By Assunta Ng
The incumbents have the right goals, despite an early controversy involving the mismanagement of a contract program, resulting in the firing of a superintendent. The program began many years before the incumbents’ terms.
The board has learned its lesson. As Harium Martin-Morris said, the district should not have been operating minority business programs. “If it doesn’t help students learn, and teachers teach, why are we doing it?” he questioned.
So if you are upset with a single issue such as the curriculum or school closure, or you are dissatisfied with the board’s actions toward the former superintendent, and you decide to run, your vision won’t really benefit the district. Such motivations won’t be enough to deal with the challenges of the district. You need to commit to revising everything, from instruction, the grading system, evaluation policy, and assessment to other issues.
Three of the incumbents, Peter Meier, Steve Sundquist, and Martin-Morris have donated their compensation back to the district, even though the numbers are small. Sundquist started this tradition three years ago. The job pays only a little under $5,000. Their selfless acts have not gone unnoticed. (end)