Questions on many specific issues were asked at the recent school board candidates' forum. Barton's answers are provided.
If you were faced with making operational budget cuts in the district, on the order of $2 million, where specifically would you favor making the cuts?
- The current School Board has been ineffective in reaching out to its 700 employees. There has been zero work with teachers on budget priorities. We must achieve a consensus for these cuts by working with small groups of teachers at every site on cost-cutting measures. Indeed, some of these employees have developed their own expertise on the budget and we should encourage their participation.
- We must also cut the bureaucracy-- children learn from teachers, while administrators must provide support to those teachers. We may face a period without as much administrative support in order to continue providing the same class sizes for students.
- We also have tremendous attorney fees that are currently not being reimbursed because the state is no longer funding mandated costs. We must also trim travel and conferences for district personnel, benefits for board members, and memberships in various associations so that we may protect the classroom.
Last year parent groups re-aided and contributed over $3.5 million to the District programs. What is your opinion of the fundraising, and what role should parent groups play in the district?
- The parents showed great love for their schools by their actions. Their support of our schools was inspiring. But, the parents were put in this position due to the board's lack of preparedness for dealing with their fiscal responsibilities. Moreover, teachers were simply not consulted in most of these decisions. I can contrast this in a neighboring district where the teachers association, CSEA and administrators met together and agreed on over $1.5 million in cuts (the district eventually made $2 million of cuts).
- If Bill Cooper and I are on the school board, we will give parents a seat at the table as we face these critical issues and hold seminars and work groups so that we can see what priorities all stakeholders share. Parents, together with school employees, must be brought in while we are shaping the budget, not just when a disaster looms.
Given the rising costs of special education over the past 10 years, what approach do you favor to control costs?
- I have a background in both education and law. I can see that the adversarial relationship between the district and the special education community has cost the district dearly both in terms of finance and reputation. Expensive lawsuits, like the case which recently escalated to the U.S. Supreme Court, take precious dollars away from the classroom.
- Bill Cooper and I have proposed a Task Force on Special Education, where all the stakeholders in this matter will meet to propose mutually beneficial solutions based on consensus and compromise. This will be the first step toward healing the strained relationships. In addition, we will ensure that administrators are given better training on how to handle IEP's.
- I have heard some legitimate complaints from parents that administrators took a hostile stance in an IEP and then the parent responded by bringing in an advocate. This escalates both tensions and costs.
What are the academic goals for the district in the next four years. How will your presence on the Board impact students?
- Academic improvement is achieved when teachers are involved in the decision-making process. Whether it is issues of content or pedagogy, our teachers should be at the head of the class. Thus, we may find, after consultation with teachers, they may want to move away from standardized teaching programs like Open Court and go back toward a system where they better control the style of their teaching. On the other hand, they may want to keep such programs--I don't really thin we know because they were not in control of the decisions to move toward Open Court in the first place.
- Students will have a voice on the School Board when I am elected. I left my law practice for the opportunity to return to the South Bay and work with children. I have an excellent rapport with my students, and I am interested in their views.
What measures do you favor to complete construction projects in the District?
- This community deserves to know the extent to which district personnel and the current school board have mismanaged the funding for the construction projects in this district. To that end, we need an independent audit to be conducted, free from the influence or pressure of district personnel and the school board. Only then will we have an adequate understanding of the problem, and be able to propose solutions to this crisis.
- Before we go the taxpayers of Manhattan Beach with outstretched hands, we must prove that we understand the failings of the past, and we must prove that we have learned our lesson. I would want to bring in some of the more vocal critics of our current process and learn from their critiques. Considering the failures documented in the newspapers, we need to learn from those who are trying to blow the whistle.
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