The Galt Herald ◆ Wednesday, September 29, 2010
ELECTION 2010
2010 GJUESD Board candidates
The Galt Herald is pleased to present the Each candidate has been asked a series of printed as submitted by the candidate. We
2010 Galt Joint Union Elementary School questions and has been allowed to answer in hope this information will help you in making
District Board Questionnaire. their own words. Each response has been an informed decision at the polls on Nov. 2.
Jennifer Collier
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I plan to work through budget
issues with diligence, consider
all options, and transparent
communication. I plan to be
receptive to new ideas and
keep an open mind. We need
to address areas that may need
How do you plan further consideration. The goal
to address budget is to use the budget provided
by the state of California to pre-
issues while serve teaching and support staff
preserving jobs? positions. While preserving jobs
is very important the standard
for employees and administra-
tion must be factored into the
design of education. We must
lead by example.
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I will support music, athletics,
and art programs by keeping
all options open. There may be
unpleasant cuts that will have to
be made. Funding issues can
be addressed through other
How will you support avenues of such as grants and
music, athletics partnering with the community.
and art programs Our goal is to provide the most
through hard times? we can with less funds. The
budget may be minimal for a
time. However there is the need
to look ahead with a plan and
strategy which projects a vision
for the future that reflects the
success of our students.
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Each candidate offers unique
skills and experience. I have
compassion for the employees
and the job they face everyday
working to educate our students. I
am familiar with several commit-
tees and have worked with the
current board, administration and
What qualifies you teachers; including School Site
to serve over your Council, Parent Teacher Asso-
competitors? ciation, Sly Park Volunteers, and
District Advisory Committee. I hold
high standards for both students
and administration. The number
one priority is to provide and serve
the children in this community.
Children need a balance between
instruction, practice, imagination,
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creative expression and physical
development.
I do not believe the cur-
rent board has failed. The new
school board of trustees will be
challenged with building a new
team that will be facing econom-
Can you name one ic stress. For further discussion
area where you feel on this question please join
me at Galt Community Park on
the current board October 2nd at 5:00pm. I will be
has failed? addressing additional issues.
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I would like to see the Fairsite
property used in partnership
with CAST (City and Schools
Together) and Galt Youth Master
Plan, (currently in draft stage). In
addition to the current services
What is your provided at the Fairsite campus;
Sunshine Food Closet, Preschool,
proposal for the Parenting Outreach and support.
Fairsite property? I would like to see the Fairsite
campus developed into a com-
munity center where students and
adults can participate in drama,
music, language classes, and
much more. The facility could be
used to provide adult night school,
professional development, and
computer classes.
A5
Wesley Cagle
My plan is to first and fore-
most look over the budget and
check for any type of non-es-
sential spending. Much like we
do at home with our budgets,
we always start by cutting back
or eliminating the items we do
not need. The second thing is
check to see if there is anyway
to increase revenue through
district facilities. The school dis-
trict can rent different facilities
such as multi-purpose rooms,
gyms and outdoor fields to local
athletic groups. They can also
sell advertising space, which I
have seen school districts do.
I fully support these pro-
grams and believe they need to
be a part of the education pro-
grams at our schools. Hopefully,
we can financially support these
programs. The school district
where I grew up started a com-
munity foundation to help with
events like these. I believe this
would be an excellent idea for
the elementary district. It raises
funds that could open doors
to events these children are
losing. This type of fund could
enable teachers and students
alike to continue with a variety
of activities.
I believe it is a combination
of my education, career and
willingness to volunteer. I was a
teacher for 10 years, so I under-
stand the frustration that people
in education have about losing
jobs and funding while gaining
more students, more responsi-
bility and higher expectations on
test scores.
In hard economic times, we
as a community need to step up
and do what is right for the stu-
dents. The current board I feel
should have declined payment
and health benefits. It seems
as if parents, certificated staff
and classified staff members
are expected to volunteer their
time to help our schools. How
come the school board did not?
Five members at 200 dollars a
month is 1,000 dollars. Over 12
months, that equals 12,000 dol-
lars going back to the children
of Galt.
My proposal is to keep the
First 5 Program there. It seems
to be a very good program that
is doing well. I would research
and see if there are any other
educational programs that the
district may be able to incor-
porate with the First 5 and
possibly gain more financing. I
would not sell it. Right now the
market is not good. From what I
have read, there is a possibility
that in a few years our student
population may increase. If that
happens, we will have a facility.
Albert Bachmann III
With our nation’s economy in
the situation it is, it is our duty to
examine ways to preserve the
jobs of those willing to devote
their lives to ensuring the edu-
cation of our children. Schools
are not money makers. They
rely on state and federal funding
for the most of their revenue. As
we all know depending on that
money is sketchy at best. We
will definitely have to have some
out of the box solutions if we are
to endure through this economic
peril.
As a father of 3, my children
use and love these programs
that I will do my best to defend.
We as a society seem to wor-
ship those who are artistically,
or athletically talented. How can
we possibly produce the next
best selling author, pop singer,
or professional athlete if we cut
programs like these? I believe
it’s the arts that make us more
than status quo. It teaches us
how to hold on to our imagina-
tions that so many of us lose
with age.
In my career I have worked
my way to the top. There were
many long hours often with
deadlines looming. I have made
many decisions, some good,
some not so good. Being honest
and having integrity helped me
do what it took to make it work.
With all that said, really I am not
any more special than any one
else. But what I am doing is
getting involved.
I do not care for negative pol-
itics. The simple facts of life are
that every one makes mistakes.
The key is to learn from those
mistakes and make things better
if possible. It’s more important
to be positive and form a strong
trusting team environment to
ensure our youths future VS
focusing on where some one
has failed.
We need to better prepare
our children for their learning
years. I believe it would be best
to support those early learning
years with the preschool cur-
rently in operation.
Kevin Papineau
We must recognize our
priorities as a district, examine
what we are doing, and eliminate
expenditures that do not help us
satisfy those priorities. We also
have to continually seek new and
non traditional sources of funding
such as grants and partnerships.
Reduction in the personnel por-
tion of the budget requires either
a cut in personnel or compensa-
tion. Neither is desirable but I
would favor keeping personnel
while doing everything pos-
sible to mitigate compensation
reduction because of the impact
teacher to student ratio has on
children achieving their potential.
The arts and athletics are
important to a well rounded
education and we need to
retain teachers to keep physi-
cal education, art and music in
the school day. Partnering with
volunteers and foundations can
help with these programs as
well as after school programs to
supplement them. The Marengo
Ranch After School Academy,
supported by the Parent Teach-
er Club, and the recent REI
support of the Cosumnes River
Preserve environmental educa-
tion program are examples of
these beneficial relationships
we should encourage.
My career in law enforce-
ment has also necessitated
and developed the ability to
approach situations in a logical
and unbiased manner, not
taking things at face value or
jumping to conclusions. The
past eight years of my career
have been dedicated to the
protection of children. I have
successfully worked as part of
county and statewide commit-
tees to improve child safety and
investigation and prosecution
of crimes against children. It
has required that I demonstrate
integrity and sensitivity in deal-
ing with complex and critical
situations.
The biggest area I see for
improvement in the board is
communication with the com-
munity. Open communication
and transparent operation will
rebuild trust that has been lost.
Board members must be in
touch with parents, teachers,
students and the community
to have the best information
and understanding to make
decisions. The board also
must communicate clearly
to the community the things
that necessitate actions under
consideration.
The Fairsite property should
be used in the manner that
best serves the district and the
community in the long term.
Providing First 5 pre-K services
and partnering with community
colleges to establish a satellite
location for adult learning both
bring income and employment.
Other partnerships that would
benefit the community should
be considered such as with
health or dental clinic providers
or CalWorks. Partnerships like
these could provide more value
to the district and the commu-
nity than the sale of the land in
the current real estate market.
William Utile
The classroom should be
the last place to feel any cuts.
Administrative positions and
salaries need to be reviewed.
Curriculum and staff develop-
ment expenditures also need to
be revised before cuts are made
to teachers, athletics, libraries,
and the arts.
First, make extra curricular
activities a priority, second only
to keeping teachers and supplies
in the classroom. Second, look
to outside funding sources and
sponsorships. As a service
learning coordinator in Elk Grove,
I work with several entities that
provide funding for programs that
are now going strong despite
the district’s need to eliminate
funding as economic times have
become difficult. The projects
I currently administer without
the use of district funds include
student filming making projects,
science camp scholarships, vol-
unteer programs in athletics, and
a service recognition program.
I am a parent of four young
daughters attending school
here in Galt, giving me a very
personal reason to want the
Galt schools to offer the best
education possible. Addition-
ally, I have fourteen years of
experience as an elementary
classroom teacher, a curriculum
coach, a mentor, and a service
coordinator. I have a Bachelor
of Arts Degree in Economics
from CSUS, and a Master of
Education in Cross Cultural
Teaching Degree form National
University.
I believe that the current
board has failed to set an
agenda of action that correlates
with the desires and needs of
the community. I do believe
that the board has made recent
efforts to hear the citizens of
Galt, but the priorities set forth
by the district administration
have not met the expectations
of the parents and students in
the district. As a board member
I want to reestablish trust by
insuring that the desires of the
community are not only heard,
but listened to.
If the district is in a position
where selling the property would
not be feasible at this time,
other revenue producing op-
portunities should be explored.
There are several questions that
should be asked by the board
concerning the Fairsite campus.
Can the multipurpose room be
leased to Parks & Recreation
for basketball or cheer practice?
Can classrooms be leased out
to Champions for afterschool
programs? Can churches lease
rooms for worship? Could the
district office be moved to the
Fairsite campus to save money
on their current lease?