Publication Date: Wednesday Oct 18, 2000

SCHOOLS: Candidates speak out at forum

All three candidates for the Ravenswood City School District school board have been involved in the schools for many years. They generally agreed on questions posed at the League of Women Voters/East Palo Alto Homeowners Association candidate forum at East Palo Alto City Hall, though there were a few differences. Incumbent Chester Palesoo is running against Stanford administrator Jacqueline Wallace Greene, and retired contractor and airline mechanic Edward Moss for two open seats on the board--including one being vacated by incumbent Donna Rutherford, who is running for the East Palo Alto City Council.

Regino Navarro, whose name will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot, has dropped out of the race for unspecified reasons.

Moss said he thinks it is very important for parents to be involved in their child's school.

"We have to work together to bring about change," Moss said. "I think I can help make it happen."

He also said the district has to do a better job teaching students English, if they are not native speakers.

"All our children need to be able to communicate in English," Moss said. "It bothers me when a student leaves (Ravenswood) and goes to high school and cannot speak English.

Moss said he does not think there are enough funds to correctly run the existing bilingual program in Ravenswood. The program has teachers instruct students both in their native language and in English. He recommends going to an English immersion program.

Greene said she would like to keep the bilingual program the district is running. Greene added that she thinks every student should learn a second language.

"They will all need to know a second language in high school, as well as college," Greene said.

Palesoo agreed that all students should learn a foreign language. The district does have a policy saying every child should learn a second language, but it has not been enforced.

For Palesoo, the top priority is keeping the quality teachers the district now has, and attracting more. He would like to increase teachers' salaries to help keep them.

"I want to look at staff morale and look at staff salary," Palesoo said. "We have good staff members and I want to hold on to them."

Communication with parents is also important for Palesoo.

One concern of the parents attending the forum was crowded schools. Many schools have portable classrooms all over campus to handle the growing student populations.

Voting for Measure C, the $10 million school bond proposed by Ravenswood officials, would help the school board expand schools, Greene said.

"If you vote yes on Measure C so we can lower classroom sizes," Greene said. "We could also bring in more modern classrooms."

Moss said he would like to see more schools built.

"We need more schools, not just more portables," Moss said. "I would be nice in the budget if we might get more aides in the classroom to help the teachers."

Palesoo said supporting Measure C would allow the district to complete its building plans.

Academically, the district has been improving, Palesoo said, as shown by the improved state rankings from the STAR Test.

He added that he thinks the workings of the district are going well also. "Our current school board team is making progress, let us continue on this," Palesoo said.

The forum was taped by the Mid-Peninsula Access Corporation (MPAC), which will air it on cable Channel 6 on Oct. 21 at 5:30 p.m. on Channel 77, and Nov. 5 at 3:30 p.m. 

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