Argus-Courier Editorial: Keep incumbents on school board

The business of operating California’s public schools is hard and getting harder.|

The business of operating California’s public schools is hard and getting harder. From implementing the newly adopted Common Core Standards, which demand extensive staff training and full technology upgrades, to the state’s new Local Control Funding Formula, board members of the Petaluma City Schools District are tackling a series of complex challenges to ensure that children here get the best possible public education.

Resurging tax revenues have begun to help the local district rebuild its general fund budget from a low of $64 million in 2010, to $71 million today. This will help ensure that class sizes and staffing levels remain on par with what Petaluma families have come to expect.

However, the district’s unrestricted reserves are still at just 8.1 percent in the 2014-15 school year, well below the state-recommended 15 percent level, and the district continues to deficit spend. And because state tax funding formulas are notoriously tenuous, and subject to change, there is a very real need for the school board to be cautious with reserves.

Such fiscal prudence, however, has generated conflict within the teachers’ union which is seeking pay increases for its members. The conflict remains unsettled, with teachers asking for a 4 percent pay increase, and the district offering 2.5 percent. School board members are charged with overseeing negotiations aimed at settling the conflict.

Additionally, because district voters approved two bond measures earlier this year to address long-deferred maintenance needs and improve the district’s 15 campuses serving more than 7,500 students, the board will need to ensure the funds are spent wisely on promised capital improvement projects.

This year, Petaluma is fortunate to have five bright and engaged candidates seeking to do this hard work on behalf of Petaluma’s children. In addition to three incumbents, Mike Baddeley, Sheri Chlebowski and Phoebe Ellis, two challengers, Steven Cozza and Gonzalo Romo, have entered the race for three seats on the ballot this Nov. 4.

It’s always a good thing to have a contested election, especially when it increases awareness and invites discussion about the function and responsibilities of the school board. But it’s not necessarily beneficial to change the makeup of a highly competent, experienced and knowledgeable school board just for the sake of change.

After interviewing the five candidates individually, we feel they are all intelligent, dedicated community members who want to make our public schools the best they can be. But given their overall success in shepherding the district at a time of unprecedented change, we see no need to replace the three incumbents.

We were particularly impressed with the numerous achievements of Baddeley and Chlebowski, both of whom are completing their first four-year terms on the board. In addition to possessing a firm grasp of school finances, programs and policies, their accomplishments as board members over the past four years is impressive.

Through their leadership, the district implemented a new technology plan that has brought interactive white boards into the classroom, as well as enhanced wireless access and digital tablet devices that will one day become standard operating issue for each student in the district. They have also helped initiate the Common Core Standards, ensuring proper training for teachers, and implemented a new transitional districtwide kindergarten program.

Mike Baddeley, an attorney and Petaluma native, is a longtime youth sports supporter, served capably on the city’s parks and recreation commission and was a board member on the Petaluma Boys and Girls Club. His understanding of district issues, coupled with his outgoing personality and extensive community involvement, make him an excellent candidate to continue on the board.

Sheri Chlebowski, the mother of three children who has worked as a BART police officer and as a municipal attorney, became active in the community with the Petaluma Mother’s Club. Like Baddeley, she has made it a priority to connect with parents, teachers and students and distinguished herself as a critical thinker who frequently asks questions of school administrators, always challenging them to do their best for local students.

Although she’s only been on the board since her appointment a little over one year ago, Phoebe Ellis has developed a solid reputation as a good listener who understands the nuances of school administration and uses her legal and business acumen to ensure the district operates efficiently and effectively. A former PTA president at Grant School, she also served on the school’s site council for three years.

While thoughtful and well-spoken, Cozza and Romo lack such experience with school affairs, and neither possesses a very good understanding of the complexities of the current landscape in public education.

Romo was unable to answer a question on how the district should approach the teacher negotiations, while Cozza, who has received campaign funding from the California Federation of Teachers, favors giving the teachers everything they are asking for, with little regard to how that might affect the district’s finances.

Baddeley, Chlebowski and Ellis all expressed their support for the teacher’s financial plight, but know the district may not have the funds to provide the 4 percent raise that teachers seek.

During a period when the school board is facing many important decisions regarding programs and finances, it is not the time to bring in new people who may possess ambitious political aspirations, but lack the experience, knowledge and skills of the incumbents.

The Argus-Courier recommends the election of Mike Baddeley, Sheri Chlebowski and Phoebe Ellis for the Petaluma City Schools Board of Education.

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