Positive Progress for Berryessa Schools

With 10 days until election day, it is time to sum up the campaign. My campaign has been based on tremendous gains that have been made over the past few years and articulating a vision of keeping balanced services so that all children are offered a well-rounded education.

Much of the focus of the past couple years has been on the budget cuts and tough decisions that have been forced upon us. Like every other public school district in the state, Berryessa Union School District has been a victim of the recession. As a result, we have been forced to cut 20% of our budget. That required creative solutions in order to maintain the balanced services I mentioned. While our class sizes have increased, we were able to keep K-3 classes at 24:1, while many districts around us are now have 30 children in each classroom at those grade levels.
Increased class size means a reduced teaching force. Our district has 35 fewer certificated teachers than it did last year. In order to prevent further erosion of the teaching staff, we made small but painful cuts in other areas. We reduced library hours by 20%, middle school counseling by 25%, custodial service by over 40%, maintenance staff by a similarly large amount, and clerk and secretary hours by about 10%. Our district office administration has made cuts every year, and we operate as lean as any of our peer districts.

We were able to maintain our unique and award-winning music program, and avoid closing any of our schools. Large savings were realized by a major lighting retrofit project that converted the district to modern fluorescent lighting fixtures.

Through it all, the Berryessa Union School District has made tremendous growth during recent years. Our district's API scores are up 68 points over the past 6 years, with 11 of our 13 schools now scoring above 800 and 4 of our schools above 850. Three more schools have been awarded distinguished school designation during the past four years. Two of our schools were major winners in the Governor's physical fitness challenge. Our middle school students were big winners at the county science fair. Piedmont Middle's music program won major statewide awards. The list goes on.

Despite the cuts, the district has been able to add a district librarian, a social worker, and two new school psychologists. We have just completed a complete upgrade of our district's technology, with increased bandwidth and modern systems. We are utilizing computers in classrooms and this year have received a grant to install smart board technology in 4th and 5th grade classes at 2 schools. And we are about to begin installation of solar panels across the district in the most profitable solar deal by any district in our County.

The district is moving forward and needs continuity of leadership to continue to make progress in these areas. I am bullish on the future of the Berryessa School District and look forward to being part of its ongoing success.

Knowledge and Experience

The Berryessa Citizens Advisory Committee (BCAC) hosted a forum for the 6 candidates for Berryessa School Board on Monday, Oct. 11. We addressed questions from the role of board members to the district's academic performance to class size. I have previously addressed class size and the trade-off between keeping class sizes small and preserving balanced services for our children.

At the forum, I was glad to be able to discuss this issue further. The video for this question is available to watch here. It is clear from the answers that I have an in-depth understanding of how a school district's priorities can make a difference in educating our children. It is important during times like this to keep that knowledge and experience on the board.

Video of the entire forum is available here.

Supporting District Libraries

One of the most important services offered in our schools is the library. I know that my daughter Mia looks forward to her weekly visit to Noble's library, where she can experience the wonder of a large selection of books and bring a book of her choice home for one week.

Due to the California budget crisis, school libraries across the state have pared back service and even closed completely. Close to home, the East Side Union High School District no longer has library staff at each school.

Fortunately, the Berryessa School District still provides libraries that are open 4 hours/day in each of our elementary schools and 5 hours/day in each middle school. These hours are paid for out of the district budget, both from the general fund and from Measure W revenue. Last year, the district provided one more hour at each school (5 and 6). That means we were able to move forward with no more than a 20% reduction in district support at each school.

At the same time, due to responsible budgeting, the district has been able to add a full-time credentialed librarian to serve all 13 schools. Our new librarian, Anne Lee, helps support curriculum and material selection and provides a service that has not existed in the district for many years.

I will continue to make sure that the Berryessa School District supports quality library programs.