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LWV League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Santa Clara County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
Smart Voter

Christine Ellen "Chris" Koltermann, Ph.D.
Answers Questions

Candidate for
Trustee; Santa Clara Unified School District; Trustee Area 2

 
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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?

School funding comes from a variety of federal, state, and local government sources and school districts are responsible for following all applicable laws regarding how those funds are spent. Title 1 is the largest federal source of funds for elementary and secondary education; Title 1 funds are provided specifically to help disadvantaged children. Federal law also governs spending on special education programs.

Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) is a 'Basic Aid' district, which means that local property taxes are our major source of revenue. In fact, our schools receive a larger proportion of our property tax dollars than any other government agency, with 38% of our property taxes going to SCUSD.

Taxpayers have the right to know how our school district allocates its resources. The school district should at all times have publicly available information about all sources of funds coming into the district versus how those funds are allocated. Information must be written in a manner accessible to our community.

As a Trustee, I would require that our schools report how federal, state, and local funds are spent in the following ways:

As a Trustee, I would insist on administrative accountability, full financial disclosure, and transparency in governance.

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

While efforts are being made to offer instruction that addresses the diverse educational abilities of our students, we can do better.

While SCUSD has seen growth in API scores at many schools, too many students remain below proficient in English/Language Arts and Mathematics. The data show that proficiencies peak in 4th grade in our district and then start a long, slow, slide downward all the way to the end of high school. Many children start middle school and high school without being proficient in the basics. I believe that we need earlier intervention for students who are struggling.

We have an achievement gap in our district at many of our schools, with many of our Title 1 schools obtaining lower API scores than our non-Title 1 schools. Following trends observed nationwide, the achievement gap shows up in standardized testing as early as 2nd/3rd grade and persists through high school.

There are instructional techniques which have been proven to help close the achievement gap, such as direct instruction, frequent readiness assessments coupled with readiness groupings. One of our district Title 1 elementary schools, Bracher, has closed the achievement gap using quarterly assessments (NWEA MAPS assessment tools) coupled with readiness groupings in English/Language Arts and Mathematics, direct instruction, and teacher collaboration. As students learn the readiness groupings are re-evaluated. The curriculum used is the same throughout the district, but the learning results differ because of the implementation of different instructional methods. Starting September 2010, more of our Title 1 schools are using the NWEA MAPS assessment tools. As a Trustee, I would want to see the successful instructional methods used at Bracher propagated to our other elementary schools. We owe it to our students and families to use the best available teaching practices throughout the district.

In addition, our district has 2 alternative elementary schools with substantial waiting lists. One school is our back to basics school, and the other is our parent participation school. The waiting lists show the popularity of these schools with district parents; SCUSD needs to expand its alternative offerings to satisfy the demand for alternative education within our district.

Finally, the number of SCUSD students who are transferred to charter schools also shows that our district parents are seeking alternative forms of education for their children. Our district has a responsibility to provide for the diverse educational needs of our families.

Many district families are asking for more educational choices at the middle school and high school level. We are in the heart of Silicon Valley, and many families are asking for more focus on math, technology, and science in our schools. In addition to meeting the needs of students who are not yet proficient in English/Language Arts and Mathematics, we need to provide a challenging educational environment for our students who are proficient or advanced in their studies.

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

The November 2, 2010 election is a critical vote for our school district because the next SCUSD board will hire the next Superintendent, who will lead our district for the next 5 to 10 years. I believe in casting a wide net for our next superintendent by conducting a thorough, nationwide search for the best person to lead our school district into the future. In contrast, our school board has hired the last 2 superintendents from within without conducting a thorough search. My experience during my bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. degrees at 3 different universities and my experience teaching at a university have shown me the value of inviting all interested parties to apply.

The next superintendent must work diligently to hold administrative staff and teachers accountable for implementing instructional methods which have been shown to close the achievement gap. I want our next superintendent to propagate methods - such as the frequent assessments coupled with readiness groupings in individual subjects, direct instruction, and grade-level teacher collaboration - to all of our schools.

The next SCUSD board will also be responsible for implementing a new long-range plan for our school district. Our district is growing at a rate of 400 students every 2 years (the equivalent of one elementary school every 2 years), primarily because Santa Clara Unified is growing due to the amount of new housing being added to the cities in our district (Santa Clara, and parts of Sunnyvale and northern San Jose). Unless we take appropriate steps, our high schools are projected to increase to 3000 students each. Some of our campuses already have portables to deal with overcrowding. Our district will be re-opening some of its elementary schools that have been rented to private schools, but more space will be needed in the future, particularly at the middle and high school levels.

Our district has placed a bond measure - Measure H - on the ballot to purchase land on the north side of our district (Agnews). This land will be used eventually for a new high school and, I hope, a new middle school. The land is being sold by the state at below market rates. With the tremendous growth in housing on the north side of Santa Clara Unified, we really do need a middle and high school in that area. I hope voters will see the value in purchasing this land to keep our secondary school sizes reasonable and to strengthen our property values. Increasing the quality of our schools raises our property values and therefore increases the property taxes upon which our school district is primarily funded.

I want to see Santa Clara Unified partner with the City of Santa Clara, private businesses, and non-profit agencies to create SC2020, just as San Jose schools have partnered with the City of San Jose, private businesses and non-profit agencies to create SJ020, an organization dedicated to closing the achievement gap by 2020.

As a small business owner, I understand the need for the business community to have a well-educated workforce. As a scientist, I understand the need to strengthen the math, science, and technology teaching in our schools. As a parent who devoted more than 2000 hours to volunteering in SCUSD schools, I understand the dedicated parental involvement that helps make our schools strong and the desire of parents to have the district provide educational options for families. As a property owner within SCUSD, I understand how strongly the quality of our schools affects our property values.

For more information about my education, experience, community service history, and vision for our school district, please visit: http://www.chriskoltermann.com

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: September 24, 2010 22:13
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