School-board candidates address questions

The Coastline Pilot asked each of the five candidates running for Laguna Beach School Board three questions. Three seats are open on the board. The election will take place Tuesday, Nov. 7.

The candidates are: Ketta Brown; Kelly Cornwell; Jeff Elghanayan; Betsy Jenkins; and Theresa O’Hare.

The questions and candidates’ responses appear below.

KETTA BROWN

Q. Why do you think you should be elected to the Laguna Beach School Board?

A. It is time to take a more dynamic role in the future of the Laguna Beach Unified School District. I am an excellent communicator with an honest, direct leadership style that will benefit the district.

With three children in the district, I have been actively volunteering for 12 years and have extensive knowledge of most aspects of the district. I have been PTA president at Top of the World, Thurston Middle School and Laguna Beach High School and have held board positions with various PTAs for years.

I have also been or am a board member of Friendship Shelter, Laguna Presbyterian Church and the Laguna Beach High School Scholarship Foundation. I was instrumental in spearheading the drive to halt Sacramento’s denying our Basic Aid status.

Before becoming a parent, I worked in the finance industry, most recently for Wilshire Associates in their asset management division (more than $1.3 billion under management at the time).

This professional experience has given me great respect for how public monies are utilized.

I feel this combination of volunteer and work experience gives me the tools to be a successful board member. I believe in public education, but only with diligent and passionate involvement from those on the board will our students be provided with the superior education they deserve.

Q. What will be your primary goal if elected, and how will you achieve it?

A. My primary goal will be to improve communication and to further healthy discourse between the various stakeholders in the district and the board. Many members of the community feel left out of “the loop” on topics that directly affect them.

We need to be more proactive in the way information is disseminated to everyone: students, parents, faculty, classified staff and the community at large.

The way to achieve this is to invest in technology, including upgrading the website and creating an e-newsletter. By doing so, information regarding programs such as AVID [Editor’s Note: AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, a college preparation program emphasizing development of study skills] and International Baccalaureate can be easily accessed. Many parents have never heard of either program and are curious about how they may affect their students.

I will push to make sure all financial data (budget and audits) is accessible via the website. Tax dollars are a touchy subject, and there should never be a question as to whether they are being allocated in the best possible way. Providing access to these sorts of subjects from the comfort of one’s own home will create a sense of unity and inclusion rather than surprise and confusion.

Q. What is the biggest issue facing the school board currently?

A. We are presented with the opportunity to choose a new superintendent. The importance of this decision cannot be diminished. Whoever is chosen to lead must have very specific experience and qualities to succeed.

Comprehensive K--12 administrative experience is imperative. This is crucial for the implementation of interdisciplinary curriculum throughout grade levels.

Curriculum modifications, such as International Baccalaureate, should be done with input from all school sites, as any change reverberates through the system.

A “bottom up” approach to change — that is, soliciting ideas from teachers, parents and students alike — will ensure transparency and a sense of buy-in from all stakeholders. This sort of communication between the superintendent and all parties is vital to the long-range development and success of our district.

A new superintendent must be willing to participate in the process of education and be familiar with programs such as International Baccalaureate and AVID. As a district, we should be searching for and encouraging a superintendent who seeks to cultivate in our students the desire to achieve their highest potential. The superintendent should work hand in hand with the board and staff to ensure our graduates are prepared for what lies ahead for each of them.

KELLY CORNWELL

Q. Why do you think you should be elected to the school board?

A. I should be elected to the school board for three reasons.

a. We need a school-board member with extensive financial experience to manage the $33 million budget. In my 26 years of financial management at UPS, we have maintained the highest financial designation of AAA. Only five other companies hold this highest accreditation. I know how to handle large budgets with skill and integrity.

b. I have a vested interest in our schools. I am a father of two boys, a longtime Laguna resident and care very much about the well-being of our great Laguna Beach public schools.

c. As a board member of the Laguna Beach CSP Youth Shelter, I hear firsthand why kids get into trouble and drop out of school. We need to keep kids interested in school by bringing back after school sports and industrial arts, which were lost after the county bankruptcy, build strong music and art programs, and support building strong reading programs.

Q. What will be your primary goal if elected, and how will you achieve it?

A. First, we need to select and hire a new superintendent. Our new superintendent needs to be a proven leader with a demonstrated ability to lead others and a track record of accomplishment. The personal traits I will look for are integrity, dedication and a spirit of cooperation.

The new superintendent should listen to our teachers and community by focusing on the whole child, which includes strong academics, arts, music, sports and industrial arts programs.

I will support the use of our financial strength to provide a school experience that most adults had the opportunity and privilege of having. This includes a college prep program that includes strong music, arts and sports, along with hands-on elective classes like computer repair, marine biology, surfboard shaping, wood, metal and auto shops. These hands-on classes were dropped during the Orange County bankruptcy. Let’s bring them back and keep kids interested in school.

Q. What is the biggest issue facing the school board currently?

A. Properly balancing the budget for current and future needs is a big issue. The current policy is to set aside up to $13 million in reserves and place it in the county treasury, earning 5%. In comparison, the City of Laguna Beach has a policy to set aside $3.5 million. Why does the school district need up to $10 million more set aside than our city? At the same time, we have programs underfunded or not funded at all.

JEFF ELGHANAYAN

Q. Why do you think you should be elected to the Laguna Beach School Board?

A. I have three children ranging from 4 to 12 years old who have been Laguna Beach Unified School District students for the past seven years and will be for the next 13 years. I decided when I moved here 15 years ago that I would set aside my business responsibilities to devote myself full time to my family and our community. I have done just that. I have supported the schools where I could be of most use, regardless if that is in the classroom, the boardroom, the pocketbook, on field trips, in the parking lot or on the playing field.

I have proven professional experience in driving an organization to success. I will bring to the school board my business and civic trustee skills to ensure that we continue and enhance the great results already achieved by the parents, community and our fine staff working together.

Over the last seven years, I have gained invaluable experience as a trustee on several Children’s Hospital of Orange County boards whose hospitals have been recognized by the Orange County Register as the “Best place to work and volunteer in Orange County.” I have 10 years in New York City as a principal in complex urban development projects. I learned early in my career that to win you have to finish. I want this school district to be healthy, stable and vital for many years to come.

Q. What will be your primary goal if elected, and how will you achieve it?

A. The future is unpredictable, so we need to have a contingency plan. We know that the economy will fluctuate. We need to save money now while we can to even out the dips that will come.

We know that facilities will wear down and will require care. This is best done before wholesale replacement is needed.

It is critical to safeguard our reserves so they are available when needed. I do not want to repeat the salary reductions and consequent teacher demoralization after having built such a qualified faculty nor should we have to repeat the bond measure to renovate our facilities in our lifetimes if we continue to budget reserves.

We have built a very resource rich district that we can all be proud of. It is attractive to teachers, students, families and neighborhoods alike.

If we let our guard down, how will we deal with the pressing issue of drug use by students if we are putting out fires because we overextended in the good years and had to cut back in the lean years? Continuity of service is critical to providing the quality activities that keep children from drifting off a healthy course. By deepening programs we have and by fine-tuning them, we can achieve success.

Q. What is the biggest issue facing the school board currently?

A. Laguna Beach needs to hire a new superintendent of schools. I have extensive executive search and recruitment committee experience, all of which have resulted in long-term commitments and organizational growth.

Laguna Beach is in an enviable position, and we should leverage our enormous goodwill to attract and compete for the best superintendent available. There is no need for the district to accept a compromise candidate. The superintendent must be experienced, visionary, visible and transparent.

BETSY JENKINS

Q: Why do you think you should be reelected to the Laguna Beach School Board?

A: Serving on the Board of Education for these past four years has given me an intensive knowledge and experience about the school district. I view being a board member as a full-time job, and I spend a large part of each day at the schools or working on committees like our Quest for Excellence. I am proud of my oversight, which helped finish a $58 million renovation of our schools, on time and within budget. But my greatest effort is spent on our students. We focus on the whole child with both academic rigor and social/emotional support. In this important year of transition to a new superintendent, I feel my leadership, knowledge and experience are vital to our continued success as a district.

Q: What will be your primary goal if reelected, and how will you achieve it?

A: If reelected, I will put my knowledge and experience to work to further the upward trend of our district achievements. During my four years as a school-board member, our schools have excelled. Our state-mandated test scores are among the highest in the county. More importantly, we have focused on the whole child, creating programs that support social and emotional well-being, lifelong fitness and individual talents as well as academic rigor. Both our performing arts programs and our athletic teams win distinguished recognition each year. We send 92% of our graduating seniors to college, with many entering the highest ranking state and private universities.

I am especially excited about our new implementation of the international baccalaureate program at the high school. I am working with the high school administration to finish the study portion and begin the mentor program in order to fully implement the program in the fall of 2008. I am also planning a focus on the “middle” students of our district. We have many programs in place for both the high and low ends of our student body. I feel we need more support and effort toward the quiet students in the middle who are not working up to their potential.

Q: What is the biggest issue facing the school board currently?

A: The process of choosing a new superintendent will be the most important undertaking this school year. We have developed a timeline allowing broad input from teachers, parents and administrators. We must select a person with broad experience in leading a school district.

Based on our past successes, I see two characteristics which I would hold paramount in the position. The first is an energy and passion for our district education. We have come from “good” to “great” by our willingness to constantly confront the status quo and work with sheer determination to improve.

The second necessary trait is the ability to lead through consensus. It is vital that the new superintendent keeps unity among factions as a goal.

Our district is superbly run and poised to soar. It will be our challenge to continue this success. At this crucial time of transition in the top ranks, I feel it is imperative to have a school-board member with the knowledge and history to continue our success and move us forward. I am the only incumbent running out of the three seats available. I hope the voters will support my proven leadership.

THERESA O’HARE

Q. Why do you think you should be elected to the school board?

A. I will provide a combination of extensive experience and a new voice to the school board. I’ve volunteered for or led nearly everything there is to do in our school district, except for the job I’m asking the voters to give me in November.

As a result of my 15 years spent in so many roles, at every campus in our district, I will join the board with both knowledge and an extensive network of relationships with parents, teachers, principals, administrators and the leaders in City Hall.

I am proud to say that Laguna’s teachers, through Laguna Beach United Faculty Assn., have endorsed my candidacy for school board. My other endorsements include the president and all other sitting members of the school board, and current City council members Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider, Toni Iseman, Cheryl Kinsman and Jane Egly.

In addition to my experience, I will bring another new voice to our school board. I have great respect for the good work that has been done by our current board, though I have no vested interest in defending anything other than good policies and decisions. I will join the board with an open mind to the ideas of other board members and the community at large.

Q. What will be your primary goal if elected, and how will you achieve it?

A. I have plenty of ideas on how to make the good education we offer even better. I also recognize the danger of each new board member veering off into a new direction to pursue his or her pet project.

First, we need to assess the current uncompleted initiatives under way. Those existing initiatives that merit support must be implemented first, rather than shifting gears to fulfill the latest fancy of a new school board.

At the top of my list of new initiatives is reduction in class size in all grades and schools. We have the best teachers in Orange County, and so we need to make sure they have manageable class sizes where they can perform their magic.

All of this costs money, but we are fortunate to enjoy per-capita funding far in excess of most school districts in California. Implementation may be gradual, as I recognize the need to balance current expenditures against maintaining prudent reserves to protect us against a downturn in real estate values (upon which our revenue depends). We need to turn our attention to hiring even more great teachers so that our students will get the personal attention they need and deserve.

Q. What is the biggest issue facing the school board currently?

A. Our biggest new challenge will be recruiting a new person to replace our retiring superintendent.

There are really two critical decisions that are left solely in the hands of the school board: the adoption of a budget and the appointment of the district superintendent. A gifted superintendent naturally expects to function much as a corporate CEO, with engaged oversight and without micro-management. We need to hire someone we trust to implement board policy without excessive second guessing or nitpicking.

I participated in the selection process for our new high school principal. We hired a principal with a proven record of success elsewhere, and he has brought both a steady hand and a new perspective to an already exceptional high school. The school board will follow a similar process to select a superintendent who is calculated to achieve maximum community input.

Beyond what I consider to be basic qualities of integrity and communication skills, I’m looking primarily for someone who has done it before — served successfully as a leader of a school district, preferably one unified from kindergarten through high school. We are an outstanding district that offers very competitive compensation, and so we need and deserve the best.