League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
Alameda County, CA November 4, 2014 Election
	Paul R Black Answers Questions Candidate for Board Member; Albany Unified School District

The questions were prepared by the LWV Berkeley/Albany/Emeryville and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. The new Local Control Funding Formula moved many decisions about allocating funding from the state to the local school boards; how well has the District followed the spirit of the Formula in identifying what our children need? Would you change anything in the process of developing the Local Control (LCAP) budget for next year?

Although the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) is intended to eliminate most restricted ("categorical") funds and put them into the district's general fund, in fact this was done several years ago when the categorical funds were "flexed" by the State during the recession to make it easier for school districts to maintain programs and balance their budgets. At Albany USD, we have always tried to maintain the intent and spirit of the original purpose of these funds. For example, the State used to provide funds specifically targeted to individual school sites to be used for their own priorities. Even though the State "flexed" these funds during the recession and eliminated the category in LCFF, AUSD continues to allocate funds to each school to be spent by that school's site council. We have taken a similar approach with funds intended for English language learners and other special categories of students.

It's important to understand that the new funding formula (LCFF) gives less money to AUSD than we would receive under the old funding formula, and that the State has not provided the Proposition 98-mandated minimum funding to school districts for several years. In 2010, California ranked 49th in the nation in per-student funding adjusted for cost of living (according to Education Week). Although AUSD has cut our budget during the recession, we are still projected to run a $1M budget deficit for the foreseeable future if nothing else changes. We have begun the process of examining the budget to determine how we can live within our means. We are seeking input from all stakeholder groups, including parents, teachers, other staff, and the Albany community. This process will determine how we allocate the LCFF funds in coming years. The Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) that we are required to file every year as part of LCFF will document how we are fulfilling our mission of providing an excellent education for every student in our schools.

Whereas the LCAP is a new requirement, AUSD developed a strategic plan almost six years ago and our LCAP conforms to our strategic plan. In our strategic plan and mission statement, we are committed to serving every student, from the highest achieving to those with special needs and challenges. We are also committed to an education that includes not only basic academic subjects such as math and reading, but also subjects that nourish the body and soul, such as music, art, humanities, and physical education. We are looking forward to using the Smarter Balanced Assessments that come with the LCFF along with locally developed assessments to monitor the progress of our students and we will revise our curricula and programs as needed to reach all of our students.

2. How well has the District done in introducing the Common Core standards and methods in classes K-12? What improvements would you recommend or do you anticipate for the coming year?

Our district, like every district in the State, has just begun the process of transitioning to Common Core. Textbook publishers have not yet provided Common Core-compliant textbooks for every subject and every grade. The State is still developing curricula for many subjects. We have adopted textbooks wherever they are available. We have purchased enough computers for every student in our schools to be able to take the Smarter Balanced Assessments, which are all done online. We have started training teachers in the new curriculum, and that will be an ongoing priority for the next several years. We have established professional learning communities for our teachers so they can work together to develop new curricula and teaching methods. I expect implementation of Common Core to improve year to year as the Common Core consortium, the State, and the district gain experience in it.

3. Is early childhood education being well implemented in the District? What would you recommend in this area?

We have an excellent preschool, with certificated early childhood educators and excellent aides in every classroom. The parents who have their children in this program are very happy with it. We used to get enough funding from federal and state programs so that we could offer scholarships to a majority of our preschool students, which meant that the low-socioeconomic status families who cannot afford to send their children to other preschools had an opportunity to provide their children with as good a foundation for school as their wealthier contemporaries. However, that funding ended during the recession, and we have far fewer scholarships than formerly. Furthermore, the need to provide more kindergarten and transitional kindergarten classrooms in the district, without the money to build new facilities, has resulted in less classroom space for the preschool. The only solution to this that I know of is for the State to do a better job of funding preschool. My recommendation is for the District and every parent in the District to lobby their representatives in Sacramento to step up to the plate and honor the commitment to fund schools that is enshrined in the State constitution.

---

Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. References to opponents are not permitted.

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

Candidate Page || Feedback to Candidate || This Contest
SmartVoter Home (Ballot Lookup) || About Smart Voter

---

Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 8, 2014 18:47
Smart Voter <http://www.smartvoter.org/>
Copyright © League of Women Voters of California Education Fund   http://www.lwvc.org
The League of Women Voters neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office or political parties.