League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	David S. Hernandez Answers Questions Candidate for Board Member; Berryessa Union 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?

In order to determine if schools are using funds accordingly I'd study a variety financial reports and district plans to ensure that the resources are being used efficiently. Some of the reports I'd review carefully would be the annual budget, year-end comparisons of actual expenditures to budget, audit reports, school plans, and monthly warrant reports. I would also continue to encourage a community budget oversight committee to review to engage the community with district information. In addition, with identified shortfalls I would immediately start to develop study sessions and work collaboration with board members, unions, and community partners to prepare for any uncertainty. As we identify budget shortfalls I would also promote the use of grants to support additional programming.

It's important as a district as they identify shortfalls that regular community budget updates are issued to the community which could be done through community emails, newsletters, or forums to keep the community informed about any anticipated shortfalls and receive their input/ideas.

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

Offering appropriate education material to a diverse student base can be a daunting task. The district does offer some programs to meet the needs of students of diverse educational abilities. However, is it enough? In the news recently comes the concern regarding Hispanic and African-American students still not hitting the markers. This is where the district truly needs to allocate resources to help push efforts forward to accommodate this student base. Our teachers are more than competent to meet the task, but I believe the resource allocation for new programming, after school programming, and specialized curriculum for this sector of the student base is inadequate. The challenge is obviously inadequate resources, lack of district support, and the need to make an entire system change to make this a reality.

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

In order to move forward I would:

1. Increase teacher and student resources
2. Reduce classroom size
3. Focus on under-served student base to increase their language and math requirements
4. Increase the focus on student physical education
5. Develop parent, community, and corporation partnerships

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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 16, 2010 19:59
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