Candidate for
Board Member; Mount Diablo Unified School District

I am running for a position on the School Board because the financial condition of the MDUSD has deteriorated significantly over the past several years. I have over 30 years experience in stabilizing and growing financially troubled companies. The ability to stabilize the District is not rooted in the status quo, but in innovation and teamwork. I have found that listening, exchanging ideas, willingness to change and fairness are the keys to a successful organization. It is imperative the funds available must first directly benefit the District's students before any discretionary spending is considered. Following this tenant will take much of the current confusion out of the decision making process.

It is impossible to continue running with an unbalanced budget, labor strife and using old programs that no longer work. There needs to be a culture change is how the district is run. The district cannot depend on increased funding every year as they have in the past. Discipline to budget must be adhered to and needless expenditures stopped, no matter how small.

I would be resistant to any further cuts in the classroom. Having down sized the available teaching resources and increasing class sizes, little attention has been directed to the allocation of resources to student needs. We need to ensure special programs like ESL and vocational training are directed to the students in need or the students directed to the programs. It is imperative that the problems in the District do not jeopardize the education of our students because of inattention.

It is clear that the District must review the how it is structured both in administration and in how best to meet the students needs with limitted resources. This may require bringing the students to a facility that would be designated as the school for a specific program. This would be important for vocational programs because of the cost of equipment and the derth of certified teachers for these subjects. Administration needs to review how many levels of management are needed to run the District.

There has been considerable friction between the Unions and the District for as long as I can remember. In the interest of stabilizing the financial condition of the District, there needs to be some level of cooperation between the District and the Unions. I do not have strong feelings for either organization, so I think I can become the voice of reason and try to rebuild some level of trust. If a level of trust and respect can be developed, we can use it to regain the trust of the community by showing we can be trusted to spend money wisely and with the education of their children the goal of everyone in the District.