Boone zeroes in on staff salaries

Friday, October 1, 2004 By Peter Hegarty, Alameda Journal

First-time candidate Vernice Boone has worked as an instructional assistant in Oakland schools and as a substitute teacher.

He also has been a factory worker and a telemarketer and was once homeless, living in People's Park in Berkeley.

Last year, he self-published a novel, "What shall I call it?"

Along with seeking a seat on the school board, Boone filed election papers for a seat on the City Council and for the Alameda Health Care District. Although his name will appear on the ballot as a candidate for those offices, he is now actively running only for a seat on the school board.

District officials project up to a $750,000 deficit this school year. How would you balance the books?

Well, there's answers you give to get elected. And then there's the answers you give when you solve the problem.

I've been in school districts. I know that janitors get paid more than substitute teachers like me.

I would really have to look into it to see where I could reduce friction, tension and stress. If I could relieve that, or some of it, the system would work better.

But to answer that question, I would have to be elected.

If program cuts are needed, what would you cut first and why?

I would have to know what programs they have. But the ones that I would not want to cut are the ones where the teachers, the students and the parents are all involved. Don't cut those.

If administrative cuts are needed, where would you cut?

A person on the Board of Education gets $300 a month. How much does the principal get? Nobody talks about that. They could cut half of what the principal gets and they probably wouldn't even know it was missing.

I don't want to get the principals mad at me. But I say: Cut the principal's salaries in half.

What would you do to boost test scores and student performance?

Just keep students practicing. When I teach, I always give them questions that are on the test, but in another direction -- I phrase the question so it's different that what will be on the test.

Describe the relationship between the city, the district and developers of the former Naval base? Can it be improved, and what would you do?

There's tension, stress, friction. You've got to eliminate that. That system, like any other system, would work better, and then you can see where the faults are.

What's the most pressing issue facing AUSD today?

Locating and identifying people who are going to be bad tomorrow. People falling through the cracks, single parents. They got to turn that around.

We've got to concentrate on not losing our kids to the bad things in the world.

What separates you from the other candidates and what distinguishes you from the on the board?

If the person don't vote for me he's a Republican. And if that's the way it is, no hard feelings.

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Last Modified: October 1, 2004

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