David Cohen's Blog

THANK YOU!

2010-11-04T16:46:00.000-07:00

I am very pleased to have received the support of such a large portion of the Berryessa community. The election results indicate that Berryessa voters appreciate the gains that have been made in our schools during the past few years and want to keep us moving in that direction.

I can't begin to thank all the people who helped me during this long campaign. I've been in campaign mode for 11 months and your support and encouragement has kept me fueled. I hope you know how much I appreciate all that you have done for me and for the Berryessa community.

I pledge to continue to put children's needs first during my second term. There are still some tough challenges ahead, but with the proper priorities and good teamwork, our schools will continue to thrive.

To see the complete election returns, visit the Santa Clara County Reigstrar of Voters website.

Positive Progress for Berryessa Schools

2010-10-23T17:56:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

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.

Enhancing Services for our Students

2010-09-29T15:29:00.001-07:00

One role of a School Board member is to find ways to maximize the value of all the educational dollars the district is able to spend. Having to make cuts means being smart about the resources that can be deployed. By keeping spending under control, we
have been able to add strategic new resources, such as a district librarian,
school psychologists, and a social worker, all while maintaining key academic
programs, including music, counselors, and libraries.

The two additional school psychologists will assist our Special Education programs and help teachers and paraeducators complete Individual Education Progams (IEPs) and work with children that need additional help. The social worker will supplement the work being provided by our middle school counselors, working with families that need extra attention. The district librarian will help create academic programs that teach literacy and help make sure school libraries have the resources they need to help students be successful.

I am very proud that our district has added these new services during the past two years. These kinds of programs enhance the great work being done in the schools and will help bring our district to the next level.

Don't Let Unrealistic Expectations Cloud Our Gains

2010-09-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

The so-called "No Child Left Behind" legislation from the Bush Administration focused schools around the country on bringing everyone up to standards. However, the goal in the legislation is for 100% of all students to be proficient by 2014. This means that every student in every school, even those that are still learning English, such as new immigrants, or those who have special needs, must be proficient or a school is deemed failing.

While schools should strive for everyone to be successful, the result of the unrealistic goal is to stigmatize schools that are making significant annual progress. The requirements call for double digit growth in performance every year, a standard that cannot be met. In Berryessa, what this means is that several schools that have improved every year are being labeled as "Program Improvement" schools this year.

For a more detailed discussion of No Child Left Behind and it's unrealistic expectations, see my discussion at the Board President's Blog.

When school API scores are released this week, I will be celebrating the amazing achievements of the Berryessa School District's teachers and staff in enabling growth in achievement at our schools year after year. I will continue to focus on ways the district can continue it's phenomenal growth in the years ahead. And at the same time, I will continue to lobby the federal government to find better ways to measure adequate yearly progress so that exemplary schools are not categorized as failing.

Keeping Classes Small

2010-09-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

One goal that all candidates running for school board claim to have is keeping classes small. This was aided by California's Class Size Reduction (CSR) program, which provides bonus money for school districts that keep kindergarten to third grade classes at 20:1. Over the past two years, as the state decimated school funding, districts have found it exceedingly difficult to maintain that ratio.

A couple years ago, the state offered flexibility to school districts by allowing districts to keep the CSR money even if K-3 class sizes increase. As a result, many districts, including Berryessa's neighbors in Milpitas and San Jose Unified, jumped their classes to 30 students.

I have made sure people understand that in order to preserve libraries, counselors, and music, we would have to increase K-3 class sizes above 20. However, my goal has been to keep classes as small as possible and not jump to 30 like others have done. As a result, this year, our K-3 classes average 24 students.

Some candidates running for the board have suggested that the board could have avoided reducing library hours, which we cut by 20%, and cutting clerk time, which was reduced by 12%. The only way to have done that would have been to increase K-3 classes even more, and laying off more excellent teachers. My position is that slight reductions in these other areas is a reasonable educational trade-off that allows us to keep class sizes as small as possible.

All the cuts that have been implemented over the past couple years have been painful, for our students and our staff. But our district ended up with the best balance possible for a low-funded district. We still offer music, libraries, counseling, and our K-3 classes have just 24 students in them. I will continue to fight to maintain that balance.

Schools Are More Than Teachers and Supplies

2010-08-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

Some people argue that schools have plenty of money, with too much going to "overhead." Meg Whitman argued this earlier this year. She claims that 60% of school funding goes to classrooms and the rest is "overhead." In reality, what she refers to as overhead, are all the other crucial services in schools that help schools function and make the education experience complete.

Last week, a letter in the Mercury News said that classrooms get over a quarter million dollars each, which should easily cover the cost of a teacher and supplies needed. The writer left out lots of other expenses. Here is the letter I sent to the Mercury News in response:

Dear Editor:

Pete Smoot (Letters, July 30) wants an explanation of our schools' revenue problem. Besides the obvious task of teaching children, school employees need to empty trash, drive school buses, maintain facilities, order supplies, provide counseling, file attendance data, and staff front offices, libraries, and cafeterias.

In addition to teachers' salaries and benefits, schools pay for utilities, textbooks, and supplies. Our district receives less than $7000 per student from California. In an elementary classroom with 30 students, the total revenue is under $200,000. That can't adequately cover everything.

One more factor is special education. Serving these students requires additional resources that take money from other classrooms. This mandate is largely unfunded and is another reason schools can't make ends meet at current funding levels.

California funds schools below all but 2 or 3 other states. We must do better.

David Cohen

President

Berryessa Union School District Board of Trustees

Balanced Progams for an High Performing District

2010-07-19T17:22:00.000-07:00

Berryessa Union School District has made tremendous growth during recent years. The credit goes to all of our dedicated employees, including office staff, library techs, counselors, teacher advisers, reading tutors, and teachers.

At the same time as all of this progress has been made, the district has been forced to cut 20% of its budget. 90% of the district's budget goes to salaries and benefits for employees, as it should, and as a result, budget cuts necessitate reducing the district workforce.

The 2010-2011 budget approved by the Board of Trustees resulted in a reduction of more than 30 teachers and the equivalent of 12 classified staff. The dollar savings in the budget came from 6.8% savings in teaching salaries and 6.5% savings in classified salaries.

My goal has been to maintain balance in our district. I have fought to keep our district libraries open, our top-notch elementary music program intact, our middle school counseling available, and our class sizes at a reasonable level. In all of these areas, we have had to sacrifice a bit, but I am very proud that all of these services will still be available to our children next year. In order to make this work, some other district services were forced to endure some reductions, including school clerks, business office staff, and reading tutors.

I am confident that our excellent employees will continue to find ways to provide superior service to our students even as they sacrifice for our district budget. That said, schools cannot continually be expected to cut services in a way that is transparent to students, parents, and the community. In my second term on the Board, I will continue to work with our elected officials in Sacramento to fight for adequate funding so that we can bring back services that have been cut and stop sacrificing our children and our employees.

Balanced Budget for the District

2010-06-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

The culmination of a year of hard work ended last night as the Board of Trustees adopted a budget for the 2010-2011 year. While $10 million has been cut from the district, we are still operating with deficit spending. So there will be more hard decisions to come.

My primary goal throughout the budget process was to make sure that as broad a cross section of services for our students is preserved. Sure, there will be noticable changes next year, but Berryessa students will still be prepared for a successful future. When students arrive back in school at the end of August, all of their classes will be slightly larger, with 24 students in K-3 classes, and an average of 32 in grades 4-8. By doing that, the district is able to make sure that there is still an award winning music program that begins in the elementary school and carries through our middle schools. We have made sure that while library hours will be reduced, all children will still have access to libraries and interaction with our wonderful media techs. Middle school students will continue to be served by counselors, even though the numbers have been reduced by 25%.

Read more of my comments on achieving a balanced budget for the district at the President's Blog.

District Will Miss Retiring Employees

2010-06-09T08:32:00.000-07:00

Last night at our Board meeting, we celebrated over 30 employees of the district who are retiring this year. They include beloved school secretaries, a tremendous maintenance worker, two wonderful counselors, and a number of teachers, some of whom have been with the district as long as 40 years. I will miss these teachers during my visits to our schools and I know that the school communities will miss their skills, passion, and knowledge. One teacher who retired this week is Mel Ausman, who taught science at Piedmont Middle School. He is highlighted on the front page of the Mercury News today in a column by Sharon Noguchi.

Congratulations to all the retirees. Our district is better due to your having been a part of it. Best wishes in your next phase in life.

Campaign Kickoff and Family BBQ

2010-05-27T15:42:00.001-07:00

Join me to kick off the summer and my campaign for reelection to the Berryessa School Board. I look forward to talking with Berryessa residents about the accomplishments and challenges of the Berryessa School District. Bring your family to grab a bite to eat while your kids play on the playground.

You will have a chance to meet some of your other elected officials from the Board of Supervisors, City Council, and California Assembly. I am honored that Councilman Kansen Chu, Assemblyman Jim Beall, East Side High School Trustee Frank Biehl, and Berryessa Trustee Khoa Nguyen will join me, as will members of the education community.

Saturday, June 19, 11 am - 1 pm. Penitencia Creek Park, near the playground at the Berryessa Community Center.

Learn how you can help me get reelected to the school board. You will be able to sign up to post lawn signs and to volunteer for the campaign.

You can RSVP for the event at facebook or by email: david@electdavidcohen.com.

Distinguished School

2010-04-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Ruskin Elementary School, recognized as a 2010 California Distinguished School. That's 3 in the last 3 years for our district after Cherrywood was recognized in 2008 and Sierramont Middle School in 2009.

See the complete list of 2010 awardees here.

Preserving Counselors for our Middle School Students

2010-03-30T12:25:00.001-07:00

When I ran for the Berryessa School Board 4 years ago, I decried the inadequate level of counseling services available to students in our public schools. Elementary school students deserve to have trained counselors on staff to help them work through personal and academic problems, guide their academic progress, and plan their futures. Unfortunately, it is rare these days for elementary schools to offer this service. Middle schools and high schools have counselors, but at a level far below what is necessary to provide for the needs of all the students.

When I joined the board, I pledged to do all I could to preserve our counselors through tough budgetary times. Each year I have been on the board, our district has had to make cuts. Every year, counselors have been on the list of proposed cuts and our counselors have received pink slips. Fortunately, I have succeeded in retaining counseling services at their current level on each of the 3 budgets for which I have voted.

This year will be tougher. The magnitude of the cuts we face is larger than in any of the other years. As a result, counselors are once again in danger. I am determined to preserve as much counseling as possible. While some suggest that we ought to reduce our middle school counseling to one person per school, I will not support a budget at that level.

For a discussion of what counselors do and how California stacks up compared to the nation as far as counseling services in schools, see my post on the Board President's Blog.

Difficult Budget Times

2010-03-02T15:02:00.000-08:00

I think it is safe to say that nobody runs for the school board in order to continue to cut services to children. Unfortunately, that has been one of the primary tasks of our board since I was elected in 2006. I hope that our community thinks that we have acted responsibly and protected key programs for the students of our district.

Tonight the Board meets to take one of the least pleasant actions a school board does. We vote on a resolution that would distribute pink slips to 74 of our valued district employees. Unfortunately, the state has reduced our allocation by about $800 per student this year. The result will be a reduction in service we can offer in our schools.

I will continue to look for ways to save money while preserving core services in the schools. My hope is that by the end of the school year, we will find a way to keep most of the 74 employees that receive pink slips this month.

See my President's Blog for an explanation of why the board must take action now to lay off employees when our final budget adoption is still more than 3 months away.

The Past Four Years

2010-02-02T22:03:00.000-08:00

The 8200 students attending Berryessa schools are fortunate to have caring parents, teachers and administrators who work tirelessly to provide a high quality education for our children.

Much has been accomplished in the past few years, and my hope is to continue to be a part of further progress during a second term. Our district's test scores continue to rise, with 11 of our schools now scoring above the target of 800 on the California API.

Cherrywood Elementary and Sierramont Middle Schools have been added to the list of California Distinguished Schools. We have added summer enrichment programs in pre-algebra and science. We have reduced our energy usage by retrofitting all our lighting and are investigating a district-wide solar implementation. We have upgraded our entire computer and internet infrastructure to bring us into the 21st century.

Unfortunately, California's budget crunch continues to challenge the Berryessa Union School District to come up with creative ways to continue providing the high level of service our students deserve and currently receive.

I have fought hard during my time on the board to preserve many of our student services, including counseling in our middle schools. I am working to make sure our outstanding music program continues to be available to elementary students. I have met regularly with our state legislators to help them understand the toll that the budget cuts have taken on our schools and to advocate for flexibility in the way we spend our money.

This is more than community service to me, it is personal. My daughter Mia is in her second year at Noble School and her brother Reed is one year away from entering the district. I understand first hand the value of education. Our community has accomplished much during the past four years, and despite the budget constraints we are facing, I believe we will be able to continue to offer the highest quality education for all children in the Berryessa Union School District.

Ruskin Fit - Students Jump Rope for Record

2010-02-01T10:38:00.000-08:00

I had the privilege of serving as a judge this morning at Ruskin Elementary School on Jamba Jump Day. Ruskin is one school in a statewide effort to break the World Record for Most People Jumping Rope at the Same Time. Schools all across the state were jumping for 10 minutes this morning to break the record held by Australia of 59,000 people jumping at once.

It was inspiring to watch Ruskin's nearly 650 students all on the playground at one time with jump ropes. I helped ensure that those who stopped for more than 10 seconds did not get counted in the official tally. The students, and some teachers, got a great workout. I even jumped myself for 30 seconds.

Ruskin is a great example of a school that provides a complete body and mind education. They have been recognized by the State of California for their Ruskin Fit program, which challenges students to exercise for 30 minutes every day and keep a log. Today's jump rope event fits nicely with their stated goal of developing both the body and mind.

Welcome to David Cohen's Blog

2010-01-16T22:11:00.000-08:00

It has truly been my pleasure to serve as a member of the Berryessa School Board the past 3+ years. These days are difficult, so it is important to have steady leadership with the experience to guide the district through the perilous waters ahead. It is important to remember that the district's primary responsibility is to our children. Their needs must be balanced against the need to maintain fiscal solvency, both immediately and for the long term.

I will continue to work hard so that Berryessa Union School District stays on a path of academic growth. I hope you will join my campaign. If you have any thoughts about the district, please let me know.

Also, check out the President's Blog on the BUSD website, where I will discuss the serious issues the district faces as we try to balance our budget in 2010.