School Board Questionnaire

Mike Hutchinson District 5 School Board Candidate Questionnaire- Spanish

Mike Hutchinson - District 5 Candidate SurveyandSpanishandII.pdf

Roseann Torres Candidate Survey - Spanish

Roseann Torres - District 5 Candidate SurveyandSpanishandII.pdf

Roseann Torres Candidate Survey

Roseann Torres Candidate Survey.pdf

How will your School Board members change Oakland public schools for the better? To find out, GO sent questionnaires to each School Board candidate. Three of the four candidates responded. Click on the candidates' name to view individual questionnaires or compare answers below.

District 4

Benjamin Visnick

Gary Yee

District 6

Christopher Dobbins

School Board Candidate Questionnaire

Click each candidate's name to reveal their responses.

Question 1

Oakland Unified School District has been the most improved large, urban school district in California over the last five years yet, continues to fail many of its students. Only 42 percent of high school graduates in OUSD have taken the A-G courses required to apply for a CSU or UC for college¹ and this does not take into account the 28 percent of students who drop out in grades 9-12². We are not producing excellent outcomes for all students. What is your vision for equitable public education in Oakland and what systemic changes will you work toward to achieve that vision?

1. The Education Trust West. Oakland Unified School District Education Opportunity Audit Report. 2009

2. California Department of Education Educational Demographics Office. Dropouts by Grade. OAKLAND UNIFIED (0161259) for the Year 2007-08. 2009

Ben Visnick

My vision, shared by the OEA, is to "Create Success" for all of our OUSD students.

Of course, we should encourage all of our young people to attend college.

However, it is not just by mainly offering A-G classes that we create success.

If you ask a teacher, truancy (absenteeism and tardiness) is the main reason why so many of our students drop out. We must do whatever it takes to increase attendance in Oakland Public.

Let's start by hiring truant officers to make home visits. Then, let's double the number of guidance counselors in OUSD in order to engage our most at-risk youth (disproportionately male, African-American, Latino, Native American, and Southeast Asian). These counselors must begin to identify the above students in 4th grade through 8th grade so that when they enroll in high school they have internalized the importance of attending and achieving. The lack of male guidance counselors in OUSD is appalling and we must hire more black and bilingual counselors immediately.

Furthermore, for many of our youngsters, Career and Technical Education is the magnet that will keep our "hand on" students attracted to and focused on higher education whether at the 4-year, Community College, or Apprenticeship levels.

While A-G classes are the obvious choice for admission to a 4-year institution, it is simply elitist to classify a non A-G class as "substandard" or "not relevant" to our teenagers' future. For example, the Woodshop Class at Montera Middle is a popular elective for all academic levels. At the high school level, Driver Education is a carrot that also enrolls a diverse group of students to attend (7:15 a.m.) and achieve (pass the written DMV exam). All meaningful courses are essential for a well-rounded public education.

Finally, rather than offering more on-line Cyber High/Advanced Path classes for Credit Recovery, the District needs to expand its secondary Summer School offerings with real teachers instructing students to the same standards as in the Fall and Spring Semesters. Tutors should be hired or given college course credit to assist our failing middle and high school pupils.

As Chair of the OEA Scholarship Committee, I have helped award many thousands of dollars to graduating Oakland graduates who want to become educators. The lack of financial aid is another reason that some of our students do not pursue higher education. College should be free to all high school graduates in Oakland, California and across the USA.

Gary Yee

I want Oakland's children to be well-prepared for successful lives- family, career, engaged citizens- in a thriving Oakland. That begins with every child acquiring the skills, habits, and knowledge to succeed in college and career.

For the past eight years, our district has improved in many ways, and the data you offer suggest not change as much as evolution. We need every school to be as vital and exciting as the best of our schools, with students excelling, no matter where they live or go to school. The Board of Education unanimously adopted a strategic framework, "Thriving Students," that clearly re-states that vision, and prioritizes safe, healthy, and supportive schools in every neighborhood, high quality, effective instruction with caring and committed teachers, and a focus on college and career literacy that begins with pre-school, and builds through succeeding grades.

Some systemic changes that I will work for this next four years include:

• restore funding to public education, and that will require continued stringent budget oversight as well as local parcel taxes, until the state re-prioritizes public education;

• full-service community schools that attract and incorporate public and private resources so that schools leverage resources in our neediest neighborhoods;

• a public commitment to a salary structure that incentivizes effective instruction, defined by professional educators that expands beyond tests as measures of success;

• a strategy that builds skills, awareness, and preparation for careers of the future, especially those that build up the Oakland community

Christopher Dobbins

My vision for equitable public education in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) is a comprehensive "portfolio of schools" with multiple options designed for student success. Our core goals of students reading at grade level by third grade, succeeding in algebra by ninth grade, and graduating prepared to succeed in the workforce or college are benchmark goals that should be easy to attain. The reality is that they aren't being attained by everyone. Our focus as a School Board is to set the education policy for the district, but also to keep the district fiscally solvent. I believe the Board and the Superintendent and staff have the district set on the right course to achieve these goals. At this point, I am not sure which systemic changes are needed to achieve this vision as most of our decisions are being dictated by financial concerns. I am looking forward to expanding this vision this year with the Superintendent and my colleagues on the board.

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Question 2

OUSD's "Options" program allows families to choose which of Oakland's public schools they would like their children to attend. Students are then assigned to schools based on their preferences and a school's available openings. What reforms, if any, would you propose for OUSD's "Options" program?

Ben Visnick

The "Options" program has had unintended consequences. Some schools are under-chosen and some are over-chosen. This program has not addressed providing more human resources to the less desirable choices.

We only have to look at the CTA-initiated QEIA (Quality education Investment Act) schools in OUSD to see that the above is key. The 25 to 1 class size ratios in those 4th-8th grade classes have addressed this issue in these flatland schools. All underachieving schools must be allowed to participate in QEIA which means that the state has to fund our district like Massachusetts, not Mississippi.

Furthermore, the poorer parents/guardians/caregivers in the flatlands cannot fund-raise like those in the hills. More "financial aid" must be reallocated from the vertical to the horizontal parts of our city.

I believe in economic justice and a level playing field. As a parent who has donated hundreds of dollars to Redwood Heights and will do so at Montera Middle, I want some of my dollars to go down the hill for the disadvantaged students who I teach at Oakland High.

Much of the preference for certain Oakland schools is based on perceived and legitimate safety and staffing issues. To dispel rumors and hearsay about certain schools, there should be an advertised open door policy where prospective parents can enter schools to observe the learning culture and quality of instruction.

Next, I believe that we need more magnets so that a particular vocational or academic program is featured at specific secondary schools in conjunction with the skilled trades, a community college, or university.

In conclusion, many elementary parents choose private schools as their next "option". Secondary schools such as Head-Royce, Redwood Day, Julia Morgan, and Park Day offer middle school programs that are very costly. My goal is to have Oakland's public schools gain enrollment at the expense of these high-priced and selective institutions.

Gary Yee

Two years ago, after Hillcrest parents asked for boundary changes to address overcrowding, I spearheaded an alternative that re-emphasized quality neighborhood schools, with parent preference as an option; what was known as an options policy now re-prioritized neighborhood attendance. The key element was that the district would re-double our efforts to improve every school, so that neighborhood schools were the first option; this was a much more difficult, but strategically important strategy. Few people understood the impact of this policy shift.

I emphasized this eight years ago, but the interest then was using competitive market forces to improve schools. This shortchanged systemic district reform, and led contributed o extreme enrollment declines from needier neighborhoods as parents doubted whether the district would support developing neighborhood schools and instead opted for successful schools. Frankly in organizational theoryspeak, it created a destructive vacancy chain. It took mobile and motivated parents away from their neighborhood schools into schools which already had extra features, like paid before/after school programs and extended, enriched instructional options.

So, now, we have the right pollcies in place, and with a regional configuration for our pre k-8 schools, and a quality schools development group, we have an operational strategy that will focus on school improvement, not school options. What it will take, are core groups of parents working within their regions to commit to building thriving schools in their neighborhoods. And schools which are already prosperous and effective, committing to helping to support developing schools with resources, volunteerism, and expertise.

Christopher Dobbins

The options process has allowed for families to choose schools throughout the city, but it has had the negative consequence of disinvestment in the neighborhood school in the many parts of the city; at least in the elementary school. In 2008, I chaired the committee that explored this issue in depth and we came to the conclusion that siblings of students at a school had priority over neighborhood students that did not have a sibling at the school. I have wrestled with this decision over the past two years, but I would maintain my position to promote keeping families together as the first priority in this process.

In a perfect world, each neighborhood school would be so successful that there wouldn't be the need to "head up the hill" to get to one of the seven desirable elementary schools. In reality, we know this is not the case. The options process should still be the process that we employ in Oakland. The "reforms" to the process are to invigorate every school site to make it desirable to the parents and families.

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Question 3

What role should charter schools play for students and families in Oakland?

Ben Visnick

Charter schools should have as their stated goal their reintegration into the OUSD.

There are simply too many centrifugal forces pulling this school district apart.

In the meantime, charter schools that receive extra private foundation funding should share their riches with the under funded school district. The past mayor of Oakland, Jerry Brown, established two (2) trophy schools as his 'solution' to equity and excellence in OUSD. These and other charters receive much more revenue than the rest of our schools. If we share 15% of a parcel tax with the charters, then certainly the wealthy charters can reciprocate with 85% of their extra cash.

To further level the playing field, Oakland's charters should be required to accept the same percentage of English Language Learners, Exceptional Children, and Juvenile Hall returnees as the unified school district. They should also welcome the unionization of their certificated and classified staffs so that their employees can have job security and a career. It is not a well known fact, but many excellent unified district teachers are former charter teachers who left to secure a permanent teaching position in Oakland Unified because they feared random dismissal by charter managers.

Next, whatever best practices are found in certain charters should be shared with the OUSD. Likewise, OUSD programs such as the ML King Oratorical Festival have been opened to charter school students and I will encourage charter school teachers to attend great OUSD in-services like our Teaching American History Grant seminars.

Finally, there should be a moratorium on all charter school expansions and applications in Oakland.

The ADA loss is another unintended consequence of school "choice' in our city. The 8,000 student loss has impacted every school in the unified district and it is time to protect the 38,000 students who have and will suffer the consequences of more school closures and program cutbacks.

Gary Yee

I've been a consistent and skeptical critic of charter schools in Oakland, not because they can't succeed, but because of the fiscal drain to the traditional district. This is because:

Students they recruit fill seats that are now unfilled in our traditional schools, even though the cost for maintaining the classroom remains the same; hence less funds are available for the remaining students.

Charter schools have natural allies and funders that often create an uneven competitive advantage; they hire younger, less expensive teachers, they don't have a significant debt service, state and federal regulation often favors their practices with special legislation.

I fundamentally believe in improving schools one school at a time, and that's where I believe my energy should be devoted to; instead, as a board we spend about ten times as much time reviewing charter applications as we do learning about our traditional schools, but successful and unsuccessful ones.

Nevertheless, we have a set of charter schools that now educate almost 20% of Oakland's children, and it is unrealistic to believe that we can roll back the clock, and unethical to only search for ways to close them down. My first priority has been to establish a charter schools department that fulfills my obligation to provide evaluation and oversight of those schools. We now have a charter office that is the envy of the state, and nation. From its reports we better understand the promise and the limits of charter schools. Those schools often succeed in ways that can help us understand effective teaching practice and organizational operations.

Finally, I have encourage our superintendent to consider ways that we can create a set of "internal charters" (also known as pilot schools) that can embody many of the best aspects of the charter school autonomies, and ultimately lead to better organizational practices for all of our schools

Christopher Dobbins

While philosophically I am opposed to Charter Schools, the reality is that they are not going anywhere. In many ways they have pushed the discussion about alternatives to education and have probably been a larger detriment to Catholic Schools and education than public schools. In any event, charter schools should be looked to for best practices and alternatives to doing business in the district.

I believe that there are a disproportionate number of charter schools in Oakland, but I do believe that the OUSD Charter Office has a handle on how to regulate and monitor these schools and has raised the standards for keeping them in operation. The fact that over 8,000 students in Oakland are choosing charter schools and only 54% of Oakland students are attending OUSD, however, also indicate that many families in Oakland do not feel comfortable with the public school district. Since Charter schools will be on the landscape; especially in Oakland, a comprehensive strategy needs to be developed to account for them.

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Question 4

What State-level practices and policies hold back the quality of our public schools and what are your plans to change them?

Ben Visnick

The under funding of our California public schools is the main deterrent to quality public education in the state. I was an advocate for Prop 98 in 1988 as a floor for funding. It has, however, become a ceiling and is now threatened again in Sacramento

I continue to promote a progressive taxation alternative in California. Both corporate taxes and personal income taxes need to be raised on profitable companies and super rich individuals. Chevron, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood make billions of dollars in profits, but pay too little in taxes to the state that provides the educated workforce and infrastructure for their operations.

Prop 24 is a small step in the movement to close tax loopholes on corporate California. I stand for amending Prop 13 to create a split roll to reassess corporate property at a higher rate. The top 3% of California wage earners control over 25% of the state's income. They can afford to support public education and all social services to provide relief to cities, counties, and school districts. The money is here in the Golden State. It is simply a matter of priorities.

Gary Yee

•Funding for schools remains the top priority; not only increasing funding so that we are at least at the median for per-student funding, but ensuring that funding meets adequacy standards, and that schools in needy areas, have supplemental funding for instruction, health and safety, and facilities modernization.

• Instructional changes that increase linkages between pre school, K-12, and adult education, including community colleges, and especially for college and career literacy. I work on several projects related to Career-Technical Education, at both the K-12 and the Community College level. Linked Learning is one of those initiatives that will require significant policy changes (for example, workplace learning, dual enrollmnent, and teacher credentialing) if it is to be fully and effectively implemented.

• Personnel policies with respect to seniority appointments and layoffs have been severely restrictive, and resulted in impossible choices for schools and the district to make this year, when we were faced with over 600 layoffs.

Christopher Dobbins

The state level practices and policies that hold back education is the funding source of the schools. The state funding mechanism does not adequately fund public education so the schools never get enough money to make them truly viable. In order to remedy this issue, the local school district should advocate through our elected representatives in Sacramento to "push the envelope" to make needed changes. Much has been said about reforming Proposition 13, expanding the property tax base, modifying the Average Daily Attendance formula, etc. I am open to any and all of these changes, but there is no comprehensive strategy at this point.

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Question 5

What will you do to ensure there is an effective, qualified teacher in every OUSD classroom?

Ben Visnick

As a career Oakland teacher, I began as a substitute in 1977 at $27.50 per diem. My first contract paid $14,000 in 1982. Today, I earn $70,000 which is the starting salary for an Oakland firefighter.

A beginning teacher in Oakland earns just $39,000 per year!

Therefore, I am proposing a two-fold plan (to be negotiated with OEA):

a) A retroactive and ongoing longevity stipend that will be paid into the District's own Certificated Supplemental Annuity Plan commencing after five years of service. This retirement fund currently has $122 million in assets and is fully funded; and

b) A retroactive tuition forgiveness plan for teachers in shortage areas such as Math, Science, and Special Education who commit to a minimum five years of teaching in Oakland.

This "Teach for Oakland" proposal stands in contrast to both Teach for America (TFA) and the Oakland Teaching Fellows (OTF) two year models which recycle bright, but inexperienced, college graduates into and out of OUSD and perpetuate chronic teacher turnover and instability in our most deserving schools.

This shortsighted approach to an "effective and qualified teacher in every classroom" must be abandoned. Instead, requiring a five-year commitment under a Teach for Oakland program can attract career teachers who choose Oakland for its diversity and potential. Both TFA and OTF have an abysmal record in attracting teachers of color to one of the most integrated cities in the USA.

Gary Yee

• Funding for schools remains the top priority; not only increasing funding so that we are at least at the median for per-student funding, but ensuring that funding meets adequacy standards, and that schools in needy areas, have supplemental funding for instruction, health and safety, and facilities modernization.

• Instructional changes that increase linkages between pre school, K-12, and adult education, including community colleges, and especially for college and career literacy. I work on several projects related to Career-Technical Education, at both the K-12 and the Community College level. Linked Learning is one of those initiatives that will require significant policy changes (for example, workplace learning, dual enrollmnent, and teacher credentialing) if it is to be fully and effectively implemented.

• Personnel policies with respect to seniority appointments and layoffs have been severely restrictive, and resulted in impossible choices for schools and the district to make this year, when we were faced with over 600 layoffs.

Christopher Dobbins

Having effective, qualified teachers in every classroom is the goal of the district. The teachers are the "frontline" to the students and have the greatest impact on their education. Everyone knows that Oakland teachers are paid relatively less than their colleagues in other East Bay districts and reaching a contract agreement (without putting the district back into receivership) is the primary component in retaining effective and qualified teachers in every classroom. Additional ideas include more training and development for staff, greater mentoring programs between veteran and new teachers, allowing for new teachers to visit successful teachers, more instruction in classroom discipline (especially for new teachers), and greater district support for teachers. While I am opposed to merit pay based on test score results, I would support increased funding for teachers in "high needs" schools and/or increased funding for "high needs" subject areas like math and science. For many years, the district started the year with unfilled vacancies, although I believe that has not been the case for the past three years.

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Question 6

President Obama is making the largest single Federal investment in education in history via competitive and formula grants. How will you ensure Oakland students benefit from this funding?

Ben Visnick

President Obama and Secretary of Education Duncan continue to under fund Title I (compensatory education) and the IDEA (special education). As a matter of fact, the competitive Race to the Top grants are monies that should be going to the above programs to equalize educational opportunities for all states. Instead, the RTT promotes divisive schemes that continue to leave many children behind. If California receives funds with strings attached, Oakland will have to consider rejecting divisive programs such as merit pay and value added evaluations which will destroy professional collegiality and collaboration.

Gary Yee

If I were President Obama's education secretary, I would not have used the competive strategy Secretary Duncan is employing, but since that is what the President has endorsed, I have enthusiastically supported Oakland's efforts to participate in those investments. I believe that our Quality School Development Group work, and our effective teacher task force, are models of the kind of work that Race to the Top should be funding. I have also personally and strongly spoken on behalf of Oakland schools to the State Board of Education, for our School Improvement Grant applications, money that is coming directly from the federal investment; if approved by the SBE August 24, it will mean an almost $10million turnaround from their initial rejection of our applications.

Christopher Dobbins

Oakland students will benefit from the new Federal investment because the money will be used to directly benefit the students. I have confidence that the leadership of the Superintendent and staff and the School Board will utilize the money proactively and utilize the funding source as it is designed.

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Question 7

What other cities would you use as a model of city-schools partnership and why?

Ben Visnick

I believe that Oakland has the unique capability to work with the City of Oakland and the Port of Oakland to raise revenue for our public schools through a Port Tax on airlines and shippers, as well as a local city income tax on Oakland's most affluent residents and employees.

Better collaboration between OUSD, Peralta Colleges, Oakland Museum of California, Oakland Zoo, Chabot Observatory, Oakland Parks and Recreation, the Coliseum Authority, and Oakland Public Libraries is long overdue.

Gary Yee

My first position as a tenure track professor was at Boston College, and I think that their city school partnership was and is a model for success. The reasons for that are numerous, and they include leveraged use of city and school funding; more powerful lobbying of state government; coordination of school-based and city resources such as libraries and recreation facilities. For a more extended analysis, I would suggest you read my chapter contribution to the excellent study of school reform ("from Court Street to Main Street" in Race Against Time, Cibulka, ed.)

Christopher Dobbins

Long Beach Unified School district is seen as a model urban school district that Oakland could model itself after. Their use of Si Swun math had a direct impact on Oakland math scores and was a primary reason that the School Board voted to implement their program. Long Beach has twice the amount of students as OUSD, but it has many of the same big city problems that Oakland has to face. Oakland's police chief is from Long Beach so it would seem to be a natural progression to glean his knowledge of how he was able to work with his school district. Many in OUSD feel that there is not enough collaboration with our city leadership so to view how other urban cities work with their school districts, would allow for greater partnerships with the City of Oakland.

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Question 8

Research suggests that much of a child's ability to succeed in school develops in their infant years before they ever enter the classroom. What can you do to support early childhood education and intervention programs in OUSD?

Ben Visnick

I have struggled with OEA and Oakland Parents Together to save the District's Early Childhood Education centers for all income levels in the city. Currently, due to state regulations, our ECEs can only enroll the very poorest families. We need to pilot a program in Oakland that allows all low income and middle income parents to "buy into" these public centers on a sliding income scale with minimal tuition required. The above would provide more funds to restore the centers for our toddlers and school age children and even expand them to serve more of the community.

Canceling or even postponing payments on the debt owed by OUSD to the state would go along way to saving the ECEs and reinstating Adult Ed programs.

Gary Yee

I worked in the Alameda County Office of Education on the Preschool For All (Prop 92) initiative three years ago, as the director of County Services for Preschool. More recently, I worked on the Child Development Centers' new strategic planning, which resulted in their plan. My focus was on building a more sustainable bridge between their program, and the k-12 program, and you will find that work in their strategic plan.

Christopher Dobbins

I support early childhood education programs; especially the Child Development Centers (CDC) and spent much of this summer in working to keep the Hintel Center open at Carl Munck Elementary School. Many of these issues revolve around funding, but the district needs to do a better job of recruiting and process applications. I would be in favor of allowing parents to register at the sites instead of having to register in the downtown location. In addition, looking for outside funding to keeping the centers open. In the case of Hintel, we have met with state legislators and are in the process of asking the Indian Casinos for help. The goal is to build an endowment to keep the school open and to insulate it from budget cuts. Other programs need to be supported and make the transition into the public schools a smooth process. The CDC program is a great first step for a child and connects Oakland families with OUSD at their earliest stage and is very integral in the future academic success of the child.

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Question 9

Students with special needs (special education) make up approximately ten percent of the student population in OUSD. How would you make sure these students are well supported by the district and served by high quality teachers and instructional assistants?

Ben Visnick

First of all, the federal government passed the IDEA in 1975 without fully funding special education.

This unfunded mandate has impacted the general fund of every school district for decades.

Comprehensive programs for exceptional children must be fully funded by Washington, DC.

Secondly, our special needs youngsters deserve not temporary TFA or OTF teachers, but career educators with the support of trained Aides to the Disabled and Instructional Assistants. Oakland needs to pay these classified employees a professional wage to recruit and retain them.

Thirdly, there are best practices within the PEC network. My son has benefited from the Reading Clinic at Maxwell Park and I send students to the Learning Center at Oakland High. There is much for general education to emulate within the special education program.

Gary Yee

(not answered)

Christopher Dobbins

Special Needs students are a tremendous resource in the OUSD, but their education comes with higher financial requirements. As a former Special Day Class teacher (Elmhurst April, 2004), I have seen how these needs are prevalent. In order to ensure that this population of students is "set for success" there needs to be quality instruction as well as quality support staff in every classroom. Increased training and support for classroom teachers by district staff will ensure that all special needs classrooms are properly staffed and that the students will be successful.

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Question 10

What role do parents and caregivers play in the education process? What do you believe are the roles and responsibilities of parents in ensuring their child's school is effective?

Ben Visnick

Parents and caregivers must be engaged in our flatland schools as well as in our hill sites. However, less affluent parents cannot afford to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to their neighborhood schools. Therefore, we need to voluntarily match hill and flatland schools in every local district to share resources and encourage each other to organize district-wide to fight for all our children. Finally, parent education classes taught through our Adult Ed programs can help less educated parents go back to school so they can help their kids with homework while they earn a GED or enhance their career skills.

Gary Yee

(not answered)

Christopher Dobbins

Parents and Caregivers are the child's primary roles in the educational process. The district can support their efforts by keeping them informed and engaged in the educational process and providing resources and/or options to parents whose children are not being successful. Parents and Caregivers have a right to participate in the decisions at their children's schools by getting involved in PTA or the School Site Council (SSC). Parents also have a responsibility in keeping abreast of their child's schooling by keeping in contact with their child's teachers. In reality, however, this often doesn't happen. When I was teaching, I made a point to call 3-5 of my student's parents every evening. The calls were not just to the students who were behavior problems in school, but I wanted to cycle and call all of my students (I taught middle school so there were over 100) at some point to check in and give progress reports.

If there are issues with the school or a specific teacher, parents have the right to bring these issues to the school leadership. If the answers are not effective, going to a School Board Meeting generally will be effective. As a school board member, I would defer initially to the Principal, then to the Superintendent to resolve the issue although I am always open to input from parents and staff.

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Question 11

How should teachers and principals be evaluated?

Ben Visnick

As Past President of the OEA, I know first-hand that teachers and all school employees need due process in the evaluation system to avoid arbitrary discipline and/or dismissal. The OEA contract provides for the above formal evaluation framework, but also has an unutilized informal system on pages 54 and 55. Why? The administrators' organization does not want teachers evaluating principals even on an informal basis.

I believe in formal evaluations and informal observations that allow for peer feedback without the threat of sanctions. The ability of novice and veteran teachers to receive mentoring from experienced educators is critical to the health of the profession.

However, there are many excellent instructors who leave Oakland annually compared to the number of incompetent teachers who need to depart. Meanwhile, over 50 probationary teachers are terminated by principals yearly. The OEA receives yearly complaints of bias in these actions and, consequently, we lose good educators through the non-reelection process.

Gary Yee

(not answered)

Christopher Dobbins

Principal and teacher evaluations are very important, and often very controversial. Usually, teachers are evaluated by just the Principal and the comment from teachers is that if they receive a negative evaluation, it is "personal" with the principal. The same is true when Principals are evaluated by their network officer. Evaluations should be done through the "chain of command" as is currently done. If the evaluation is negative, however, and the party wishes to have a "second opinion" then an additional evaluation should be done by a "neutral" third party. Parents are de facto evaluators as parents will choose between various teachers or various schools based on their own knowledge.

An evaluation should be used to inform and guide and should not be used as a punitive tool or a vindictive element. While the "human element" is always prevalent, standard and multiple evaluations should be conducted throughout the year so as to be fair and constructive.

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Question 12

What are your ideas to facilitate more constructive dialogue and contract negotiation with bargaining units within OUSD?

Ben Visnick

The imposition of a contract on the 2800 members of the Oakland Education Association has hindered "constructive dialog" between the Superintendent and OEA. This action, along with the attempted imposition by AC Transit on our public bus drivers, has been a major topic of discussion in the Central Labor Council of Alameda County.

Public service is under attack in California and around the nation. It has been sparked by the lack of revenues available to pay public employees what they deserve. However, some politicians, Republicans and Democrats alike, have decided to declare class war by threatening two-tier pensions along with shifting more of the cost of health benefits to workers.

Ideally, labor and management in the public sector, should be cooperating to fix the tax system. But the top down actions of the school board in imposing a contract after fact finding is unprecedented in OUSD and has proven to be an obstacle for the above.

Management within the District has further decided again to try to split Adult Ed and Early Childhood teachers from K-12, counselors and nurses from classroom employees, as well as certificated labor from classified.

It has been the OEA historically that has set the basis for contract settlements in Oakland. Under Randy Ward, a conservative outsider, labor was able to settle without a strike. Now, under a liberal local superintendent, the OEA's contract, last approved in April 2006, remains unresolved and another strike is a distinct possibility.

1) To improve labor relations in OUSD, the imposition must be immediately rescinded.

2) Both parties should return to the bargaining table to reach a mutually acceptable settlement.

3) It must include a pay raise for all district workers, lower class size for students, lower caseloads for counselors and special educators, and the maintenance of a full-service school district from Early Childhood through Adult Education.

Gary Yee

(not answered)

Christopher Dobbins

Constructive dialogue concerning contract negotiations with our bargaining units is a goal and definite priority for this year. Unfortunately, the district cannot pay its employees what it would like to due to severe budget constraints. That being said, the goal is to come to a mutually agreeable contract and to prevent any work stoppages that would affect our students and families. As a member of the school board, our role can be as a facilitator in bringing the sides to the table and keeping them there. We are also charged, however, with keeping the district fiscally solvent. Ultimately, we can speak with our different constituencies (teachers, parents, students, community members) to explain the process and to present the facts as the district sees them. As board members we should also have a commitment to seeing the process through and to get a contract accomplished.

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Question 13

School Board agendas are often available to the public less than 24 hours before a meeting (on a Sunday). The content of these agendas can be difficult to access and involve layers of web pages. Reports contain numerous acronyms, which are also used in meetings. What kind of relationship should the board have with its community? With its parents and families? What changes to the School Board's policies and practices would you be willing to propose to make meetings more accessible to the public?

Ben Visnick

First of all, BOE meetings must be moved to a larger and more ADA accessible hall.

There should be enough hard copies of documents that are being discussed available and a set of these actions should be available thereafter at school sites and public libraries in the city. Not every citizen has a computer and/or the printer ink to access layers of web pages.

These hard copies should be made available at least 72 hours before a regularly scheduled school board meeting in the Board offices in the Robeson Building as well as on-line.

A glossary of commonly used acronyms must accompany every Board Agenda.

Gary Yee

(not answered)

Christopher Dobbins

The School Board should have an open and transparent relationship with the community. The purpose of members of the school board is to be the "civilian" trustees of the local schools, i.e. the "eyes and ears of the community" and we must be accountable to the public. The same is true with the parents and families as well. During my four years on the board, I have tried to attend as many meetings at the individual schools in my district. While I have attended many, I have not made nearly all of them or as many as I would have liked. I like to think, that I am fairly accessible and give out my contact information as much as people will take it. Every board member is different and their personal comfort with being accessible is different. In terms of meetings, both in number, length, and size of the agendas, this is also a delicate issue. The balance is whether the "democratic process should be limited" by shortening the number of meetings, shortening the length of the meeting, or limiting the agendas. I tend to error on the side of expediency, but other board members or members of the public may wish to have a protracted discussion. Either way, it is a work in process and I am always open to making meetings more accessible to the public.

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Question 14

In June the OUSD Board unanimously adopted a new strategic direction, Thriving Students. What are the most important elements of this plan, what obstacles to do you see in implementation of those elements, and how will you overcome them?

Ben Visnick

The appearance of another strategic direction is not surprising. Agencies such as BAYCES have been advising the district for many years in the implementation of such visions.

The hard reality is that the recent relative success of the OUSD is threatened by the $100 million cutbacks with the attached lay-offs, class size violations, and loss of excellent teachers who can earn much more by moving to neighboring school districts.

That is why I favor the consolidation of the Emeryville USD and the Piedmont USD with OUSD to maximize our East Bay resources.

I also believe that the County Office of Education should be consolidated into a Bay Area regional office to create more economies of scale.

The most important elements of "Thriving Students" are African American Male Achievement and Systems Equity Reform.

The statistics are overwhelming. Our black young men in Oakland are collectively in deep distress. They are both victims of institutional racism and cause much of the discipline issues in our Oakland classrooms as a result of this oppression. To focus on "Restorative Justice" without the necessary intensive counseling and remediation effort is just wishful thinking at best and cynical politics at worst. I believe in small Opportunity Schools that can offer this support for our at risk students until they are ready to return to the regular school environment. Please also see my answer to Question #1.

Results Based Budgeting (RBB) has led to more inequities in this school district since ADA is generally higher in the same affluent neighborhoods that raise extra money for field trips, specialty preps, and supplemental materials. Title I is supposed to compensate for the socio-economic differences in our community, but these monies are not enough and are often, not spent in a timely manner through RBB and are returned to the central office. RBB must be eliminated and resources dispatched equitably from 1025 Second Avenue to the school sites without pitting programs against each other through site-based cutbacks.

Gary Yee

(not answered)

Christopher Dobbins

The Board is excited about the new strategic plan of Superintendent Smith. I view the strategic direction as a means to provide wrap around services to our students and truly make Oakland Public Schools the center of the communities in which they sit. The obvious obstacle to implementation is the funding sources for these programs in addition to a coordination of the services that will be provided. As these elements are further developed and integrated into the schools, we can adjust our resources and/or develop the vision further.

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Question 15

The Superintendent and Board have discussed the need to close 20-30 of our schools. How will you approach this work?

Ben Visnick

I support the reinstitution of our comprehensive high schools into a single vibrant program.

Thus, Castlemont, Fremont, and McClymonds High should become whole again with all the AP, elective, and core classes under one roof. McClymonds has suffered with low enrollment for decades. The combination of Emery High with McClymonds would benefit both schools and provide a better West Oakland alternative.

The same consolidation of middle schools should occur at Elmhurst and Havenscourt to save administrative costs while offering more elective classes.

As far as elementary schools are concerned, it is important to look at small school programs at Stonehurst, Highland, Manzanita, Jefferson, and Lockwood to determine the proper changes to create more management efficiencies while preserving the best practices on those sites.

I favor the preservation of successful small schools which can be run by head teachers to cut administrative costs. We must always weigh the closing of schools with the potential ADA loss if parents decide to abandon the district due to the closing of their local school.

Gary Yee

(not answered)

Christopher Dobbins

The Superintendent and the Board have discussed the potential for closing schools (the number is still in debate); we will approach this work through a transparent and thoughtful process. Nothing is politically tougher than closing a school. In my first month on the board in February 2007, the District closed four schools. The process was devastating as many in the community felt that the process was either "rigged," "forgone," or in the least, "disingenuous." Closing a greater number of schools will be that much more difficult. The case will have to be strong in order to close or merge schools, but if it is to be done, it will be done with maximum community input as well as strategically thought out by the district. It is not going to be an enviable decision, but if it will make the district more sustainable, which will in turn benefit students and families; then it is a tough decision that will have to be made.

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