The questions were prepared by the the League of Women Voters of Palo Alto and asked of all candidates for this office.

See below for questions on Diversity, Use of Funds, Reforms

Click on a name for other candidate information.   See also more information about this contest.

Answer from Barb Mitchell:

I would prioritize issues directly interfering with student success and seek insight from principals, parents and students on solutions. One issue in our diverse community is the access and affordability of college guidance services. We have 5,000 high school students who must rely on college-prep course planning, career and college admissions counseling to imagine their life options. Many don't have access to family advisors or expensive outside services. I favor grade-level guidance seminars, one hour a week, such as provided to public high school students in Scarsdale, New York.

Answer from Steve Mullen:

Community accountability is a core focus of my candidacy. As a PAUSD board member, my voice will be raised to insure that diversity issues are dealt with in three ways:

• Curricular -- study the issues in thoughtful, relevant coursework
• Administrative -- adopt and implement policies that embrace diversity among students and staff to insure equal opportunities for all.
• Community -- invite community members -- families, businesses, church and civic leaders -- to participate in our schools in the exploration and promotion of diversity in our community.

Answer from Claude Ezran:

I strongly support efforts to recruit a faculty and staff that somehow reflect the make up of our community. This brings additional strength, creativity and cohesiveness to our community. We need to do a lot more to support children from minority families and help some of them close the achievement gap. Some schools have achieved outstanding academic results for their low-income students with longer class hours; maybe we should consider that for the children that would most benefit from it.

Answer from Dana Tom:

Palo Alto's increasing diversity is one of its most exciting assets. As a Chinese-American graduate of San Francisco public schools, I am committed to helping our school district reach and empower every child it serves. I support a multi-pronged approach combining challenging, creative, culturally sensitive instruction with strong partnerships with parents, especially those of color. I also support district efforts to hire diverse staff and foster ongoing, collaborative discussion about best practices in teaching and learning. Finally, I believe that our PTA's and Site Councils can be especially effective in bringing parents and staff together and helping all voices be heard.

Answer from Claude Ezran:

Using funds wisely and fairly is the #1 objective in my platform. With the Measure A parcel tax, we asked taxpayers to make a substantial sacrifice; we owe it to them to ensure that this money will be getting the results they are entitled to expect. Also, if we ever have to go back to taxpayers, due to poor economic conditions, I will do everything in my power to minimize the impact. I have a strong expertise in financial matters; I used to be Financial Analyst and a Budget & Planning Manager at Intel. I will use my experience to analyze and guide the district's finances.

Answer from Barb Mitchell:

I would open district budget communications, seek public input and make financial decisions based on direct educational benefits to students. I would account for all Measure A parcel tax funds. I would emphasize the board's role in setting financial priorities and call on principals, parents, staff, students and community members to identify our district's long-term and annual goals.

I've worked with our school district budget for over 15 years, been deeply engaged in annual budget planning at the elementary, middle and high school levels and led fund-raising drives at the local and district-wide level. I understand the difference a hundred dollars makes at the school level and am determined to use every dollar wisely.

Answer from Dana Tom:

Sound financial management is the crucial foundation for our school district's mission. Having served on the District's Strategic Planning team, I am familiar with our key priorities and financial realities. Moving forward, I support using measurable objectives to evaluate programs and make responsible cost-benefit choices. More than ever, we also need to involve stakeholders in shaping and communicating district goals, spending plans, and policies. Having overseen multimillion dollar budgets during my 21 years in business, I am also ready to blend participative leadership with the highest standards of fiscal accountability. I am not afraid to make tough decisions.

Answer from Steve Mullen:

I'm a Certified Public Accountant. Fiscal accountability is a core focus of my candidacy. My fiscal accountability goals include:

• Adoption of best practice budget management techniques to improve accountability and avoid waste.
• Formation of a first-ever finance committee on the PAUSD board to oversee the financial impact of district policies and plans.
• Adoption of quantifiable performance metrics to compare the fiscal efficiency of PAUSD to other school districts.

Answer from Steve Mullen:

Educational accountability is a core focus of my candidacy. PAUSD board members, administrators and teachers must be accountable for providing an "education-friendly" culture in our schools. Reducing student stress is a big part of making education accessible; so is providing curricular and counseling services that serve college-bound and vocationally directed students.

Board members' responsibilities must include the following:

• To seek and implement reforms and innovations that reduce stress and deliver a great depth and breadth of curricular offerings, and educational and occupational counseling services.
• To know what works, and what doesn't work. Reforms -- like "schools within schools" cannot be adopted based merely on well-intentioned opinion or 'gut-feel'. Instead, the effectiveness of educational reforms must be demonstrated first, in pilot programs. This approach will insure that our students are served by reforms and innovations that are proven, pragmatic.

Answer from Dana Tom:

We must work hard to uphold and extend Palo Alto's proud tradition of academic rigor and outstanding student achievement, and our efforts must always include attention to helping our students develop the personal resilience they need to make healthy choices and succeed in later life. While schools within schools have shown promise in some places, we can also work immediately, and at relatively low cost, within current school structures. We can, for example, continue to encourage collaborative, hands-on classroom learning; teacher collaboration to stagger deadlines and coordinate assignments; and adequate access to guidance counselors and teacher advisors.

Answer from Barb Mitchell:

I believe "schools within schools" can reduce student stress and studies suggest that students in smaller school communities are more likely to do well in school, feel safe at school, be involved in school activities and graduate.

To help students achieve their educational goals, schools and parents need to work closely together to plan that success. I favor individual educational plans for all students to establish simple objectives, plan support, monitor achievement, and provide parents and teachers with the continuity of year-to-year communications. Campbell Union School District is a neighboring pioneer in implementing individual "Student Success Plans."

Answer from Claude Ezran:

Reducing stress ranks also very high in my objectives; I already see its effects as the father of a 7th grader at Jordan. This is a complex and systemic issue that needs to be tackled from many different angles. Some of the measures I will consider include: selectively reducing the amount of homework when it is out of balance; parent education (they too can be a major cause of that stress!); students education, especially in high school (they need to understand that they are not "failures" because they are not admitted to Harvard, Stanford or Berkeley); and finally teacher training. I would like to see the PTA and the district collaborate on that effort.

The order of the candidates is random and changes daily.