League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara County, CA November 4, 2014 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, Curriculum, Goals 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 Omar Torres: As school board member, I will make sure we are accountable to our students and their families. Our main goal is to make sure our students are succeeding academically. We must be held accountable by the community with our future decisions whether our Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) is being utilized strategically to ensure their ongoing success. We need to invest and make sure all of our resources are being used to eradicate illiteracy, expand and improve math and science curriculum for all students and our teacher's are adequately trained and prepared for challenges that may arise during the school year. 2. Are the schools offering instruction appropriate to the diverse educational abilities of all the students? Answer from Omar Torres: Yes, FMSD have seen incredible and positive growth in the last few years. I want to commend our current Franklin-McKinley School Board members. The FMSD trustees work hard to help our students and schools be successful every year. With the implementation of Common Core, all of our students will be prepared and succeed academically. Common Core equalizes education for all students. We cannot continue to have students fall through the cracks. Every child will be academically ready every school year. 3. Where do you want the District to be five years from now? What steps should the District take to get there? Answer from Omar Torres: I am running for school board to continue to serve our community by actively contributing to the ongoing improvement of McKinley, Seven Trees, Santee and Bridges Schools, which are the lowest performing schools in our district. Steps to get there: -Parental involvement -Closing achievement gap among Latino students and their Vietnamese peers -Ending Illiteracy among our students I am invested in our teacher's success; I am invested in our student's success; I am invested in making Franklin-McKinley Schools the best schools in the Bay Area. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. The answer to each question should be limited to 400 words. Direct references to opponents are not permitted. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.