League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara, Santa Cruz County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Cynthia Chang Answers Questions Candidate for Board Member; Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District

The questions were prepared by the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

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?

During my tenure as board member, I have advocated strong oversight of district spending. I made sure the board is well informed on a regular basis about the district spending. I also raised questions to make sure proper procedure and policy have been followed. If there is cost over-run or variance from the original budget, I requested an explanation from the staff for better cost control. I always asked the question if the spending will add any benefit to the education of our students. I firmly believe in transparency and openness of the district operation. I attended monthly school PTA meetings to inform parents about what happened with the district spending. Upon my request, district website has been improved tremendously to better inform the community. I also requested the board meeting minutes to be clearly written and reflected the discussion and decision during the board meetings.

2. Are the schools offering instruction appropriate to the diverse educational abilities of all the students?

It is my firm belief that we should provide the best learning environment for ALL students in our district. Our high schools offer a variety of courses to accommodate students with different interest and abilities. I also advocated strongly about the articulation and collaboration among our high school district and feeder school districts to help the students with a smooth transition from middle school to high school.

3. Where do want the district to be 5 years from now? What steps should the district take to get there?

1. Best learning environment for all students. This area is a work in progress and needs continuous improvement to the existing curriculum and programs we have in our district.

2.A balanced budget with a healthy reserve to ensure financial stability.--We need to make the best use of the limited resources we have. We also need to look into creative ways to save money such as shared services with other local school districts. We also need to work with our state legislators to ensure a more stable income source for our district.

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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.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 12, 2010 21:21
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