Board of Education Hopefuls

Alameda Sun Thursday, October 28, 2004

The Alameda Board of Education will have three spots open, which will be decided at the local polls Nov. 2. Following are profiles of the five candidates, which were compiled through interviews and candidate questionnaires.

David Forbes

David Forbes, general manager of Club Nautique, first got involved with the schools in 1999 when his children started school. Since then, Forbes has worked for different organizations and causes. He was the founding member of the Measure A (school) parcel tax committee, a co-chair for the Measure C campaign in March, a board member for the Alameda Education Foundation, president of Alameda PTA Council and he’s sat on various other committees. Because of his involvement within the school district, he has received awards and honors including the “Volunteer of the Year” award.

“I know I could bring leadership to the school district,” Forbes said. “I would be very comfortable in the position.”

Forbes said that there are four issues he would like to address if he is elected onto the Board of Education: closing the achievement gap, increasing community involvement within the school district, acquiring new and different sources of funding and improving the safety and health of students.

“I know the district and I know the issues. It’s time for an effective change,” Forbes said.

William Schaff

Running with Forbes for a spot on the Board of Education is Bay Isle Financial President and Chief Investment Officer William Schaff. Schaff, who received a master’s degree in engineering from the University of California, Davis, has an extensive background in finance. In fact, he serves as trustee and chairman of the Investment Committee of the Alameda County Employees Retirement Board and is a member of the San Francisco Analysts Society.

Schaff said his experience in finance would be an aid to a district that continually faces budget concerns. “I’m not really interested in politics,” Schaff said. “But I am about improving the school district.”

While he shares many of Forbes’ viewpoints on what should be addressed within the district, Schaff said that communication between the district and the community is one of his priorities.

“I prefer communicating as opposed to propaganda,” Schaff said. “The community needs to know what we (Board of Education) are responsible for and what we’re not responsible for.”

Karin Lucas

Karin Lucas, a 70-year-old retired attorney, has been a resident of Alameda for the past 40 years. In that time, she’s served three terms on the Alameda City Council and currently is a commissioner of the Public Utilities Board.

“I really think I could help the district,” Lucas said.

Although her children attended school in the district and have since gone on to college, Lucas said there are still things that need improvement like AUSD’s budget.

“One of the solutions to the budget is obtaining funding. I don’t think we should cut anymore, especially teacher’s salaries. They’re the ones that carry the district,” Lucas said.

Like Forbes and Schaff, Lucas agreed that there should be more communication with community members and employees. “We need to include teachers and families when we are making decisions” Lucas said.

Bob Reeves

Bob Reeves is an incumbent for the Board of Education currently finishing out his first term on the board and serving as board president. He worked for 36 years in Alameda in various education positions. He has worked as a teacher, coach, principal, director of education for academic testing, director of voactional education and ROP and as director of the Adult School. After his retirement, Revves said he has had time to give back to public service and that he chose the Board of Education becuase of his passion for schools.

Reeves says that education is critical to "help level the playing field" for everyone and to enrich society as a whole. The state, he says, hasn't funded schools adequetly or equally between districts and that Alameda is getting the short end of the funding stick.

"The state holds each district accountable to meet the required academic standards but doesn't fund districts equally," Reeves said in a questionnaire. "For instance, if Alameda had Dublin's revenue per student, we would receive $10,668,000 more. What a difference $10 million would make."

He says the district faces challenges with a decline in enrollment in the West End and that the development of Alameda Point will create a new challenge to find resources. Along with these challenges, Reeves said the district needs to focus on a relatively new component of education: technology.

"The state needs to feed its schools an adequate financial diet so they can truly be competitive," he said.

Janet Gibson

Janet Gibson is nearing the end of her first term of the Board of Education and is running as an incumbent for a second term. Gibson has 36 years experience teach and has been involved in developing cirriculum, school and classroom reform movements, building AUSD's "vision" and creating and implementing a strategic plan.

Gibson says she is enthusiastic about her position and that, as a former teacher, she brings a unique perspective. Serving the board has also given her valuable knowledge.

"During my past four years on the AUSD School Board, I have gained a variety of first-term experience: balancing our finances in spite of severe budget cuts, settling employee labor contracts, winning voter approval for two school ballot measures and lobbying state legislators to improve district funding," Gibson said in a candidate questionnaire.

Gibson said that the district needs to focus on closing the racial acheivement gap and equaling funding between East End and West End schools. The district also need to make major changes to the way it uses technology to help both teachers and students.

"I am a strong advocate for building better morale among our employee groups -- especially our teachers," Gibson said. "At a time when finances are limited and employee salaries remain stagnant, we need to improve non-monetary working conditions and develop an atmosphere that shows care and support."

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Last modified: October 29, 2004

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