The Monterey Peninsula Unified School District board of trustees faces a series of key issues in the coming months, the most serious of which includes hiring a new school superintendent.
Mending fences with employees and parents upset over the closure of two elementary schools.
Managing the budget after the district nearly went bankrupt twice in the past five years, most recently in 2002 when the district drafted a compromise to first pay off a state loan and then pay back millions it owed its employees when the district illegally used teachers' health and welfare fund money in the 1990s.
Polishing the board's tarnished image after school closings, firing the school superintendent, and its inability to get along.
Improving the district's standing in the wake of its failure to meet standards set by the No Child Left Behind Act.
In the Nov. 8 election, five candidates are seeking to replace three incumbents on the school board. Six people, including two incumbents, are vying for one seat in Trustee Area 2, which represents Seaside. In Trustee Area 3, which represents Monterey and Del Rey Oaks, one challenger is attempting to unseat the incumbent.
All eight have said the search for a new superintendent is one of the most critical issues facing the district and the board.
After months of acrimonious public debate, the board voted early this year against renewing the contract for Superintendent Daniel Callahan, whose tenure was marked by public clashes with board members. One trustee, Terri De Bono, resigned n July 2004, saying she could not get along with the superintendent. Alan Haffa was appointed in September 2004 to fill the vacancy left by De Bono.
Before Haffa's appointment, a board majority made up of Regena Lauterbach, Resa Foss, Marjorie Troutman and De Bono backed teachers who opposed extending Callahan's contract. Trustees Robert Eggers, Carlos Noriega and Shanda LeBoeuf supported continuing Callahan's tenure. The split on the board not only led to frustration among trustees, but also among district administrators who sometimes were at odds with the way in which the board was run.
Also, Chief Business Officer Jim Burnis resigned in June 2004 because of his frustration with the board, further damaging the its image and ability to conduct business.
Earlier this year, the district announced a $7 million shortfall in its modernization program and subsequently had to borrow money to make up the difference to continue work on two Seaside schools. The district's modernization program had gone over budget on some projects. The district had missed a filing deadline, which meant it missed out on getting nearly $5 million from the state.
In September, the board voted to work with a Fresno-based company to conduct a so-called forensic audit to examine the modernization program and its funding.
In previous years, the district has had to revamp its budget because shortfalls have placed it on the verge of bankruptcy. Since 2000 it has also had to cut more than $13 million; it did so by closing schools and laying off employees.
Many longtime Monterey Peninsula residents and board observers, aware of the district's problems, have witnessed the turmoil and divisions among trustees for some time. Among the board candidates are those who are harshly critical of the way meetings are run and money is spent.
Principals and teachers are struggling with improving test scores at underperforming schools, while the district as a whole struggles with its underperforming status under No Child Left Behind.
Debra Gramespacher, Bettye Lusk, Helen Rucker and Leo Maganares are challenging incumbents Resa Foss and Shanda LeBouef, with the top two vote-getters winning the seats on Nov. 8.
In this Seaside area, Foss, part of the board majority, voted against extending Callahan's contract, going against LeBoeuf. Gramespacher, Lusk, Rucker and Maganares are touting their platforms on issues such as fiscal awareness, community involvement and a willingness to try different strategies to raise test scores.
Background Foss, who was elected to the school board in 2001 and is currently the board president, has been endorsed by the Monterey Bay Teachers Association. She believes her year has gone fairly well and believes it is time for the board to solve more problems than create new ones. She is one of four teachers on the board, she doesn't think it hurts or helps to have such a majority.
"Just because we are teachers doesn't mean we are all like-minded," Foss said.
Foss says she knows from her tenure on the board how difficult it is to balance the district's budget.
She would like to hire a superintendent similar to Interim Superintendent John Lamb, who has a thorough knowledge of the district.
Whoever the new superintendent is "should be hands-on," Foss said, and "should have an inherent respect for people whether they are educators or in the community."
Background LeBoeuf is a lifelong Seaside resident and graduate of its schools. She feels strongly about changing the perception of her city's schools.
"We want the stigma of people going to school in Seaside erased," said LeBoeuf, referring to some of the underperforming schools in the district.
LeBouef, 35, knows it will be the board's job to make the tough decisions about where to spend the district's money. The rising cost of health care is also going to affect the budget, she added.
"It is going to be a real challenge to keep ourselves within budget and not touch the reserves," LeBouef said.
She wants the district to hire a superintendent who knows the district and takes a genuine interest in it, not someone like Callahan who seemed to clash with many people, she said.
Background Gramespacher, who has twice been unsuccessful in her attempts to get on the school board, hopes her financial expertise will encourage voters to choose her this time.
She said her experience presiding over the district's business advisory committee in 2002 and 2004 will help her examine the district's budget.
"Regardless of how good or bad it is, you'll always have problems with finance," she said.
She has been highly critical of the current board's management of money.
"There is always money to be found in an $80 million budget," Gramespacher said.
Gramespacher, 46, said if the district went through and actually calculated the exact dollar amount on how much was spent for programs, salaries and schools instead of taking the averages, money could be found.
Gramespacher wants a superintendent who can work with employee groups. She is also seeking someone who can be a good representative to the public.
Background Lusk has had a long and varied career with the district. In the past 35 years, she has been a teacher, school counselor and principal.
Lusk, 59, wants to be a voice for the people in Seaside. She would like to see the district set aside some money to help students improve their literacy skills, which she believes would ultimately help improve their test scores.
Lusk cites the closure of schools and the overcrowding as other reasons scores have been low.
"There is nothing more to cut," said Lusk, who wants to research ways to increase salaries for teachers and classified (non-teaching) staff.
A new superintendent, she said, needs to really listen to everyone in the community from parents, teachers, students and administrators.
Lusk thinks a good superintendent candidate can be found within the district. She is looking for someone who is a visionary, has a good fiscal background and is visible in the community.
Maganares, who runs a math tutorial service in Carmel, has three children who used to attend schools in the Monterey district, but now attend private schools because he was continually disappointed with the lack of basic skills taught.
He decided to run because he wants to see better -performing schools to attract families to the area. Maganares, 48, also wants to know where the district spends its money. He opposes school closings for budget reasons, since it's the district's job to educate its students, he said.
"In order to protect our schools... we need flexibility," Maganares said.
When it comes to finding a superintendent, Maganares wants the community to become more involved.
He wants someone with an educational background who knows how to read and manage a budget, and who is supportive of the district's diversity.
Rucker, a fixture in Seaside politics, is running for the school board for the first time.
The former Seaside city councilwoman (1992 to 1998) also served as mayor pro tem and is a veteran teacher of more than 37 years in her home state of Louisiana and in the Monterey district.
She wants to bring the issues of being a diverse district to the forefront.
Rucker, 73, wants to encourage partnerships with businesses and individuals in the community to help find extra money or conduct fund raising to support underperforming schools.
"I don't know where the money would come from," Rucker said. "But money is what it will take to get that (district's test scores raised)."
Her choice for a superintendent would be someone who can work with different groups and is a leader.
In the Monterey/Del Rey Oaks area, incumbent Regena Lauterbach is being challenged by Richard Grahlman. Despite having a rough year as board president last year, Lauterbach is confident the district is moving in a positive direction. Grahlman, who was critical of Lauterbach during her presidency, is eager to shake up the board and change its direction.
Lauterbach, 59, has spent more than 30 years teaching and has been endorsed by the Monterey Bay Teachers Association. She was elected to the board in 2001 and presided over the board during the school closures.
But finding fault or cutting any one program isn't possible, she said.
"The main problem is that we tried to keep programs after Fort Ord closed and we weren't able to because we didn't have money to keep programs going," Lauterbach said.
Supporting employee rights and compensation are issues important to her.
Grahlman, who filed his election papers at the last minute, has found faults with the current board. He is hopeful that other seats on the board will turn as a means of challenging the board to strive for a more successful direction.
Grahlman, 51, is interested in boosting enrollment to help increase funding from the state level. That would eventually lead to smaller class sizes and pay raises, he said. The district has to learn to save itself, Grahlman said.
He wants the district to cast a wide net when it begins searching for its superintendent.
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