Publication Date: Wednesday Oct 13, 1999

Editorial: Tuomy, Lowell and Sprengfor school board

The surprise then was that one of two write-in candidates, Mandy Lowell, received 4,000 votes. It wasn't enough to edge out second-place finisher John Barton (with 6,000), but it showed how much the community wants choices when electing school board members.

And choices we have this time around.

A strong field of six candidates, including Lowell, are running for the three open, four-year seats. Only one incumbent, John Tuomy, is seeking re-election, since trustees Susie Richardson and Don Way are stepping down. A seventh candidate, Joyce Osagiede, has dropped out.

It's an exciting and challenging time for the school district. While finances are good and the $143 million Building for Excellence program is now under way, enrollment growth and class size reduction in the primary grades have led to new pressures.

An unprecedented turnover of teachers and administrators due to retirement and enrollment growth has occurred in recent years, creating a need for more attention to recruiting, training and evaluating staff than at any time in the past three decades.

And although a booming economy is keeping property tax revenues on the rise, the growth in the number of students means the actual money available per student is projected to decline. With the opening of a third middle school at the top of every candidate's priority list, district finances and the community's willingness to approve another bond measure will be important issues during the next few years.

Interestingly, curriculum issues do not separate the candidates significantly, as they did four years ago at the height of debate over the math program and so-called direct instruction.

With these challenges in mind, we recommend Tuomy, Lowell and Barbara Spreng as the best trio to join current board members Cathy Kroymann and John Barton.

Tuomy, 53, has been a strong leader on the school board. Elected after heading the successful bond measure campaign in 1995, he played a key role in getting the district through the early controversies of the Building for Excellence program and the successful hiring and transition to new Superintendent Don Phillips. He brings a background as both a teacher and a business person and believes the ability to attract and keep good teachers and administrators is the biggest issue facing the district.

Lowell, 42, is a corporate litigation attorney and Harvard Law School graduate who recently made the decision to stop practicing law. We weren't ready to support her as a write-in candidate two years ago, but she has since done her homework and become more involved in the schools. Lowell has the support of many in the school community who have pushed the school board to adopt a more back-to-basics direct instruction curriculum, but she articulates a more balanced approach and emphasizes she will use her mediation skills to bring those with differing viewpoints together. We believe she will bring a refreshing new voice and perspective to the board.

Spreng, 44, is an active community volunteer who devotes almost full-time energy to the schools and several nonprofit organizations. She believes there is great potential for more partnerships between the schools, the city and the business and nonprofit community, and she is critical of the failure of the city and district to reach agreement over a joint Gunn library. She (and Lowell) emphasize the need for the board to listen better to the public and use decision-making processes that ensure all needs are on the table and being discussed. Spreng's leadership skills are well-tested in her work in the community, and she would be immediately effective on the school board.

For voters who may have strong feelings about geographic diversity on the board, we recommend Gail Price instead of Spreng. Spreng, Lowell and Kroymann all live in the Duveneck Elementary School attendance area, while Price is connected with the Juana Briones Elementary School community.

Price, 51, has a son at Gunn High School and a son at Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School and is a board member and past president of Palo Alto Community Child Care. She helped establish the new pre-kindergarten program designed to help students with limited English ability and no preschool experience get ready for kindergarten. She has been a planner for the city of Sunnyvale for 17 years and could bring that expertise to the school board in addressing the district's long-range planning needs.

The two remaining candidates, Shelby Valentine, 52, and Katherine Rudolph, 24, are both articulate and credible candidates, but simply can't match the experience and qualities of the others.

Residents in the Palo Alto Unified School District have great choices to run a district whose excellence is probably more important to the overall quality of life in our community than any other single factor.

We recommend the election of John Tuomy, Mandy Lowell and Barbara Spreng as the best team to help lead the district for the next four years.



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