Oakland Tribune Endorsement

By Joaquin J. Rivera

Read why the Oakland Tribune is endorsing my re-election to the School Board

Return Rivera, Selawsky to Berkeley school board

Thursday, October 28, 2004 - INCUMBENTS Joaquin Rivera and John Selawsky should be re-elected to the Berkeley Board of Education so they can continue their efforts to strengthen fiscal accountability and achievement in the schools during this difficult period of decreasing state funding.

Board President Selawsky says that early into his first term it became painfully clear he had inherited a fiscal nightmare. "The district was $5 million to $6 million in the red." Crediting the sacrifices of employees, parents, students and the community, he says the budget is now balanced, and he worked hard to ensure a successful three-year fiscal recovery plan. Part of that involved rebuilding the district's fiscal, personnel and payroll systems.

Selawsky says if voters grant him a second term, he wants to build on that financial foundation by tackling educational, instructional and health issues. He says he supports enhancing music, art and writing programs and meeting school lunch nutritional goals.

Rivera also has a proven track record on the school board, having served eight years as a board member and two terms as president. A community college chemistry professor, Rivera comes from a family of public school teachers.

He points with pride to the board's three-year fiscal recovery plan, which he says minimized cuts to academic programs. He emphasized putting more resources into literacy programs in elementary school classrooms. Under his leadership, he says, Berkeley has vastly improved school facilities, with new buildings for Rosa Parks, Cragmont and Thousand Oaks and a new building at Berkeley High School.

These two incumbents have helped the district avoid the onerous state takeover of schools experienced in recent years by Oakland, Emeryville and Vallejo. Although we feel his opponents are well-qualified -- particularly Karen Hemphill and Kalima Rose, who are running as a slate -- we believe Rivera and Selawsky deserve to be returned to the board.