Scott Barr
Ledyard Hakes
Brenda Kracht
Bruce Shepherd
The election is on November 2, 2010 and we asked these 5 questions to each candidate.
Here is what Scott Barr had to say:
1. Tell us about yourself. What’s your ‘Coronado story’ ?
My wife, Caree and I have been home-owners in Coronado since 1994.
Recently, with our daughter Jolee, we moved back to Coronado from Alpine
and built a house. My wife is a counselor at Southwestern College and I
come from a family of public school teachers.
2. Why is running for School Board important to you?
My wife and I have a history of getting involved with our community. I
feel that the best way to serve my community is by serving on the school
board due to my educator and school trustee background. Any school
board member will tell you that it takes two or more years to learn how
to be an effective board member, due to the unique culture of education
and the constraints of education code, state funding, employee
contracts, Brown Act and board conduct using Robert’s Rules. This is
certainly not an attractive time to serve on a school board or to be an
educator. Budget cuts have already been steep with more likely to
occur-all the more reason for someone to serve who needs no
on-the-job-training.
3. What qualifies you to be on School Board?
For 29 years I have worked in higher education as an administrator,
counselor and teacher at both San Diego State University and Grossmont
College. I also served two terms as a board trustee for Alpine Union
School District where test scores rose each year that I served. For
seven years and counting I have volunteered as a coach for the
recreational and club soccer teams on which my two sons and daughter
have played. My sons graduated from public school and college, and my
daughter currently attends second grade at Village Elementary.
4. What are the top 3 issues that Coronado schools face today and how will you work at solving them?
1) Certainly the top issue facing our school district is reduced
funding over the last three years and counting. A top priority of any
board is to ensure fiscal solvency. The only silver lining is that while
most school districts in the State and County are hit with an additional
loss of funding due to declining enrollments, CUSD enrollments remain
steady. The current board and administration have created a five year
plan to weather the economic downturn by 1) spending down reserve funds
to mitigate the pain while 2) working with staff, teachers and
administration to trim expenditures. These practices should continue.
2) The current economy leaves school districts with no choice but
to increase class size as a means to balance budgets. This is
particularly egregious since student class size in California was
already one of the largest compared to other states. In the future, when
the budget allows, class size should return to prior levels.
3) In spite of reduced budgets, and in some instances because of
funding cuts, CUSD must continue to innovate and grow. I list examples
below:
Palm Academy offers an exciting alternative approach to learning and
teaching that currently serves a small cadre of students. This
project-based instruction imbeds academic standards within applied
learning models. Currently, this alternative approach is offered only to
those students who are sixteen years of age or older who are selected
and referred by a team of site personnel with the approval of parents.
Many more students of all ages should have access to this model, much
like High Tech High and Middle Schools.
The No Child Left Behind Act mandates that public schools must offer
levels of intervention, based on individual learner needs, in order for
all students to meet State standards. In this regard CUSD has some
sophisticated assessment and intervention strategies in place by some
grade levels and at some locations. Efforts to expand these strategies
at all sites and grade levels must continue.
Traditional school delivery systems do not proactively identify early-on
the specialized learning needs of many students. Too often there is a
wait-to-fail approach that does not recognize specialized learning
problems until the second or third grade after a history of struggling
is revealed. Studies show that the academic future of children who fall
behind in early grades greatly jeopardizes their future success. It is
simply too hard to catch up. Developing multiple and common assessment
methods by grade level, which guides learners, informs parents and
directs teacher instruction is particularly important for grades K-2.
Doing so not only helps students with specialized learning needs, it
also better challenges all students regardless of ability.
5. What do you want voters to remember about you when they go to cast their vote?
I am a long time educator with a proven record of
working effectively, creatively and collaboratively on a school board.
CUSD has had the good fortune of having a stable, effective board that
individually and collectively remain focused on children and learning.
I hope to maintain that focus while working closely with staff,
teachers, administrators, community and parents. With two trustees
retiring, I ask for your vote to ensure that effective leadership
continues at CUSD so that our children will continue to receive the
high-quality education they deserve.
Thanks,
Scott Barr
