Endorsements 2014

It's election time, and like most folks in our community, I'm casting my ballot.  I don't pretend to be an expert in all things political, but I will share my thoughts on a couple of matters, given my close involvement with the schools over the past 5 years.

For LASD Board of Trustees:
Tamara Logan
Sangeeth Peruri
Vladamir Ivanovic

Tammy Logan has worked incredibly hard over the past 5 years to put the necessary ingredients in place for the success of our District.  She is a tireless voice for our students, and has been willing to challenge other board members when she felt we weren't doing the right thing.  Striking that balance is a delicate art, and Tammy has done it well.

Tammy also played a key role in the negotiations with BCS.  I was proud to have her as a partner in the final rounds over the summer.  The "peace treaty" that resulted was shaped in many ways by Tammy's thinking.

I am confident that Tammy will continue to be an asset for our students and our community, and I am excited to cast my ballot for her re-election.

Sangeeth Peruri is a relative new-comer to the LASD community.  His kids are younger, and he is not afraid to test the conventions of "how things have been done".  He has served ably in the Covington PTA, and has worked diligently on the LASD Citizens Advisory Council on Finance (CACF).   I have spent substantial time with Sangeeth over the past year as he tested our assumptions about the right path with BCS.  He has also built a substantial knowledge of our schools by engaging multiple points of view.   He is not afraid to throw himself into the work, which will help him ramp up on the board quickly.

Vladimir Ivanovic is another CACF member, and is the current CACF chair.  Over the years he has been a regular attendee at our board meetings.  He has put in the time to learn what the board is doing, why we've made the decisions we have made, and to share his own perspective when he felt it was important.  He is well versed in our financial status, which will be important as the District starts to wrestle with the expiration of the Measure E parcel tax and simultaneously increasing contributions to shore up state pensions.  His work also includes the Gardner Bullis Technology Committee, the GB Site Council, and a number of other groups.  He isn't a huge fan of public speaking, but I've always found his reasoning to be sound.  He is also a tireless advocate for open government, which remains important in our community.



I am not able to endorse Mathra McClatchey or John Swan for the LASD Board of Trustees.

Martha has been an active BCS parent for the entirety of my 5 years on the Board.  This doesn't disqualify someone outright, but it certainly raises questions about how well they know LASD.  I met with Martha to discuss specific issues, and found her knowledge of the LASD program to be lacking.  She instead proposed that her knowledge of what draws people away from LASD should be an asset.  I disagree.  I am also troubled by her direct involvement in the cloaking of expenditures by BCS.  She was the treasurer of the Bullis Foundation when BPEF was covertly signing checks to PR firms and lawyers.  When I asked her about these expenditures, she was quite clear that there is such a thing as "too much transparency".  I do not believe the community's interests are served by making off-book expenditures and hiding from the public how money is being spent.  As the old saying goes, "if you wouldn't do it in the light of day, you probably shouldn't be doing it at all."

John Swan is one of the original founding families at BCS.  Although his children have been out for a while, I see no evidence that he has remained active in K-8 education leadership.  He only recently started attending LASD Board meetings, so his learning curve would be steep.  John's editorials in the Town Crier seem to indicate that he feels LASD is broken in some significant way.  He complains about teachers in generic language more suited to big city school districts, not LASD.  His own children haven't attended an LASD elementary school since 2003, so I'm not sure on what basis he would make that assertion.  His editorials are rife with rhetoric from the charter movement about what is wrong with education, but it bears little resemblance to our award winning schools and exceptionally dedicated staff and administration.  John just doesn't seem to have a handle on what we are doing in our schools, and what makes them such a unique place for children to learn.  He lacks the context of how our schools work or how to best engage with our staff and parent community, and I believe that would be a significant barrier to being an effective board member.


Yes on Measure N  We desperately need to pass measure N, so that we can build more schools and update our existing facilities.  Although some districts go out every 5-7 years, it has been much longer than that for LASD.  We desperately need to pass this measure to keep up with our exploding enrollment.  It is essential to the successful model that has earned LASD national and international recognition as a top tier school district.

Each of the trustees I have endorsed would be excellent stewards for the Measure N funds.  They are committed to an open process to refine specific expenditures and I believe they will make wise use of our precious capital.  They seek public input, and understand the need to stretch our dollars.  That is exactly what we want as we embark on the first major expansion of the District in many years.

I thank all of these folks for their interest and their willingness to serve.  I believe that Tammy, Sangeeth, and Vladimir will serve our community well, and I encourage you to give them your full support.

And more sunshine (Buying a school, part II)

If you haven't done so yet, please read my prior post, Buying a School, which details how outside money from charter school supporters has flooded the SCCBOE election to run an attack campaign against Anna Song.

I finally got the FPPC 460 from the Santa Clara County Schools PAC.  As is my custom, I've attached the entire document.   Here's what you want to know:

There were a couple of really big checks written (including several from the Charter Schools Association, as reported in the well written article on the Patch).  I am not surprised, but am disappointed none the less, to see the names of local residents among the donors:

• Janet Medlin (BCS Board Member)
• Mark Andrade
• Susan Goldman
• Mark Jensen
• Dorothy Price
• RJ Daley Construction Company
  (401 First St, Los Altos)
• Donna Young

I am particularly troubled to see BCS Board Member Janet Medlin as a contributor.  Admittedly it's not a huge donation, but it troubles me for a couple of reasons:

1)  I'd like to think that we try to conduct ourselves with integrity here in Los Altos.  Funding attack ads doesn't seem to be what we'd want from our public servants.  (overlooking the obvious fact that the BCS board isn't elected).

2)  I find it questionable, at best, for a member of a governing board to be financially involved in the election of the agency that governs them.  Yes, we all still have rights of free speech, and I'm certainly an advocate of that.  However, having BCS board members trying to influence the outcome of an election in another district, and to directly attack a member of SCCBOE-- it just doesn't sit well with me. 

Is it legal?  As far as I know, it is.  Is it ethical?  Not in my book.

I won't be making a personal donation to Anna's campaign because I don't think it is appropriate for me to do so while I am a sitting School Board member with business in front of the SCCBOE.  However, as parents and members of our community, you are free to support candidates as you see fit.  I believe that Anna has been a strong supporter of public schools, and she has committed herself to running a clean campaign.  The article below has an address and link if you would like to support her campaign.

Once again, this isn't a political ad for Anna Song.  It is my observations with respect to the electoral process.  However, to the extent that I've endorsed Anna, I don't want any confusion, so I am including her FPPC information in an abundance of caution.

Friends of Anna Song for County Board of Education, 2012
1000 Kiely Bl. #46,
Santa Clara, CA 95051
FPPC# 1241672

Formal Endorsements: Taglio, Luther for LASD Board

It occurs to me that I haven't written much of a formal endorsement for either Steve Taglio or Pablo Luther.  I hope that you will join me in supporting them for the LASD Board for Trustees.

Steve Taglio
Steve has served the district well in a number of capacities.  Prior to joining the Board, he was a PTA president for two years, as well as volunteering in a number of other capacities in our schools.  He brings with him a broad perspective on our program, and understands what it takes to build community support for our schools.  In his year on the LASD Board, he has shown himself to a strongly independent thinker (occasionally to my chagrin, but that's politics!)  He is not as strident a voice as I tend to be, which is good for the Board and for the community.  Having a mix of voices improves the tenor of the discussion and generally produces a better outcome.

Steve gets a lot of feedback form the community, and he represents those voices well in our debates, both in open session as well as in our closed sessions.  I believe that Steve's wide base of support will be a huge asset as we move through some challenging discussions over the coming years.

Pablo Luther
Pablo has served the district well over the past 7 years, working on the Citizens Advisory Council for Finance (CACF).  Through this work, as well as having had his children attend several LASD schools, he has developed a strong understanding of the complex environment in which LASD operates.  With the economy finally showing signs of improvement, it is an opportunity for us to rebuild the finances of the school district.  Pablo is strongly positioned to guide that discussion so that we build a sustainable financial model for the future.  As a long-time LASD parent, he also understands the unique nature of our school community- how much we rely on parent volunteers, how we work with our staff, and how our program is structured.  This knowledge is critical to anyone's success on the Board. 

Like Steve, Pablo is alto thoughtful in his deliberations, and he seems to be open to exploring many alternatives to issues that we face.  This will also serve us well- fresh blood on the board means we re-examine positions, and ensure that we are constantly making good choices in support of our students.

I am pleased to cast my ballot for Steve Taglio and Pablo Luther for LASD Board of Trustees.


On a related final note, I received a well written letter form a BCS parent responding to some of the comments I'd made about Amanda Burke-Aaronson's fundraising.  My earlier posts focus more on the funding side of Amanda's campaign because she doesn't have much of a record to debate.  One of the things I have seen over the past 3 years on the Board is that community support and knowledge of our program are critical to the success of any Board member.  The years I'd spent on various District committees gave me a broad perspective to bring to my service as a Trustee.  I also spent almost 2 years attending LASD Board meetings before I ran for the Board.  In addition to the raw understanding of the programs and needs, I also developed a network of people I could reach out to ask their thoughts, gain additional perspective, and further explore issues.  No matter how good her intentions, Amanda lacks that network of community support within LASD.  As a BCS parent who hasn't attended LASD Board meetings until last week, Amanda lacks that network and the understanding that comes with it.  I would strongly encourage Amanda to remain engaged, and to attend BCS Board meetings and seek appointment to the BCS Board.  I would be pleased to work with her on solving some of our more challenging issues, in a setting where she can leverage what she knows best (BCS) and I can represent the Los Altos School District, where I've devoted my time and energies for many years.