Candidate Statement

By Michael Schaeffer

Why am I running for the Mendocino County Board of Education?

I call our current situation - in the county and throughout the state - "troubled" because we are not doing as good a job as we should in preparing all our children for the demands of the 21st century. I see this as the parent of a twelve-year-old and a fifteen-year-old. I see it as a neighbor and community-minded citizen. And I see the problem starkly as a trustee and former board president of a local school district.

California has lost its way and fallen from earlier days when it was the national leader in public education. The problem is largely money - not spending enough and not spending what we do have wisely and efficiently.

Did you know that each of the over 1000 local school districts has its own unique funding formula? That some districts in Mendocino County get effectively twice as much per student as others? It will probably not shock you, however, that school regulations and federal and state mandates are at an all time high.

So why, you asked, am I seeking this office?

Because I think the County Board can be useful in getting us out of our quagmire, and more useful that any local board can be.

It can be reenergized to provide more effective public leadership in the debates and political struggles ahead of us.

For example, countywide the Board could use its "bully pulpit" to educate parents and voters in the county and focus on the need for statewide school funding changes and reduction of cumbersome bureaucracy.

The County Board could also foster interdistrict cooperation and collaboration within Mendocino County. Regionally or countywide we could cut the duplication of non-educational activities (business, transportation and food services) leaving more money for teaching.

And the County Board could encourage local districts to learn from each other: what works for one of us would be valuable for the rest.