League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Board Member; Franklin-McKinley School District

The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Funding, Instruction, Future Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. How would you determine that the schools are using federal, state, and local funds wisely and fairly and how would you report your findings to the community? Answer from Buu Chau Thai: Schools should be transparent on how they are using federal, state, and local funding. Franklin McKinley School District share its financial information by posting our budget and financial information on our website. Yearly, we have an independent auditor evaluating our financial reports and accounting practices. Historically, Franklin McKinley School District have consistently received high financial qualifications. Answer from Keith-Khoa Nguyen: The board calls for an annual audit report from an outside third party that is issued every year for official review and acceptance. Additionally, the board holds several budget sessions through out the year which is open to the public and frequently visit school sites to speak to parents about the budget and solicit community input. 2. Are the schools offering instruction appropriate to the diverse educational abilities of all the students? Answer from Keith-Khoa Nguyen: Yes Answer from Buu Chau Thai: Franklin McKinley have a diverse population, predominate immigrant families. I believe families should have public school options that best support their children's educational attainment. Franklin McKinley Board has approved four charters in our school district. These charter schools provide choices and alternative for our diverse student population. I support charter schools that: (1) meet the requirements of the State; (2) collaborate with school district; and (3) complement the district's program and services. 3. Where do want the district to be 5 years from now? What steps should the district take to get there? Answer from Keith-Khoa Nguyen: The district will: Increase parent and community involvement Stronger Fiscal Condition Improve test scores The board will be holding a board retreat soon to discuss increasing parent and community involvement at schools. At the retreat the board will form a vision,implement goals, standards and expectations for increasing parent involvement through out all 16 school sites. These expectations will be monitored in an annual report which will be reviewed by the board. The board will work in a collaborative fashion with both bargaining groups to come to collective bargaining agreements with certificated and classified staff in a timely and fiscally responsible manner. The district is working with internal staff and external partners to coordinate data and standards driven instructions through out the district. This strategy has produced 7/16 schools that has reached the states 800 "High Achieving" school standard. We hope to continue this success. Answer from Buu Chau Thai: If re-elected, I will continue to safeguard taxpayer dollars so that all of our students can receive excellent education from high quality teachers and staff, that our students enter high school prepared to successfully complete college preparation courses, and that our school campuses remain a safe place where student can excel. Specifically, in my next five years, I will work on: Ensuring all children in Franklin McKinley will have access to a quality preschool education Creating a district-wide parent leadership council to provide staff and board directions on budget, school activities, and safety issues Improving the infrastructure of our schools (upgrading classrooms, electrical and pipe systems, playground equipment, etc) Financially sound and increase our reserve above 3% Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' responses are not edited or corrected by the League. Answers must not refer directly or indirectly to another candidate. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.