Don Moody responds to questions

The Morgan Hill Times gave each school board candidate a slate
of eight questions. Here are the answers from Don Moody. Also, view
a video of Moody at http://blip.tv/file/4178064.
The Morgan Hill Times gave each school board candidate a slate of eight questions. Here are the answers from Don Moody. Also, view a video of Moody at http://blip.tv/file/4178064.

1. What prompted you to run?

This is how I give back to my community. My children received an excellent education which enabled them to go on and graduate from fine universities. I want every student in our district to have a similar experience and achieve at whatever they desire to do in their lives following graduation.

I feel very positive about the direction that the district is heading. Morale is higher than it’s been in years. The district is going to do some great things for children and I’d like to be a part of that.

My experience should be an asset. These are some of the most challenging times for public education and I have made the difficult choices in the past needed to provide a balanced budget.

1. The 2012 school year is forecasted to be the worst in terms of the size of the budget deficit, which is projected to be $12 million. Do you have any ideas on how the school district can save money?

Based on the most current “estimates” the school district is looking at a deficit of $2.5M for the 2011-2012 school year. Enrollment is down slightly which will likely result in a loss of $500,000. The Obama “Jobs Act” will however bring in approximately $1.5M to the district, in one time money, to use for salaries.

The school district will need to look at the following to save money:

Furlough days

Increases in pay

Class size reduction 30:1

Routine repair and maintenance

Early retirement incentive

Reduce overtime

Contract services reduction

Reduction in instructional school year

1. What three priorities would you like to accomplish while on the board?

Increase overall academic achievement including a reduction in the achievement gap

Make sure that our schools are safe environments for our children to learn in.

Maintain responsible financial practices. Keep the “Positive Certified “status that we currently have with the state.

1. How will you pay for any programs or services you want to retain or add?

We are at a point where some programs will need to be cut to spend on others.

We will need to continue to look at innovative resources like that which enabled us to fund the solar projects at the high schools.

1. What are your ideas to close the achievement gap?

I am not a professional educator but I believe that all students have the potential to excel in school.

I don’t believe there’s any magic button that can be pushed to make children learn. I think that the standards based curriculum that is provided should be adequate for all our students.

I do believe that all our students and families need to feel welcomed in our schools. I feel that having a bilingual parent liaison in the front office will go a long way to ease communication issues that keep some parents out of the schools.

I think that our students need to be in attendance at school to reach their full potential. Families and students need to want to be at our schools. We need to track attendance and follow up with the families that have a problem.

We need to offer additional teaching time for our English Language Learners. These children need the opportunity for additional instruction in English Language Development as well as English Language Arts. We need to supplement the existing ELD curriculum.

We need to track our student’s progress closely. Monitoring the student’s progress will let the teacher know quickly what is working and what is not. Our teachers need to be comfortable with data analysis and have the tools they need to gather the appropriate indicators. This will result in early intervention that will enable a student to get back on track quickly.

Teacher’s and staff need time to collaborate and share ideas about what is working in their classroom or seek help from a colleague when they have reached a roadblock. They need time to share best practices. They can also benefit from some outside training with educators that have succeeded and closing the achievement gap.

We also need programs of enrichment for our students. Educate the whole student. Provide support in the form of academic tutoring, homework club, art programs, and music programs in a safe, nurturing environment.

We also need district oversight that can give an objective overview and access if the programs in place are working.

We need to share the progress with the entire school community to keep the families of all the students engaged. The parents need to feel involved so they insure that their students stay focused, attend school and do their homework.

1. Explain your understanding of the school board’s role?

Setting direction for the community’s schools: set the districts vision.

Establishing an effective and efficient structure for the school district: a) employing the superintendent and setting policy for hiring other personnel, b) Oversee the development of and adopting policies, c) set direction for and adopting the curriculum, d) establish budget priorities, adopt budget, oversee facility issues and d) provide direction for and adopting collective bargaining agreements.

Providing support through behavior and actions. Support the Superintendent and staff as they carry out the direction of the board.

Ensure accountability to the public by: a) evaluating the superintendent and setting policy for the evaluation of other personnel, b) monitor, review and revise policies, c) serve as a judicial and appeals body, d) monitor student achievement and program effectiveness, e) monitor and adjust district finances, e) monitor the collective bargaining process, and f) monitor our own effectiveness through self evaluation.

Act as a community leader. Involve the community in appropriate, meaningful ways and communicate clear information to the community.

1. What are the top challenges facing the district?

Public school funding. Increased expectations with reduced services.

Preserving the “well rounded education”. Protecting extracurricular programs.

Modernization of facilities.

Re-authorization of No Child Left Behind. What will it look like in the future?

Race relations. How can schools help?

1. In light of Cinco de Mayo incident at LOHS, what steps would you take, if any, to improve race relations? What policy revisions should be made prior to May 5, 2012?

There are no policies that require revision because none of our policies limit free speech. The closest thing that we do have is a dress code that limits the wearing of gang insignias.

There are programs that are being put into place at the high schools that will improve how our students interact. These will have an impact on race relations.

A teacher at each high school will be identified and trained to lead student discussions for improving the “climate” at each school. These will be called “courageous conversations” and will speak to all the barriers on campus.

The superintendent has plans for a “Common Code of Conduct” that will help define appropriate behavior on campus.

The district is still in conversations with the City of Morgan Hill about the role the city can take in improving the way our