Monrovia School Link ~ Number 145 ~ October 26, 2005
There were about 55 or 60 people who showed up for the candidates' forum, and it all went off pretty smoothly, I thought. None of the candidates said anything particularly brilliant or dumb. They didn't even seem to have very different views, with one exception I'll get to in a minute. If you went into the forum favoring someone, I don't think you'd come out with a different perspective. Also, I couldn't say anybody was the winner. If you missed it and have cable, you can see it on KGEM. The League of Women Voters moderator said it'll be broadcast repeatedly starting on Nov. 1. And, by the way, many thanks to the league and parents who made this happen!
~ brad@sacklunch.net
One thing that did occur to me about the forum, however, is how hard it must be to take a full minute to answer the same question your competitors have just answered without sounding kinda like you're just saying, "Me too." For example, "What do you see as the role of technology in school?" All the candidates seemed to think technology was a peachy good thing and bring it on and all that, but imagine being the fourth person to answer the question. You can hardly sound original. Everybody has taken your material. Also, I guess you feel a certain pressure to fill up your entire minute. Lessee, gotta fill this time. What can I say for another 12 seconds?
A couple times Debbie Elliot-Penzer just answered and then stopped. Ah! Refreshing.
Also, I want to mention that Clarence Shaw came up to me and was very nice, despite my un-endorsing him in the last newsletter. If he loses I hope he finds some other ways to get involved in the community. He's a gentleman.
Okay, let me try to give you kind of the theme of what everybody said.
Chris Rich emphasized that he's a parent, which in itself gets him connected with the schools and other parents. He wants to get money to the classroom, "not the bureaucracy," to apply for more grants, to lean on the state to get more leeway for the local school boards, and not let children leave campus without their parents' permission. He'd also like the schools to be the "best in the country."
Clarence Shaw spoke of being a civil servant and of his successful administrative ability as shown by his time as a company commander in Iraq. Shaw mentioned a couple times that the board should adopt "standing committees" to tackle various problems, apparently headed by - or perhaps comprised entirely of - board members. Shaw would like to add "one or two more schools" to the California Distinguished Schools list and get all the schools scoring high on standardized tests. He would have the district give an annual "state of the union" address. He wants to keep the school buses.
Nick Laushkin focused on his long residency in Monrovia and his involvement at the high school, which he said is valuable because Monrovia High is where the improvement needs to take place. He wants to draw on the resources of Monrovia - the city and businesses - to improve the schools, because, he said, we're not going to get much help from the state or federal governments. He would push the board into greater community involvement.
Debbie Elliott-Penzer said she's a native Monrovian, a graduate of Monrovia High and a long time volunteer in the district. She wants to increase enrollment and keep the school buses rolling. She'd look to Monrovia for donations to help raise money for the schools and would push for more parental involvement, including meetings with parents.
There was a question about whether the candidates supported bilingual education. Shaw said Whittier has a good bilingual program. Laushkin said English is the "language of the realm" and kids should learn it. Debbie Elliott-Penzer said it is the schools' responsibility to get kids to learn English, so she is "all for bilingual education." Rich said the tests are in English, so the schools need to make sure the students are fluent in English.
Hmmm. My problem with this is the lack of definition. I think the kind of bilingual education some people object to is teaching students in their native tongue with the plan that they will eventually transition to English. The opposing idea, as I recall, is that schools should intensively teach students English and get them into regular English-speaking classes as soon as possible. But if the words "bilingual education" are not defined, it could mean either of these approaches, so I don't feel terribly enlightened on this point.
Now, the only point on which there was any disagreement was on the candidates' positions on Proposition 74, which increases the time a teacher must spend before getting tenure.
Rich was the only one who clearly said he liked it. He said he has spoken to a college president at a school that has longer tenure requirements, and believes a lengthier requirement to obtain tenure is a good idea. He said the idea works at the college so it would work in Monrovia. If the district is going to give lifetime employment to someone, he said, he'd like to have more time to evaluate that person.
Shaw disagreed. He said lengthening tenure time is "not the solution." He said he's a civil servant, so he knows about this. While some employees may have problems, he said, the district can counsel them, and, with good cause, let them go.
Laushkin didn't exactly answer the question, though I got the impression he is against 74. He said there aren't enough teachers and the focus should be on improving teacher performance. If parents are not getting a good education in the public schools, he said, they should pull their children out.
Debbie Elliott-Penzer said she's against it. She said if there are problems the administration should focus more effort on the classrooms.
ENDORSEMENT ~ I've already endorsed Chris Rich, but I wanted to hold off endorsing the other candidate just a bit longer, until after the forum, just to make sure the guy I was leaning toward wouldn't say something ridiculous. And he didn't. But I was mainly holding off endorsing Nick Laushkin - as I wrote earlier - until I could see him really show some effort. Since I made that comment I've seen his lawn signs go up, his son (and campaign manager) wrote to give me an entire itinerary of what he's been up to, and to tell me he has received the endorsements of Mayor Rob Hammond and Former Mayor Lara Blakely. (He thought it noteworthy that those two very differing mayors should both agree that his father was the one to endorse.) I've decided that I agree, too. Sorry, Debbie, I had to pick someone.
LETTER: WHY THE LAWN SIGN DELAY ~ Debbie Elliott-Penzer wrote to explain why I hadn't seen any lawn signs for her (they're up now): "Thanks for all you do. Just so that you know my signs have hit the street this week. Didn't want them out there to long before election. I was endorsed by the CSEA (California School Employee Association) and wanted that on my sign. So you should start seeing them. Check the corner of Colorado and Ivy at Manny's Auto if you must see."
LETTER: WHERE HE WAS ~ In a recent newsletter, I mentioned I missed seeing Nick Laushkin at a board meeting, and mentioned that his statement for the newsletter was a bit late coming in. His son and campaign manager, Alex, wrote: "Nick Laushkin was in Tampa Bay on Wednesday September 28th for an awards conference on business achievement. He was personally rewarded for business achievment. He represented the Los Angeles branch for the conference. If he had been appointed by the board he would have defferred the conference for his public duties, but could not do so for the campaign. Nick has attended every summer meeting and all other school board meetings during the campaign season. The family emergency occured on October 14th. At that time he learned from his uncle in Connecticut that his aunt was severly ill. Nick spent most of the evening on the phone with family in Connecticut. Hence the delay in his statement. We appreciate all the prayers and concerns."
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