I mentioned in a couple of my previous posts that I would continue writing a blog and intend to do so.  Because of the way the accounts on WordPress are set up, it was simpler to establish an entirely new blog site.  Thus, you can now find me at http://www.belindasmusings.wordpress.com.   There you will find essays about almost anything; it will be whatever strikes my fancy, at least at first, and perhaps it will become clear to me as I proceed what kind of focus it will have.  There is an introductory post there now and I will begin in earnest within the next few days.

Please share it with your friends if you find it worthwhile; I hope to hear from you soon.

I’ve had almost a week to get used to the idea that I won’t be involved with schools other than as a parent.  I’ve had a great many people express their disappointment and sadness over my outcome  and I appreciate the sentiments.  Sad as it was for me, however, it’s over and the fat lady has sung.  It is now time to move on, but not before I share some last thoughts that are important to me and, I believe,  to the district.

Proposed Board Policy 5113 (Excused Absences for Confidential Medical Treatment): I am sure there are some who believe this policy was my undoing because I expressed approval of allowing students to receive an excused absence from school should they need to seek legal confidential medical treatment.  Many people spoke out against this policy and expressed a multitude of reasons it should not be approved.  If everyone were completely honest, I think the dissenters would ultimately admit they opposed the policy because they don’t think teenagers should be sexually active and allowing them an excused absence to seek reproductive health services indicates tacit, if not active,  approval.  This is not, however, the stated reason people gave for their opposition.  The reasons given were  students shouldn’t be making medical appointments of any kind during school hours (though it happens all the time), it interfered with parent’s rights (though minors can legally seek treatment in the State of California without parent’s knowledge or consent already), and the school has no right to take my child in for a medical appointment without my knowledge (which was a completely preposterous statement and never a part of the policy).  The reasons were numerous, the discussion was heated and the outcome was less than satisfactory.  The losers in this argument were students who need advice and treatment from medical professionals at a time when they may not have anyone else to turn to.  The teen pregnancy and STD rates  in Stanislaus County are high.  One’s belief that teenagers shouldn’t be sexually active is all but irrelevant, because a great many of them are.  Anyone who is opposed to abortion should logically support access to birth control and anyone who cares about children should be pro-medical treatment for STD’s.  Certainly when a teenager commits suicide, it is one too many, and I would think responsible adults would be clamoring to allow access to mental health professionals when young people are suffering from depression or because of  substance abuse, sexual assault  or relationship violence.

A thought about future budget cuts: One of the things I mentioned as worthy of examination in regard to possible budget savings was district employee health insurance.  Even though I mentioned it briefly and didn’t really get into the specifics, I had some anxious response to bringing up the subject at all.  When I mentioned it, there were apparently people who thought I wanted to eliminate district-sponsored health insurance which was not the case.  However, here’s the rub:  several years ago,  the negotiators from the MTA  and district officials discussed rolling health insurance benefits  into salaries.  This was a very desirable perk at the time; it passed muster with the board  and teachers and managers received the benefit.   Essentially, what this meant was that certificated staff and managers received a pay increase ostensibly to pay for their health insurance coverage whether they received coverage through the district or not.  When I asked about how many employees take coverage through the district, I was told approximately 65% while the remaining 35% had coverage through a spouse or partner.  I think it would be worthwhile to determine what the cost savings to the district would be with a traditional health insurance package where employees take the insurance as a benefit rather than a salary increase.  Employees would have access to health insurance but those who were covered by a spouse or partner would not cost the district additional money.  Granted, this would be an unpopular suggestion and would have to be negotiated with the Modesto Teacher’s Association and the managers, but it could represent a substantial savings.  It would also demonstrate how serious the Association leadership and district employees are about keeping budget cuts as far from the classroom as possible.

Superintendent Arturo Flores: Much has been made of the perceived “lack of leadership” at the board level and the relationships board members have with the Superintendent.  Somehow, it has been assumed that agreement with the Superintendent on strategies, policies and programs equates to something inherently wrong or irresponsible.  I can honestly say I favored hiring Mr. Flores as the superintendent because I liked his ideas, his openness, his concern for children and his drive to improve the academic excellence of the district.  None of that changed as I watched him take on his responsibilities and perform his job.   If I disagreed with something he did, said or asked for, I would certainly say so as I did when I voted against last year’s package of budget cuts.  However, if I agreed with the proposal, project, policy or contract, should I have voted against some of them just to prove I wasn’t in the Superintendent’s “hip pocket”?  Apparently, some feel that’s what I should have done, but at least this way, I have a clear conscience and can say I performed my duties in a way consistent with my beliefs and values.  I believe in the direction the Superintendent is taking the district and wish him the best for as long as he chooses to stay with Modesto City Schools.  I hope he can garner more support for the strategic plan, for his quest for educational equity for all our students and the care he shows for children.

There are additional thoughts and ideas that have come to me over the course of the last week, but these are the issues I felt it was important to relate.  I will continue to write in this space, though I will probably change the name of the blog, for obvious reasons.  I look forward to future opportunities and to sharing thoughts and rants with all of you.  Please check back periodically and post a comment.  I’d love to hear from you!

Here we are,  post-election, and there’s not much to say other than I got my proverbial butt kicked.  It’s been quite the humbling experience, I must admit.  I’ve seen and heard lots of speculation about the election, a great deal of interpretation about why  it went the way it did, but I can’t say I agree with the most of the analysis.  As is my nature, I have been scrutinizing everything I said or did during the campaign and wondering whether or not I should have done anything differently.  I thought about what I did:  walked precincts, had supporters walk precincts, walked and talked at the Farmer’s Market a couple of times, attended several related events, participated in four candidate forums, did two mailings, put up big signs, had yard signs available, created and maintained a Facebook page and a blog and did some on-screen advertising at Brenden Theater.  It should also be noted I had no organized support in the form of organizational endorsements or volunteers, no contributions other than from individuals, had almost all of my large signs stolen from their locations and had yard signs stolen out of people’s yards, including my own.  Could I have done more?  I probably could have done more precinct walking, but other than that, I did what I could with the time, money and resources I had.  There has been some criticism of the way I conducted my campaign, surprise at my last-place finish and other comments from observers, but for the most part, those comments have come from people who don’t know me or were unaware of what I was doing during the campaign.  It could be true I didn’t campaign hard enough,  but I was the only candidate holding down a full-time, 40-plus hour a week job, attending to my responsibilities as a board member and mother and campaigning all at the same time.   Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I don’t have regrets about what I did and while it was very disappointing not to retain my seat, the people who worked with me are talented, dedicated, loyal friends who worked hard and supported me unconditionally.

It has been very interesting to read analysis of what this election “means”.  The Bee has declared the voters were seeking change and a more conservative bent to the board.  Considering only about 20% of registered voters bothered to cast a ballot,  I’m not convinced the voters really “said” anything.  What it might say is voter apathy is rampant and education is not only a low priority for our state legislature, but to the citizens of Modesto and the state of  California.  I have always felt if the education of our children was truly a priority in this state, we would put a great deal more energy, money and attention toward improving and enhancing educational opportunities and institutions.  It seems that bringing attention to the successes of the students, faculty and administrators of the district, talking about the future, ideas and the strategic plan to which we are all dedicated were not topics of interest for voters.  I’m sorry that my message, ideas and approach didn’t resonate with the voting public.  It is truly unfortunate  I wasn’t able to talk to more people about my vision for the students of the district and most importantly, I’m sorry I won’t have another four years to build on the experience I gained during my term on the board and help guide the district to higher achievements.  I sincerely hope the district will continue to move forward, cultivate and foster an atmosphere of academic excellence and achieve all the goals and objectives  of the strategic plan.   I believe in the employees of the district, the talent and dedication of our teachers and the value of public education.  My hope  is for the best, despite the serious fiscal challenges the district will face in the coming months and even years.

There are things I wish I’d said during the campaign; topics I wish I’d had better opportunities to address, so I won’t claim to have no regrets.  My next post will address those things.  In the meantime, I want to thank the people who supported and voted for me.  Your faithfulness to this blog is deeply appreciated and I hope you have gained something from reading.  More to come!

As the campaign comes to a close (don’t forget to vote on Tuesday!),  I would like to mention a couple of things that relate not to this campaign or even the current school board, but that bear consideration for the future.  Those two topics are term limits and district elections.

Can someone be on the same board/council for too long?  I think so; I have a self-imposed  maximum two terms on the school board.   Should I be fortunate enough to be re-elected, this would be my last term.  I may, under very compelling circumstances, be persuaded to run for  a third term, but I can’t think of any at the moment that would convince me.  Three terms teeters on the edge of too many.  For me, four terms  is too long for anyone, no matter how good a job they do or how much I like them.  Considering our terms are four years, one could get a child all the way through their school career in three terms and that’s plenty.  You start to lose steam and gain cynicism after three terms of service, and I think it’s better to allow new blood, fresh ideas and people with more optimism come in and take their turn.  Experience is a benefit, especially in challenging times, but sometimes enough is truly enough.

On the topic of district elections, I think it is an idea whose time has come for Modesto City Schools.  Geographically, our district is very large, extending outside the city limits of Modesto into Salida, Riverbank and Empire.  The sheer size of the area candidates have to cover is overwhelming to some and the costs of running a campaign have become astronomical, especially for a position like school board.  Just the cost of mailing literature to all the registered voters in the district mounts into the thousands of dollars, and most of those mailings are targeted and don’t include all the registered voters candidates would like to reach.  Trying to walk and talk to all those voters is impossible and most candidates want to talk to as many voters as they can.  It must also be mentioned that historically, while our school board has the best record of member diversity, the size of the district and cost of a campaign probably does discourage people from running.  District elections could pare down the geographical scope and cost of running for school board and potentially allow people who do not have unlimited financial resources to be truly competitive.  Whether they admit it or not, all candidates run because they want to win and money should not be the reason someone is or is not elected.

As important as cost and diversity are, the other argument for moving to district elections is the increased accountability of the members to the public.  It would be much easier for the voting public to hold their district representative accountable for their attendance, participation and accessibility than the current system allows.  Members could conceivably hold district town-hall style meetings at a district facility to get a better idea of what the public thinks about their schools.  It would also allow the faculty and staff within each district’s boundaries to have a specific board member with whom to express their concerns as well as their delights, allowing  stronger personal relationships with board members.  It certainly aligns with the district structure of academic learning communities and the philosophy of building stronger relationships contained in the strategic plan.

There are many other reasons to consider and promote these two issues and the discussion of district elections goes hand-in-hand with the idea of consolidating smaller districts into our own, but that is the subject of another blog.  If re-elected (and possibly even if I’m not), I will pursue and promoted these two very important issues along with the other challenges we will face.

Finally, I would like to thank those of you who continue to read and share this blog with others.  I hope you have voted, or will vote, on Tuesday and the outcome will be the best for the children in the Modesto City School district.

Well, we’re coming into the home stretch of this campaign, and I can’t say I’m sorry to see it coming to a close.  It doesn’t seem as if we’ve really been at it long, and at the same time, it seems like it’s been going on forever.  I think I will be glad to have my life and routine go back to normal.  It probably wouldn’t have been so crazy if I hadn’t been juggling so much at work at the same time, but I’m happy to have survived the experience.

One of the things you learn in your life’s more stressful moments, is who your real friends are.  Many of the people who came through in various ways were no surprise.  They are my good friends and colleagues; people with whom I have long-standing friendships.  Others, though, are people who I really didn’t know that well, but who have professed a belief in me by virtue of their guidance, their contributions to my campaign or their generous thoughts and words when I needed them most.  There have certainly been those who have surprised me in exactly the opposite way, by withdrawing support and friendship for reasons somewhat mysterious to me.  I understand people do what they need to and holding a grudge has never been my style.  My personal test will be to appropriately  handle all these newly modified relationships should I be fortunate enough to retain my seat on the board.  I feel I am up to the task and look forward to moving ahead to do what is best for the children in the district.

This campaign has been a whirlwind, frustrating, enlightening, enjoyable and a pain in the neck all at the same time.  I can’t imagine what it must be like at the state and national levels when there is so much more to do, so much more territory to cover and so very much at stake.  I’ve barely been able to keep the grass cut and the laundry done, so I can’t imagine what it must be like to criss-cross the state or the country and keep a handle on everything you have to do in order to compete in a gubernatorial or presidential campaign.

One of the loose ends I will have after next week will be to decide what to do with this blog.  I have genuinely enjoyed writing the blog posts and have received a great deal of very positive feedback about its content.  I think I might continue to write about what I see in my daily rounds, what issues come up in our community, or other topics which might be of interest to people.  If people stop reading, I suppose that will be my indication to stop writing.  In the meantime, I’ll continue the campaign posts and we’ll see what happens next week.  Thank you for reading and for your continued support of my candidacy.

If you happened to see last Sunday’s Modesto Bee, (Oct.18) you read a bit about each candidates thoughts on the budget.  You read about their priorities, their willingness to reduce or not reduce particular programs and what they thought might address the minimum $15 million dollar shortfall the district will face next year.  Since the information provided by each candidate was severely limited, I thought I would provide some additional information to you on where I stand.

I had a question about my statement on health care costs.  I need to make very clear, my position is that we need to look at our health care costs, not that employees should necessarily pay more of those costs.  I believe we need to look the plan we offer, whether or not we can find something that would be more cost-effective and if there are any other ways to lower costs.  There are other plans, such as health savings accounts, that can provide substantial savings to employees under some circumstances.   There is nobody who doesn’t agree health care costs are spiraling out of control; I see that personally in my daily work.  Like most people, I am paying more for my own health insurance, that of my children and as an employer who provides health insurance benefits for my employees.  Like most employers, we have been forced to change our health care benefits in the last couple of years and our employees are paying more for their coverage.  My point is, health care costs are high, both for the district and for employees, and it warrants examination as a way to cut back.

I would never suggest we should discontinue providing health coverage for our employees.  I believe we need health care reform and nobody should be put in the position of being unable to see a doctor or taking care of their children because they can’t afford health insurance.  Health care and insurance are complex issues and I’m very happy to see our nation engaged in a discussion about improving access for all.  I encourage and support the idea of health care reform and hope that we can come together to make health care more affordable for all citizens.

School closures, as I have said before, may become a reality whether we like it or not.  Many districts have chosen to close schools for budgetary reasons and when schools are declining in enrollment, the option must be considered.  It may be a course of action that proves to be more palatable than others and I believe we must be open to the idea.

Essentially, when it comes to making budget reductions in the neighborhood of $15 million or more, we must be open to discussing everything.  We must also be realistic in our expectations of what will and won’t get us to the magic number we must reach.  There are other possibilities that haven’t been broached as of yet; I expect we will have to get very creative in our efforts to navigate this fiscal storm.  My hope is only that all parties working  toward the solutions will be willing to bend in ways they have not in the past.

I don’t think there is any question this campaign for the Modesto City Schools Board has been one for the record books.  Nine people in the race, all four incumbents running to retain their seats, a district in transition and virtually nobody agreeing on anything.  What I find most fascinating and certainly prevalent is the phenomenon of  “if you say it enough times, it becomes the truth”, whether it is or not.  We currently see the same trend at the state level.  According to a recent Field Poll, 57% of Californians believe the state can provide about the same level of services simply by eliminating waste and inefficiencies.  That this perception is patently false seems to have no bearing on its persistent spread.   This attitude is mirrored in our own community by people who seem to believe car allowances for managers and consulting fees are the roots of our fiscal inequity.  While you may not agree these items are necessary district expenses, it really depends on your perspective.  In general, most people will tell you that what someone else is getting is not necessary, but what they ask for is fair.  Perception is one’s reality; evidence to the contrary just gets in the way.

The chants of  “no more cuts” still echo in my mind from the last two years of very long, painful board meetings when people said they understood that sacrifices must be made, but please cut something besides….well, you can fill in the blank.  The emails, phone calls, impassioned pleas at the podium, on the street and in the grocery store all had the same themes:  my program is valuable, my service is critical, my job is necessary.  The sad thing was, those statements were true at the time and still are.  The education, special programs and peripheral services we provide through the district are all important and help children and families.  This is why it is so very difficult to decide how to proceed when you don’t have the money to pay for all the things people ask for and need.  Most people would conclude the public school system can’t do it all, but can’t agree on what they should stop doing.

Discussions of budgets and personalities have obscured the issue that should always be at the forefront of any school board campaign:  the education and welfare of children.  There has been very little discussion about children, their needs and how to best educate them in this campaign.  The questions asked at candidate forums related to children have been few and far between.  People aren’t talking about what kinds of instructional strategies work best for English learners, whether small class sizes really make a difference for children or whether we should be teaching algebra to eighth-graders.  Children have somehow become tangential in the battle for who will prevail in the perceived district power struggle.  It’s time for everyone to stop claiming righteous indignation, pointing fingers and work together to provide the kind of education the children in our community deserve.

Every once in a while, when I start to ride the downhill slope that is running for public office, I stop and remember how really lucky I am.  I have a supportive family,  amazing children, a brilliant and special man in my life, remarkable co-workers and incredibly loyal friends.  Through my affiliations with the Stanislaus County Commission for Women and the Modesto Rotary, I have developed relationships with many interesting and unique people who have enriched my life and given me new perspectives.  The group of women working with me on my campaign have been so dedicated and supportive of my efforts and I am constantly amazed at their talent and creativity.  What I realize is that I have many people in my life that genuinely love me; some who are not even related to me.  What, you may ask, does any of this have to do with politics or for that  matter, education?

The answer is, relationships, support and opportunities.  Research shows that children who have supportive loving relationships with adults will be more successful in school.  Children who have people in their lives who take them music lessons, soccer practice, read to them, help them with their homework, encourage them and tell them they are special are indeed blessed.  They have an advantage over children who do not have those people cheering them on.  The thing we have to remember is that they don’t need many of those caring adults, they really only need one or two.  If they don’t have those people in their home, oftentimes, they can and do find them at school.  Whether a music teacher, basketball coach, librarian, counselor or custodian, school staff have a tremendous impact on students and can genuinely change the life of a child.  It’s very easy to find people who will tell you about a favorite teacher…someone who inspired them in their choice of career, hobby or dream. The reverse is true as well, many people have stories about someone at school whose careless comment or insensitivity caused them to give up, to quit or talk themselves out of a dream.  The lesson here is to realize the power of our words and deeds and that we must take great care when dealing with children and their sometimes fragile egos.

One of the tenants of the Modesto City Schools strategic plan is the emphasis on relationships.  The relationships between students, teachers, administrators and staff are the basis of student success.  Caring adults can provide support, guidance and wisdom to students who often have nowhere to turn.  It is also important to remember the benefits of these relationships are not one-way.  Spend any time at all with a young person, and you will immediately realize how much you gain from the interaction.  Our young people have a great deal to say and warrant  an educational environment that encourages them to think deeply and broadly.  I want to see our schools provide all of our children with the opportunities, caring and relationships I enjoy.  What they do with those opportunities is up to them, but they all deserve their shot.

A topic hotly discussed with regards to politicians is ethics.  Unethical and immoral behavior by elected officials is the mainstay of late-night comedy and we never see a long period of time elapse before a scandal breaks involving national, state or local politicians.  Thankfully, we haven’t heard too much of that here on the local level, but does it mean our elected officials are behaving in an ethical way?  Are the small breaches of ethics really that important to the electorate?  If a person is capable of minor infractions, does it indicate a propensity for more major violations?

I differentiate between ethics and morals  in this way:  an ethical person knows the rules and lives by them where a moral person lives by the rules without necessarily knowing what they are, but because they intuitively know the right thing to do.  Many believe you must be a religious person to be moral, but I don’t believe that is the case.  Religious instruction plays a large role in the development of morals and ethics because it gives us codes to live by, but not belonging to an organized religion does not preclude one from morality.  Most people are generally ethical, but engage in periodic lapses of judgment because we are human.

Elected officials are held to a higher standard of ethics, and rightfully so.  As a keeper of public dollars and the public trust, we must understand our obligation to behave in an ethical, honest way even when nobody is watching.  Many a politician has been lulled into a false sense of security and privacy, then behaved in a way that raises eyebrows, red flags, news stories and personal regret when the jig is up.  Is it arrogance, a sense of entitlement or ignorance that causes people to believe they are invincible or above the law?  Probably a combination of all three, but arrogance seems to play the biggest role, while ignorance is the most common excuse for bad behavior.

Sex scandals, financial scandals and other immoral, unethical behavior on a large scale are the things that get media time and our attention.  I believe, however, that it’s the little things that count.  Recently, my daughter asked me if she could use my district-issued  athletic pass to enter a football game.  I don’t fault her for asking and I don’t think she understood the implications of her request.  I used it as a “teachable moment” to explain the pass was issued to me so that I could show support of schools as a board member, not as a “get into the game free” card for anyone who wanted it.  After the fairly predictable “who’s going to know?” questions and answers, she understood and I had the opportunity to impart what I believed to be a valuable lesson. The question of “who’s going to know?” was the whole point…it didn’t matter that anyone other than I would know.

The responsibility of elected officials and others in positions of authority is to tell the truth, act in an ethical way and not abuse their authority and power regardless of who knows about it.  If we are to expect our tax dollars to be spent in a responsible way, we must be able to trust those charged with that responsibility.  We must believe they work for the common good and not for select members of the public.  Is the devil really in the details?  In this case, yes, I believe it is.

Does everyone feel like all we hear, talk or think about anymore is the economy, our personal finances and what a sad state of affairs we face?  In California, we not only feel the effects of the national recession, but an unprecedented state fiscal crisis as well.  Our housing industry has been decimated, state and county services have been slashed, health care services are harder to come by and education has been cut back to is lowest levels in recent memory.  When state and federal monies wane, local school districts pay the price and school boards find themselves in the unenviable position of telling students, teachers, parents and their communities what will be eliminated from their schools.

One of the things many school districts are considering in order to save money is the closure of schools.  This has also been a subject in all the candidate forums where, as I recall, all the participating candidates said school closures would be something they would consider as a cost saving measure.  One of the candidates was of the opinion the Modesto City School district should have moved toward closing schools some time ago and suggested  we have been negligent for not doing so.  Some question why we are discussing school closures while simultaneously building and opening a new high school in Salida.  Briefly, the high school is financed through a bond measure passed several years ago to alleviate overcrowding at the high schools and provide a more even geographical distribution of students throughout the district.  Bond funds cannot be used for purposes other than those designated by the language in the bond.

For the last several years, the elementary district has experienced a decline in enrollment.  At the same time, however, some of our high schools remain significantly overcrowded.   We continue to experience a decline in enrollment at the elementary level, though it does seem to be slowing.  Essentially, the logic is that if you don’t have enough students for a facility, you consider closing the facility to save in staffing, maintenance, utility and other costs and redistribute the students among other schools.   In addition to realizing a savings by closing a facility, the district could simultaneously generate additional revenue by leasing the closed school, using it as a charter school or for some other purpose.  There are a number of possibilities, but they don’t come without a cost.

Closing schools is not ideal and very painful.  There is a disruption to students and families, reduction of staff virtually always ending in a loss of jobs.  There are a great many things we must consider in the discussion of closing facilities, beginning with the projected or actual enrollment declines and whether it is likely they will continue.  There is always an effect on other facilities when students are transferred and we must consider the impact as well as the consequences to all the schools’ educational offerings.  There is a cost to the displacement of students and staff, including transportation costs of students and the reassignment of the school staff.  If we are to consider using the empty facility for other purposes, we must determine the viability of such a propsal and the cost of development of a plan of use.

No one believes the closure of a school is the best course of action for the community, but it could be an option that makes the most sense for the district.  Any action taken regarding a closure must be done with the utmost consideration and deliberation.  As we continue navigating the uncertain financial path thrust upon us, we must not rule out anything that keeps the district financially solid while maintaining high academic standards.