By Khalida Sarwari
The Saratoga community had ample face time with the five candidates running for the Saratoga Union School board of trustees at an Oct. 21 forum. Hosted by the Southwest Santa Clara Valley League of Women Voters, the forum was moderated by Roberta Hollimon, who asked the candidates a mix of questions posed by league members and members of the audience.
The candidates–Patty Buchanan, Susan Germeraad, Cynthia Miller, Laura Tillett and Yongjian Wu–are vying for three open seats on the board.
Tillett said she is running to improve the district’s transparency and its communication with parents and the community, and to help create a technology plan. She said that while the board should monitor test results to make sure that students are performing, she does not favor interfering with classroom teaching.
As for the early dismissal schedule on Wednesdays, she said she finds it beneficial for teachers to have that time to discuss their students and lesson plans. Tillett said she is most proud of students because they work hard amid academic pressures, sports and extracurricular activities, and secondly, teachers for their dedication to their work.
Miller credited her financial knowledge and discipline and willingness to do her homework on issues as her strongest assets. “I dig in and I dig deep,” she said, promising not to be a “rubber stamp” and to give careful consideration to every matter.
Even in tough fiscal times, preserving what happens in the classroom should be the board’s first priority, she said. Miller said she supports offering advanced math classes to students in middle school who are capable of handling it. “I’m absolutely committed to making sure those opportunities are available to children,” she said.
When asked about what she believes is the duty of a board, she said it is to “provide oversight and set policy,” and that the task of creating and delivering the curriculum should be left to teachers. She said she is against the early dismissal schedule and that while professional development time for teachers is important, it should be scheduled prior to the start of the school year or times that wouldn’t interfere with the students’ academic schedule.
Miller said she is most proud of living in a community that values education. “Education is the best gift we can give to our children and to our community in the long run,” she said.
Wu said that if elected he would focus on restoring school hours and take measures to keep schools competitive and improve communication between the board and parents. He also supports the middle school math track option that makes geometry available to eighth-graders. “I would like to keep that option for students open so they don’t have to go outside of school,” he said.
Wu called for bringing back “adequate school hours.”
“My ultimate goal is to fight for more school days,” he said.
Like Miller, he, too, said that he doesn’t favor micromanagement.
Buchanan touted her experience not only on the board but that of having her kids go through every grade level in Saratoga as strengths. She said she is running again because she offers a unique perspective and would maintain the district’s “tradition of excellence.” If the district should go through another financially challenging time, Buchanan said her first priority would be to “keep it as far away from the children as possible.”
The incumbent noted that giving students adequate time with their teachers and giving teachers time for professional development is “a balancing act.”
“I think it’s a conversation that’s still important but we also need to keep in mind that professional development is important,” she said.
Buchanan said she is most proud of the community for its support. If elected, she said she would help strengthen communication between the board and the stakeholders and maintain the district’s fiscal health.
“I want to ensure SUSD is where all learners thrive,” she said.
Germeraad said she is running to rebuild trust between the community and the district. As someone who has studied the district’s budget over the past seven years, she said she understands how the process works. The role of the board, Germeraad said, is not to micromanage but to give guidance and receive feedback from the community and allow instructors to deliver the curriculum. The early dismissal issue was challenging for the district, she said, because “we have to juggle all the educational priorities with childcare priorities.”
Germeraad said she is most proud of the students and their creativity as well as the schools for giving students the opportunities and resources to cultivate their creativity.
“I really want to see the children in Saratoga have the same opportunities that I had,” she said. “I want their education to be as full as it can be.”
Link: Five candidates for school board face public in League forum
