October 28, 2005

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Publication Date: Friday, October 28, 2005

Seven seek three seats on Los Altos district board

Once elected, the three new trustees will work with the district's new superintendent, Tim Justus, and will join Harrigan and Cooper to form a new board.

"It's a pretty important election," Roberts said. "This election will mean that the community is electing a majority of brand-new board members and they will form the majority."

Because of the number of newcomers, Roberts said, one of the goals for the next year will be simply working together as a team by the end of the year.

The major topic of debate in the district involves the closing of the Bullis-Purissima elementary school, the opening of the Bullis Charter school, and what to do about the old campus in a time of rising enrollment.

Further, the district will look to renew its parcel tax next year, and think about pursuing a phase-two bond issue to complete renovations to the schools.

Out of the 4,036 students in the Los Altos School District, about a fourth, or 1,016 kids, come from areas of Mountain View bordering Los Altos. Out of Bullis Charter School's 228 students, 30 are from Mountain View.

The Voice distributed a survey to each of the seven candidates to find out about their background, priorities and stances on key issues in the district. Here are their answers, which have been edited to fit in this space.

Mark Goines

Occupation: Angel investor

Age: 52

Children in Los Altos schools: Two current students

Education: B.S. and M.B.A. from UC Berkeley

Experience: Past president of Los Altos Educational Foundation; Vice chair of Citizens Advisory Committee on Finance to the Los Altos School District; chair of site council at Santa Rita school

Years in the district: 8 years in Los Altos

Top three issues:
1. Develop a sound financial plan to improve educational curriculum, renew parcel tax and complete facilities remodel.
2. Leverage technology as tool for delivering education.
3. Ensure the right process to retain the best teachers and identify our future principals.

Why are you running I am passionate about public education and feel kids should come first. With the leadership change in our school board and a new superintendent, I feel we need strong, experienced leadership to guide our schools into the future for our kids.

Should the district have closed the Bullis-Purissima school At the time it was the right decision financially, but the wrong decision for the Los Altos Hills residents. We saved some money, but it has been unstable for the district and the community. I believe we need to reopen the Bullis site as a district school as soon as it is practical. What we should have done (hindsight is so easy) is closed it with a specific objective of reopening it within a few years. The community would have supported that.

What would you do to streamline the budget?
Where would you make cuts? The key principle is to stay away from the classroom as much as is practical. One might renegotiate the benefits contracts with suppliers to reduce cost but keep teachers whole, or reduce library and out-of-classroom aide time, or restructure the way raises are provided in the teachers' contracts. Fortunately, the current six-year financial forecast presents our district with a different scenario: increasing revenues and a slight surplus.

What steps will you take to make this transition year run smoothly?
1) Develop a clear list of priorities to direct the staff and superintendent on how to move forward.
2) Once the top projects are identified, determine how we will measure our success and track our progress.
3) Insure that our new superintendent is grounded in the values of our community and has a sound relationship with the board, our parents and our students.

Francis La Poll

Occupation: Tax and elder law attorney

Age: 46

Children in Los Altos schools: 2 current students and one graduate in district (three other students at Bullis Charter School)

Education: B.A., economics, University of Virginia; J.D., Stanford University School of Law

Experience: Former Los Altos Mayor; City-School District Coordination committee; Los Altos School District Citizens Advisory Committee for Finance

Years in the district: 18 years in Los Altos

Top three issues:
1. Restore the public's trust in the ability of the school board to make decisions openly.
2. Spend money appropriately and resolve issues wisely.
3. Provide more training for teachers.

Why are you running? Los Altos had an excellent record of accomplishment for the eight years I served on the city council and as mayor. Today, as the Los Altos School District attempts to reconcile community disputes and deal with limited resources, the public deserves to have at least one member of the school board with significant and successful experience setting policies and approving budgets for a major public organization.

Should the district have closed the Bullis-Purissima school? As I said at the time, it was a mistake to close the Bullis-Purissima school. The purported savings were illusory, the damage to the community and distraction to the district administration was significant, and children have experienced much unnecessary change and disruption, not to mention the chaos of adding additional rush hour traffic to the intersection at El Monte and Foothill.

What would you do to streamline the budget?
Where would you make cuts? There need not be program cuts in order to deal with budget issues. During my years on the city council immediately following state reductions in local funding, we were able to deliver the same or even better services.

What steps will you take to make this transition year run smoothly? I have been through transitions in government similar to what I will experience if elected to the school board. The five school board members and the new superintendent should participate in a facilitated one- or two-day workshop focusing on appropriate roles, responsibilities, and expectations of the board members and the superintendent.

David Luskin

Occupation: High-tech marketing executive

Age: 45

Children in Los Altos schools: 1 current student

Education: B.A., physics and economics, UC Davis; M.B.A., Stanford University Graduate School of Business

Experience: PTA legislative chairperson at Loyola School; School Site Council representative; classroom volunteer

Years in the district: 9 years in Los Altos

Top three issues:
1. Maintain environment so that district can attract and retain the highest quality teachers and principals.
2. Improve annual budget process.
3. Benchmark schools against best schools in the nation to identify new ideas and best practices.

Why are you running? I want the district to continue to provide an outstanding education to its 4,000 children. To insure this, we should attract and retain highest quality teachers and principals, improve the annual budget process by linking percentage increases in total compensation to percentage increases in district revenues, and develop a plan and allocate the funds to vigorously maintain our newly renovated campuses and to re-open our Bullis school site.

Should the district have closed the Bullis-Purissima school? According to the district's financial condition and the projected growth of students, it was appropriate to close one of the school sites. We preserved that site for future growth and now it appears that it will be needed within a few years. In addition, our financial condition is expected to improve enough in two years to allow us to be operate a seventh elementary school.

What would you do to streamline the budget? Where would you make cuts? The district's annual budget is not created simply by the board of trustees. The principles which direct the budget process can, however, be improved by more strongly linking percentage increases in total compensation to percentage increases in district revenues.

What steps will you take to make this transition year run smoothly? I personally have tried to minimize this transition period by attending board meetings, meeting with the new superintendent and both assistant superintendents, and generally familiarizing myself with both the working of the board, and the issues of importance to teachers, parents, students, other district employees, principals and administrators.

David Pefley

Occupation: Software vice president and CFO

Age: 47

Children in Los Altos schools: 2 current students Education: B.A., economics, UC Davis; M.B.A., Cornell University

Experience: Chairman of Fundraising Committee for the Los Altos

Educational Foundation; volunteer hours in classroom and on school activities

Years in the district: 6 years in Los Altos and 12 years in Los Altos Hills

Top three issues:
1. Continued academic excellence by developing and adapting curriculum to the needs of children and attracting, retaining and further training excellent teachers and principals.
2. Financial discipline.
3. Uniting the community in support of our excellent schools.

Why are you running? I believe passionately in the importance of public education. My wife and I are actively involved in our children's education, and I hope to apply my experience and background to ensure continued academic excellence.

Should the district have closed the Bullis-Purissima school? I understand that tough financial decisions need to be made, but my approach is always to look at creative financial problem-solving. At the time I was active in encouraging the board to find more creative funding and cost-savings plans in order to keep the school open.

What would you do to streamline the budget?
Where would you make cuts? We need to look at revenue, and not just cutting expenses. In difficult times we will need to prioritize class sizes, curriculum, and since employee expenses represent 85 percent of the budget, we would also need to work in close collaboration with district employees to decide what trade-offs make sense.

What steps will you take to make this transition year run smoothly? I am endorsed by all of the school board members and the teachers association, which I believe will aid in managing a smooth and effective transition.

David Struthers

Occupation: Retired mathematics teacher

Age: 74

Children in Los Altos schools: 2 graduates

Education: B.S., geology, University of Michigan; M.A., education, University of Michigan; M.A., mathematics, Syracuse University Experience: 40 years of teaching at junior high, high school and college levels (28 years at Gunn High School and 10 years part-time at Foothill College); chairman of finance committee of Los Altos Hills; president of Palo Alto Educators Association

Years in the district: 10 years in Los Altos; 25 years in Los Altos Hills

Top three issues:
1. Plan ahead for passage of parcel tax.
2. Develop plan for use of Bullis-Purissima site.
3. Develop communication links between district and citizens who do not have children in schools.

Why are you running? I am committed to public education. My experience in the classroom and understanding of the teaching process is a needed quality on any school board. I have the time, energy and interest to devote to the district. I would work to make sure there is the correct balance among expenditures for facilities, teaching materials and employee salaries.

Should the district have closed the Bullis-Purissima school? This is water under the bridge now. The real question is how to best use the site. The closing surely caused much rancor. We need to consciously work to ameliorate the hard feelings that developed.

What would you do to streamline the budget?
Where would you make cuts? Cuts in the budget are always difficult. As always, cuts should be made as far away from the classroom as possible. What steps will you take to make this transition year run smoothly? Listen carefully to other board members and communicate openly and honestly with them. Support the superintendent as he works out his relationship with the staff and the community.

Kathryn 'Kitty' Uhlir

Occupation: Parent, not employed outside the home

Age: 50

Children in Los Altos schools: 1 current student

Education: B.S., civil engineering, Stanford University; M.S., civil engineering, Stanford University

Experience: Springer PTA secretary; Covington PTA treasurer; classroom volunteer; service on Covington Site Council

Years in the district: 4 years in Los Altos

Top three issues:
1. Renewal of parcel tax.
2. Making careful budgetary decisions.
3. Work on plans for reopening a district school at the Bullis site.

Why are you running? I would like to bring my perspective, financial expertise, and analytic skills to the board and help ensure that our teachers and administrators have the resources they need to continue to do an excellent job of educating our children.

Should the district have closed the Bullis-Purissima school? Given the information that was available at the time and the fact that a newly reconstructed school (Covington) was ready to become operational, it was reasonable for the district to close Bullis. The cost forecasts showed that the district could not afford to increase the number of elementary schools from six to seven without adversely impacting the educational program.

What would you do to streamline the budget?
Where would you make cuts? I would look to our district staff for recommendations, including possible cuts. I would review proposed budgets carefully and I would always consider cost impacts when deciding on a course of action on any matter.

What steps will you take to make this transition year run smoothly? I will participate in all of the training that is available for new board members. I will be open to ideas and suggestions from the superintendent and district staff as well as the experienced board members regarding the most effective approaches to board service.

Bruce Wiener

Occupation: Real estate broker

Age: 59

Children in Los Altos schools: 4 graduates

Education: Undergraduate, Rutgers University; graduate, University of Tennessee Experience: Service as officer and on boards of various community organizations; school volunteer; 20 years as a parent of children in the district

Years in the district: 31 years in Los Altos

Top three issues:
1. Planning for Bullis site.
2. Ensuring stable and adequate funding, including parcel tax extension.
3. Reducing stress on kids, particularly at the junior high level.

Why are you running? I was dismayed at a perceived lack of interest for an important function. I felt I should give back to the community and district for providing a great experience for my children.

Should the district have closed the Bullis-Purissima school? Probably. It seemed to be necessary at the time due to revenue shortages, needed renovations and enrollment. The closure process could have been handled much better.

What would you do to streamline the budget?
Where would you make cuts? [I] cannot make these decisions without current information. I don't see any room for cuts currently.

What steps will you take to make this transition year run smoothly? Draw on the experience of old members, keep open dialogue with all members, and administration. Establish better lines of communication with the public.

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