By Clyde Noel
Town Crier Correspondent
Keeping the Los Altos School District No. 1 in academic excellence, despite impending budget troubles, highlighted an Oct. 17 forum discussion among four contenders for the district’s board of trustees.
All the candidates have, or had, children in the Los Altos School District, which is the top-performing school district in the state, according to STAR test scores.
Incumbents Duane Roberts, Victor Reid III and Jay Thomas expressed a desire for the district to maintain that elevated position and offered suggestions on how to do it.
Challenger Bill Cooper, who resides in Mountain View and has children in Springer School, said he wants to maintain the high quality of education and improve the board’s relationship with the community.
“Which of the four candidates can work with the community to support another parcel tax next spring?” Cooper asked. “Which can rally the community the best?”
Roberts is an appointed incumbent serving two years, but he previously served eight years on the board. As an information systems executive, he wants a five-year financial plan for the district to maintain stability.
“We need to bring the teacher salaries up-to-date so the teachers can live here,” Roberts said. “We need to provide the ability to train them so we can hold our leadership.”
Victor Reed III, an investment manager, is a 20-year resident of Los Altos. An Almond PTA member for 16 years, he wants to develop a teacher retention program and fund Phase II construction.
In order to improve the teacher retention rate, Reid said, we should give them an environment they can teach in. He also wants to develop a five-year financial plan.
Thomas, an engineer, has lived in Los Altos for 25 years and is running for his second term on the board.
He wants to complete the voter-approved school renovations and address the shortfall between state funds and program costs.
Thomas brought up the problem of construction costs, with little money left to finish the renovations of schools, necessitating the need for another bond measure to finish the original plan.
Silicon Valley was not included.”
Several candidates mentioned a deficit of $9 million within three years. Actually the school district is required by law to never run a deficit and must have a balanced budget.
The cost of moving the maintenance yard to city property rather than leaving it at Covington School is $750,000, and not as high as $3 million, as claimed by some candidates.
Several candidates said the teacher turnover was high; one suggested it was 35 percent. Actually it is closer to 20 percent, and that is low compared to surrounding districts.
The above facts were supplied by the superintendent’s office.
