Volume
Three, Number 3 What ElseYou Need To Know October 23, 2003
In the school board race, Moses makes the grade, Jurkovic adds up. Study Bendixen. Skip the rest
Just when it was thought that there
would never be the right candidate to part the seas of political correctness,
along comes Mark Moses.
Mr. Moses is a candidate for a seat on the Pleasanton Unified School District board. He receives our unqualified endorsement.
Mr. Moses is for renewed focus on academics. Mr. Moses is open to looking at the relationship between test scores and class size for the purpose of, in certain case, ending the expensive program. Mr. Moses believes that bad teachers should be terminated. He is for a phase-out of the Federal government as an education provider.
Michael Jurkovic shows great promise. He is relatively new to Pleasanton and is not completely up-to-speed on Pleasanton politics. (Like it or not, running for a seat on the school board is politics). Mr. Jurkovic, like Mr. Moses is for local control of schools, would be leary of a parcel tax, would like to restructure the pay packages for teachers—mostly to reward those who excel in teaching our children, and for improving our core curriculum. Mr. Jurkovic, a PhD, is the most educationally qualified candidate on the ballot.
Under no circumstances can Opinion Pleasanton endorse board president Kris Weaver who is the epitome of political correctness. Long-time board member Juanita Haugen, excellent for many years, has fallen victim to the touchy feeliness of the education establishment. She has lost her no-nonsense, rough edge that made her a tremendous asset.
Christian Bendixen deserves some consideration. He is highlighting the coziness of the board and the unions with which it negotiates. He has also expressed viewpoints that would further local educational control and impose fiscal responsibility.
Except for Mr. Jurkovic and Mr. Moses, no board candidates answered OpinionPleasanton’s short endorsement survey (see also Volume One, Number 5). We can only conclude that their lack of courage to answer difficult questions before the election will translate into less than courageous decisions should they reach the board. They even lacked the courtesy to say that they would not answer the questions. OpinionPleasanton feels that this lack of civility demonstrates their inability to perform under the Community of Character charter. The voters have every right to expect that their board members will answer tough questions and make tough decisions. There are already spineless representatives ducking the tough decisions over at City Hall.
Pleasanton parents have begun to believe the district’s press releases. Fact is our kids are only at the high end of mediocre. That is not good enough. Our board should trust our parents to teach their own children about good nutrition so the board does not waste more time on snack foods and vending machines. Our board should trust our parents to teach their own children about alternative lifestyles and diversity so that they can spend more time developing a more rigorous academic curriculum. Our board should trust parents and their pediatricians to teach their children about the ill effects of the sun and spend no more time on sunshades. Our board should spend no time on housing for district employees. They are paid well and are not any more deserving that any other segment of the citizenry. Our board should reject the notion of loans from the City of Pleasanton to build schools and study higher and greater use of existing facilities.
The school board is a self-congratulatory private club that grooms candidates for membership and grooms candidates for higher office—namely the city council. We would like to see this practice end.
Mr. Moses and Mr. Jurkovic both feel that Pleasanton is too braggadocio when it comes to test scores. When compared to schools in like communities, Pleasanton does not fare as well as we have been led to believe. Both candidates plus Mr. Bendixen feel that Pleasanton can and must do better. We agree and urge votes for Mr. Jurkovic and Mr. Moses and strong consideration for Mr. Bendixen.
Endorsement Questionnaire
Has class-size reduction worked?
Former Superintendent Bill James promised class-size reduction test and accomplishment results measured against baseline scores. Do we have those results from seven years to now?
How have we done?
Would you sponsor discontinuing class-size reduction if the results are minimal or non-existent?
Would
you then favor returning to class sizes just before class-size reduction?
Because of class-size reduction, teachers have been hired with little
or no experience. What is Pleasanton’s situation vis a vis experienced
teachers?
Do
we have plans to remedy any deficiencies in non-tenured teachers before
they
are
tenured?
Do you favor the Beck ruling allowing union members to withhold union dues used for political purposes?
Are you a member of an education union?
Are you a member of any teacher’s union board?
Do you favor the teacher’s union’s financial participation in the political process?
Should bad teachers be fired?
Do you believe that board members should be allowed to serve on city boards, committees, or commissions?
Are you familiar with “A Nation At Risk” a federal report written in 1983?
If yes, what do think of it?
What can Pleasanton do about it?
Do you support subsidized housing for teachers?
If you do support subsidized housing for teachers, what is your rationale?
Do you have experience in teaching or curriculum selection?
If yes, what is your experience?
If no, will you be up-to-speed on curriculum issues when you take office?
Should our schools teach gay and lesbian sex, lifestyles, and reproductive methods?
If yes, at what grade level?
What does the word diversity mean to you?
Do you support the formation of a Caucasian Club—open to all students—at Freedom High?
Do you feel that education is a federal obligation supported by the Constitution?
If yes, which section covers education?
Do you favor continuing the federal department of education?
If yes, with what authority and responsibility?
| we
are at the end of counting trees and now beginning the management
of their maintenance. Our editors are studying if the trees removed
from Stanley Boulevard are counted as trees or were they removed
from the total and the maintenance schedule. In short, we want
to see if the counting-trees program is working and worth the
expense…We are still working on how many consulting contracts
we have. We have received no definite answer such at 25 or 50.
It is a big expense and it is even more important because mid-level
managers are getting pay raises and a shot at a lucrative retirement
and maybe should be performing some of the things that the consultants
are being hired to do. |
Feature Opinion
The “process” of reviewing the Pleasanton
General Plan is, if nothing else, humorous
This city council under the direction of Mayor Tom Pico has been on the task force, committee, and blue ribbon commission bandwagon for years. Why not with the review of this general plan? Why do the members choose now to do the heavy lifting—the job they were elected to do? The simple answer is that most counselors have already made up their minds about what the new plan should look like. A task force would only get in the way. It did for deciding the fate of the Bernal property.
The city council, like most councils in the past, is hosting community meetings to “hear” from the public regarding the city’s constitution. Some have suggested that these meetings constitute a committee of the whole. That is kind. They are farcical.
Relatively speaking, they are poorly attended. They are attended by neighborhood people who are not well versed in city affairs and attend only to advocate for their neighborhood’s special interests sometimes to the detriment of the entire community.
Finally, holding the meetings gives the council the out they need when they adopt a general plan that dissatisfies half of the community. They need only to point to their meeting schedule to say that they have involved the community and that they have listened. Like the education establishment, they prefer not to involve the people in the process. By saying that they are is good enough for most residents who, until their ox is gored, have little interest in city government. It works like a charm.
The city council should do this work. It is its job. It is well informed with the remaining issues that must be addressed in the new plan. The city commissions, like the council, are already up-to-speed. The city professional staff, from the city manager on down, should already have the issues lined out for the council—or they are not doing their jobs. The only outstanding issue is selling the new plan to the public.
The first half of the sell is complete: “We held meetings.” Next for the council is the job of holding the growing number of dissidents at bay. Traffic will be the council’s undoing. This council is prepared to abandon the extension of Stoneridge Drive to El Charro Road. It is prepared to abandon the improvement of the I-680/Stonridge Drive interchange. It is prepared to abandon any work at I-680 and West Las Positas Boulevard.
With traffic now near gridlock, it is difficult to hide the need to complete our approved road and street network. If these projects outlined above are removed from the general plan, there will no hope of alleviating the deplorable conditions and they will grow worse.
News
Opinion
No money for schools
M
Opinion Pleasanton suspects that he is not well intentioned—he is using this as a campaign ploy for his run for the 20th Assembly seat in the March 2004 Democrat primary. If he does not succeed, for whatever reason, at least he tried. That plays well with educrats. If he does succeed, that will play well with the well to do in the area where Neal school will be built. Both of those voter blocks are rich with votes and contributions.
Quick
Opinion
Green Failure
The Bay Institute of San Francisco was the San Francisco Chronicle’s source for grading the San Francisco Bay’s environmental health. Habitat was graded with a D+, Water quality received a D. Fishable-Swimmable-Drikable received a D+. Stewardship received a C-. Shellfish (crab and shrimp) are increasing and received a B- the best grade given.
With the Green Gestapo in charge of the bay for more than 25 years you would think that grades would be better. This irony is laughable. Greens, like Socialists, create problems to solve. If the Bay gets healthy there will be no need for them as watchdogs. With polluters hiding from considerable fines or fleeing the state looking for a better business climate, there can be no finger pointing there. So it is the people in charge. They are either incompetent or they are raising the bar so high that no solution is possible.
Pleasanton, along with Dublin and Livermore, has gridlock on I-580 between the intersection of 580 and I-680 to Manteca at almost any time of the day. City streets are also jammed during the considerable commute periods. All of this with environmental extremist Tom Pico as chairman of Alameda County Congestion Management Agency. (It was assumed the Mr. Pico would try to decrease traffic not increase it.)
Build more freeway lanes on I-580 and not High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes. They don’t work.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District reports that that this season’s air quality was good enough to meet federal standards. There was only one day of high smog during smog season that just ended. The city with the highest smog? Livermore. Maybe we should address the issue of more I-580 lanes to carry smoggy cars out of the valley? Not if Livermore has anything to say about it. They like HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes that jam up the freeways except for a special few.
“Regional government” is not a done deal
I n recent reports, so-called regional government has taken some hits. Good or not, the idea of another layer of government takes power out of the hands of an elite few and that is not going to fly just yet.
Recent news reports did not spell out that the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) is a quasi-governmental organization originally formed as an information source for local governments. How it became quasi-governmental is the old story about government; it grew ever bigger by finding problems to solve with little or no authority to solve them. It asked for and received some powers from its members. It will not, however, receive the full authority it seeks because local politicians, many even socialist leaning, will not cede their own power for the greater good. Some local politicians also still feel that the best government is the most local government.
Nowhere in the news accounts of ABAG’s recent general assembly meeting does it mention that counties are regional governments that should be addressing the issues of the day such as traffic, air and water quality, and housing.
Guest Opinion
While you slept, criminals took your seats in your schools
[Former] U. C. President Richard Atkinson is a major hypocrite. To prevent restricting enrollment to save money, he now suggests admitting more out-of-state students and significantly increasing those fees. Yet it was Atkinson that just a year and a half ago implemented letting out-of-country Ileagals attend at in-state tuition.
This crazy legislature, Lt. Governor, Governor and U. C. regents have caused the budget problems with insanity like this in the first place. Thankfully, we’re rid of Atkinson [and now ex-governor Gray Davis]. Now, if we can [only] get rid of the rest of these incompetents fools and return to the sanity of earlier times. [In addition] university problems, housing problems, school problems, health problems, etc., etc. are either caused or worsened by illegals, with their numbers equal to another country.
Judy Symcox
Pleasanton
-30-
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