District finances divide candidates

The League of Women Voters, along with the Cottonwood Union School District, held a candidate forum at North Cottonwood School and about 70 members of the community turned out for the event.

Issues such as finances, health benefits, and teacher evaluation were discussed by five of six candidates last Wednesday, Oct. 7. Incumbent Jim Seale was unable to attend the forum because of a recent surgery.

Following several years of contract disputes with its teachers and a change of administrators, the state of the district's finances proved to be a hot topic. Many of the audience's questions pertained to district finances and the resulting loss of programs due to lack of funds.

With parents pulling their children out of the district for varying reasons, incumbents Fred Lucero and Paul Walther each said it was important to recapture those students who had left the district.

Walther suggested adding a home study program or a charter school to the district's offering of services, but neither candidate was able to offer suggestions for cutting the district's bonded debt on North Cottonwood School.

Scott Goldschmidt, a supervisor for PG & E, suggested talking to parents and learning why they are leaving the district. Michelle Thomas, a relative resource navigator, pointed to the rift between the teachers and the board members as an area that needed improvement before looking into getting students back.

Dave Wallace, a certified public accountant, pointed to districts in Sacramento and the Bay area citing how they ask parents why they choose the district and why they leave. He, along with Thomas and Goldschmidt, felt that re-capturing the 62 students who left would not solve the greater problem of fiscal mismanagement within the district.

Thomas said by cutting the $60,000 in health benefits the board receives would be a way to add more teachers' aides to the classroom. Wallace added cutting one board member's health benefits was equal to 68 hours of aide time and felt the use of money in the legal fund could help pay down on the current loan on North Cottonwood School, and possibly refinacing it to a lower interest rate.

Walther said, "I don't think the district is that far in debt. What we need to do is get the students back."

Lucero agreed with Walther and pointed to the district looking into purchasing a new bus for special education.

While discussing health benefits, Alan Swanson, a former part-time attorney for the district, was mentioned. Wallace pointed to the need to reduce the $1.2 million in post-employment benefits that the district currently pays in health benefits for Swanson and the district's former superintendent.

Thomas and Goldschmidt both cited Swanson as an example of poor fiscal management.

Lucero said Swanson's health benefit package "had slipped unnoticed by the board for five years."

On the subject of relationships between board members and the teachers, all the candidates stated that better communication was needed. Thomas and Wallace both felt professionalism and credibility need to be brought back.

Wallace said the lack of transparency within the district needed to change, that no one knows how much money the district has or what it is being spent on.

On the topic of STAR test scores being used to evaluate teachers, the candidates agreed the scores should be looked at, but not heavily weighed for teacher performance.

"I remember when I use to take the STAR test. I made patterns with the bubbles. They should not be used to evaluate teachers," said Thomas.