GATE) (http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/gt/gt/), but no longer are offered such programs. With the help of technology, a GATE-Like education opportunity can be in all of our classrooms, for all students. GATE is now part of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and will be administered at the local level (district level) and we have this opportunity.

Today's teachers are teaching to the whole child, which includes academic instruction and attention to the social emotional needs of each child. The district seeks to offer instruction that is engaging for all kids, including blended learning, project based learning, online instruction and challenges (ie. Khan Academy).

Can more be done?

Absolutely. Going forward teachers will need to manage individual student's learning experiences so that all students can reach their own unique potential.

3. Where do you want the District to be five years from now? What steps should the District take to get there?

My goals as a LASD Trustee:

Promote the advancement of 21st Century learning opportunities for kids: Through training and development of teachers and staff all children will be able to reach their potential. Allow Staff and teachers to be innovators and inspirations for our students.

Safeguard the District's assets: Ensure that we are spending taxpayers money wisely. Continue to use the Blue Print Strategy process to work on short term and long term district goals.

Manage the student enrollment growth: Given the high density housing development along the El Camino corridor, we need to plan for growth by adding additional capacity. Regardless of what demographers and developers claim, parents with young children will flock to our community for the opportunity to be a part of the excellent Los Altos School District. Our Trustees need to work together with City Councils to develop schools within our community for all of our children.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. The answer to each question should be limited to 400 words. 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 6, 2014 20:05
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