Issues
Transparency and Accountability
Two years ago, every candidate that ran for school board promised transparency and accountability for their public office. We have unfortunately seen that most board members have not kept that promise. California’s Brown Act for public meetings requires that school boards conduct all business in public except for a VERY narrow list of items that can be discussed in closed session. Our current school board has abused those carve-outs and brought more and more of what should be publicly discussed agenda topics into closed sessions. Examples include: the antisemitic yearbook incident, the superintendent selection process, the discussion regarding the option to select a new legal firm to represent the district, the selection of various contracts for services on schools, and others. Board members are elected to represent the people of our community. How can the community know if the board is accurately reflecting their interests if everything is done behind closed doors? I will strongly advocate to END this practice, and will bring a voice of transparency and true accountability back to the board.
Academic Performance
The main purpose of public schools is to educate our children and prepare them for either college or their career. While PVPUSD is one of the best performing school districts in California, over 25% of our students do not meet state standards for math and nearly 20% do not meet the state standards for English, according to the 2022-23 CAASPP testing results. There was a period in the recent past in which colleges and universities did not use standardized testing for admissions, but that trend has begun to reverse. If we truly want our kids to be able to compete at a world-class level, we need to understand why 1-in-4 students in math and 1-in-5 students in English are not able to meet California’s standard. We’ve known about this problem since the last election, but the current board has not taken any action to directly address it. If elected, I will make it a district priority to investigate the matter, attempt to determine the root causes, and work to bring up our students’ academic performance.
Budget
It’s uncomfortable to talk about money when it comes to our kids’ schools because we rightly want to spend as much as we can to ensure they get the best education possible. The reality is that managing the budget is one of the most critical tasks that the school board does because it will determine if the district can even remain solvent and thus able to continue teaching our kids. The consequences of a district going bankrupt are dire—not just for our kids, but for the community as a whole as home values would likely drop. As uncomfortable as it is to talk about the school district budget in general, it is even more uncomfortable when discussing negotiations with the teachers’ union. It’s important here to make a distinction between teachers and the teachers’ union. Teachers are wonderful; what they do every day is amazing and we are blessed to have them in our community. If we could, I’m sure we’d love to triple their pay. The goal of the teachers’ union is to do just that: maximize their pay. So when it comes time for that, there are two sides to the negotiation: the union who represents teachers, and the board who represents the voters. When the teachers’ union backs a candidate for the board, they are essentially trying to occupy both sides of the negotiating table. While it’s understandable from their perspective, that conflict of interest can lead to harm for the community, especially if it impacts the district’s ability to remain fiscally solvent. I support our teachers, but I represent our district, and I will not be seeking an endorsement from the union.
Parental Involvement
I do not know how to build a house. I don’t know how to make architectural drawings and submit them to the city. I don’t know how to pour a foundation and attach a frame. I don’t know how to install plumbing or electrical wires. I don’t know how to install drywall, a roof, or built-in appliances. If I wanted to build a house I’d have to hire a team of experts who are trained, certified, and have years of experience building houses. Even though I would be relying on them to do the work of building my house, our working relationship would be based on the trust that I am placing in them to build it the way I want it built. This is the same regarding the trust we place in our teachers. All teachers, and especially the teachers in our district, are absolutely amazing. What they do everyday is arguably the most important job in our society. That said, the responsibility of raising children ultimately lies with parents, who place a solemn trust in teachers to teach their kids the way they want. When I hear people argue that teachers should be trusted to teach whatever and however they choose, it worries me greatly. As the father of daughter about to enter our public school system, I empathize with parents who want to be involved with their child’s education but are told that they should just “leave it to the experts.” If elected, I will work to ensure that parents and teachers are given the space to work hand-in-hand together with the shared goal of educating our kids.
Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)
Did you know that the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) gets funded over 40% more per student than we do here in the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District (PVPUSD)? If we had been funded at that amount, we would have received an extra $50 million this year alone! This disparity is due to the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), enacted by California in 2013 in an attempt to impose equity among school districts with lower revenue from property taxes. The result, especially for us in PV, was an unfair, unequitable, and possibly illegal redistribution of our community’s taxes. We are essentially being punished by California for having higher than average property taxes. I discuss this issue in more detail here, but the short version is: if elected, I plan to look into legal action our district can take against the State to recoup the funding that we should have received if the funding plan had been fairly executed.
Antisemitism in Our Schools
The 2024 Palos Verdes High School yearbook included a student-written, teacher approved, editorial about the war in Gaza that contained factual inaccuracies and antisemitic tropes. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back for many Jewish parents in the district who had been complaining for years that complaints of antisemitic acts towards their kids had fallen on deaf ears. It is clear to me that the administration, faculty, and student body need more education on identifying, resisting, and fighting against antisemitism.
Harassment of any kind toward any student is unacceptable, whether it is because he or she is Black, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, or anything else. What makes antisemitism particularly unique is that it is often difficult to recognize, which is why specific education is needed.
June 4, 2024: My public comment to the board regarding the history of antisemitism in our district, and their inaction thus far.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Of course everyone in our district wants our schools to be diverse and equitable and inclusive, but unfortunately the values of “DEI” are anything but. To put it simply, DEI (and its close relative, CRT—critical race theory) are harmful to our children. The basic tenets of both of these philosophies argue that outsized success by an under-represented group must be due to privilege or structural racism, or some other reason other than hard work and diligence. The solution to create equity, according to DEI, is not to help lift up those that are underperforming, but rather to bring down those that are excelling. This is exemplified by California’s adoption of its new math framework, which attempted to create “equity” by limiting advanced math opportunities for students that excelled. Several college math and science professors protested and thankfully the state updated the framework, but this type of thinking remains a threat to what should be a meritocracy in our schools. Everyone should be equally represented and have an equal opportunity to excel, regardless of their race or any other factor. Some people will say “CRT isn’t taught in our schools!” but that masks the truth that the principles of DEI and CRT are subtly working their way into our classrooms. As a board member, I will ensure our children are allowed every opportunity to excel, which means rooting out DEI and allowing their performance to stand on their own merits.
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