Mark Goines
Bio: Executive Mark Goines’ investments in high-tech companies allow him to work 20-25 hours a week. He has given at least as much time to LASD for the past five years, he said. He attends school board meetings regularly. His wife, Gail, is a Los Altos native, his son is a seventh-grader at Egan Junior High School and his daughter is a first-grader at Santa Rita Elementary. He has been on the board of the Los Altos Educational Foundation for five years and recently stepped down as its president. During those years, contributions to the foundation grew from $600,000 to $1.2 million annually. He is now co-chairman of the district’s Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Finance. He holds a master’s degree in technology and financial services from UC Berkeley.
Why run: He believes the school board needs experienced leadership and fiscal expertise.
Priorities: Goines’ goals are to renew or increase the district’s share of the parcel tax; make sure the best teachers are recruited and retained; improve science, technology and art programs; and keep classes small and facilities up-to-date.
Key endorsements: Former Superintendent Marge Gratiot, Los Altos Mayor and former LASD Trustee David Casas, former Mayor Bob Grimm and the Los Altos Teachers Association.
Quote: “When I came here in 1998, I was struck by the wonder that’s created with the paucity of the resources - the kids get so much with so little.”
David Luskin
Bio: David Luskin is a marketing executive with a master’s degree in business administration from Stanford, preceded by a double major in physics and economics from UC Davis. He serves as schools’ chairman for the Los Altos Neighborhood Network and attends school board meetings regularly. Luskin is married and the father of two children. His son is a second-grader at Loyola Elementary and his daughter attends the preschool on that campus. He is active in PTA and the Loyola site council, where he has focused on curriculum. He racked up more than 100 volunteer hours in the classroom.
Why run: Luskin said he wants to serve on the school board because he believes strongly in public education.
Priorities: His goals are to “sustain the academic excellence our community expects and our children deserve; continue to attract and retain the highest quality teachers and principals; and improve the budgeting process, linking increases in compensation to increases in revenue.”
Key endorsements: Los Altos Mayor David Casas, former Superintendent Marge Gratiot and former Los Altos Mayor Lou Becker.
Quote: “I could sit on the board tomorrow and make decisions.”
David Struthers
Bio: David Struthers taught mathematics at Gunn High School for 28 years before retiring in 1992. He then taught at Foothill College until 2001. He has a bachelor’s degree in geology and a master’s degree in education from the University of Michigan. He earned a master’s degree in mathematics at Syracuse University. He is the treasurer of Friends of the Library and chairman of the Los Altos Hills finance committee.
Why run: Struthers said he misses the classroom and the feeling of contributing to the education of children.
Priorities: Struthers’ goals are to maintain the district’s “outstanding program,” pass the parcel tax and develop a plan for the use of the Bullis-Purissima Elementary School site. He also wants to add custodians to the maintenance crew - “for the elementary teacher, the room is primary” - and make sure teachers feel appreciated.
Quote: “Keeping good staff should be a primary effort. We need to motivate them and give them the wherewithal to do their job.”
Bruce Wiener
Bio: Bruce Wiener is a former clinical psychologist and real estate agent who told the Town Crier he has “done a lot of volunteering at the schools.”
Why run: He was “disgusted” by what he perceived as apathy when candidates were slow to apply.
Priorities: Wiener is eager to see the district’s facilities and fields receive more attention and suggests a town-gown relationship to maintain them. He wants teachers to be the highest paid in the area, more and better use of technology in schools, a greater emphasis on music and arts and more parental involvement in the schools.
Quote: “The district has a physical plant issue - the custodial and landscaping cuts were excessive. The district should dip into reserves and hire people to do preventative maintenance.”
Francis La Poll
Bio: Francis La Poll is a tax attorney specializing in elder law. He is a former Los Altos city councilmember who served two terms as mayor and was a member of the Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Finance when the district closed Bullis-Purissima school. La Poll, who earned a bachelor’s degree in economics magna cum laude at the University of Virginia before taking his law degree at Stanford University, has volunteered with the Los Altos Educational Foundation and served the Foothill-De Anza Foundation. He is married, and his six children attend Bullis Charter, Egan Junior High and Los Altos High schools. He does not attend school board meetings.
Why run: La Poll believes he can reach out to all the groups in the community and, in doing so, help pass the next parcel tax measure.
Priorities: His goals are to “maintain and improve the educational experience for all the children in the district; provide sound fiscal management to ensure wise use of resources and solicit input from parents and teachers to unite the entire community behind our schools.” He wants $10 million endowments at each school within seven years. He would like to see “a governor on spending and focus on fund raising at schools that don’t get as much.”
Key endorsements: Two Los Altos city councilmembers, including former mayor and former school board president John Moss; all five Los Altos Hills city councilmembers, including Mayor Breene Kerr; and state Assemblyman Ira Ruskin.
Quote: “I can be trusted to reach out to disparate parts of the community. How many PTA-background folks do we need? None of them have the credibility to reach out … to disaffected areas.
David Pefley
Bio: David Pefley is CFO of Yield Dynamics in Sunnyvale. He is married and has third- and fifth-grade children at Covington Elementary. He is the chairman of the Los Altos Educational Foundation fund-raising committee and attends district board meetings regularly. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from UC Davis and a master’s in business administration from Cornell University. He recently surveyed district parents and received 1,000 responses, giving him “a three-dimensional understanding of how parents feel.”
Why run: Pefley believes “passionately” in public education.
Priorities: His goals are to “develop and adapt curriculum to the needs of district children; develop programs to recruit, retain and train outstanding teachers and principals; and closely monitor fiscal responsibility within the district.”
Key endorsements: Former Superintendent Marge Gratiot, Los Altos Mayor David Casas and Los Altos Hills Mayor Breene Kerr, all current school board trustees and the Los Altos Teachers Association.
Quote: “We need more data-driven choices and bridge building. It’s time the community started moving forward together.”
Kathryn “Kitty” Uhlir
Bio: Kathryn “Kitty” Uhlir is an active school volunteer with a daughter in fifth grade at Covington Elementary. Uhlir has served as PTA treasurer and secretary. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Stanford, she worked for PG&E for more than 15 years in financial, regulatory and contractual areas.
Why run: Uhlir said she’s running because she loves the district. She wants to ensure that only candidates who are “truly committed to the district” are elected the school board. A secondary consideration was the need she sees for “more women in politics in this town.”
Priorities: Uhlir’s goals are to maintain the excellent educational program and ensure that the needs of all students are met, maintain the district’s fiscal health and involve the public and key constituencies before making decisions on critical issues.
Quote: “I love the LASD attitude: ‘We will meet your child’s needs whatever they are.’”
