October 14, 2010 -- The Lookout Staff submitted questionnaires to the 23 candidates running for seats on the City Council and Board of Education. The candidates were given the same timeframe to answer the questions and were limited to 150 words per answer.

During the next several days, the Lookout News will publish the candidates’ answers verbatim. The profiles for the four-year City Council race will be published first, followed by the two-year City Council race and lastly the Board of Education race. They will appear in alphabetical order based on the candidates’ first names.

Name: Laurie Lieberman
Running for: Board of Education
Status: Challenger

Why are you running for office and why should residents vote for you?
I have 30 years of community, government and school experience in Santa Monica. As an attorney for the City, I worked on policy issues from affordable housing to child care. As a parent volunteer, I have been deeply involved with school funding campaigns and with academic, music and athletic programs. I co-chaired the Samohi Coalition which convinced the City to commit $57 million to a joint City/School District project. I chaired the Measure A Fundraising Committee. As LEAD’s co-chair, I advocated for greater accountability in District decision-making.

Sheila Kuehl and Julia Brownley endorse me because they know I combine experience with an understanding of the challenges that face our schools.

I hope to bring leadership that makes a real difference in the lives of children. I have the ability and the wherewithal to help our District obtain greater financial resources and build coalitions that will help realize excellence and equity.

Do you have any children attending SMMUSD schools or who graduated from SMMUSD schools? What has your specific involvement been with the school district?
My son is currently a junior at Samohi and my daughter is a sophomore at Williams College. My children attended Will Rogers Elementary School, Lincoln Middle School, and Samohi.

Since my children entered kindergarten, I have been active in our schools. As an elementary school parent, I volunteered in classrooms, ran the book fair and participated in PTA activities. In middle school, I continued to participate in PTA activities, and became active in District-wide funding measures. This year is my third on Samohi’s PTA Executive Board. As an Athletics Booster Club member and Choir Board member, I actively support high school athletics and the music program.

My recent leadership roles include co-chairing the Samohi Coalition and LEAD. I was also instrumental in developing the advisory measure (YY) for the City’s use tax (Y) that was ultimately supported by the education community and placed on the November ballot by the City Council.

How would you rate the current Board of Education? What particular decisions stand out for you that made you form that opinion?
The current Board has worked very hard during challenging times, but it needs to play a greater leadership role.

Special education: The Board was slow to respond to parents who raised issues about our approach to special education, including forced confidentiality clauses. Not only were special education families harmed; the District’s reputation in the community and its partnership with the City were damaged.

Civic Center Joint Use Project: The Board should have played a more active and visible advocacy role supporting this outstanding project, working alongside parents who secured the City’s $57 million allocation to it.

Securing local sources of funding: The District’s approach to private fundraising will be addressed in the coming months. While the SOS, Measure A and Y/ YY campaigns demonstrate the vitality of parent leadership in school funding campaigns, Board involvement should provide credibility in the community and hopefully, valuable guidance

What would you as a member of the Board of Education do to get the District through these tough economic times?
The District’s budgetary challenge is to preserve fair and attractive compensation for teachers and staff while maintaining academic programs and the music, arts and athletics that make our schools special. We must also strive to preserve equity and close the achievement gap. The District must move toward a sustainable budget that is structurally in balance.

Through passage of local funding measures like Measures Y and YY, contracts with city governments and leasing of surplus property, we need to be ever-creative in identifying new local resources and open to outside-the-box ideas. The District must also work with Statewide education organizations to prevent further cuts in public education funding. As the economy recovers, we need to find ways to enhance funding for California’s chronically underfunded public schools.

The discussion that has begun about how to expand and potentially re-structure the District’s approach to private fundraising should be open and thoughtful.

How would you rate the current status of the District’s special education department? Are there still improvements that must be made?
The District has made significant progress from where it was two years ago. However, more work remains. I support the joint effort of the Financial Oversight Committee (FOC), the Special Education District Advisory Committee (SEDAC) and the District’s Chief Financial Officer to analyze the special education budget to ensure cost-effective and transparent spending. I also support continued program evaluation. We should identify the best programs and practices, and where it makes sense, build the District’s capacity to deliver programs and services in-house.

The District needs to continue to improve communications with special education parents so that we can further reduce litigation. Perhaps most importantly, the school community must start from the premise that special needs children (like all children) can learn, that we should have high expectations, set standards, and work to help our children succeed in meeting them.

The Board of Education will be selecting a person to replace Superintendent Tim Cuneo, who is retiring in June. What are the qualities you want for a new superintendent?
The new superintendent should be an educational leader, a team-builder and a “people person.”

The superintendent’s leadership skills must include the ability to inspire, teach, facilitate, motivate, collaborate and engage with staff, the Board and the Superintendent’s leadership team.

S/he must show leadership by creating conditions that encourage teachers, the senior cabinet and other administrators and all staff to grow and learn and become leaders themselves. Leadership must include support for collaboration among the District’s constituents in pursuing the District’s mission of “creating extraordinary achievement for all while simultaneously closing the achievement gap.”

The new superintendent should be an open and effective communicator. This will be necessary for developing strong partnerships with the cities of Santa Monica and Malibu, Santa Monica College, the business community and community non-profit institutions. It will also be important in instilling trust and confidence among the superintendent’s leadership team, staff, parents and Board members.

If elected, what are your ideas for closing the achievement gap in the SMMUSD?
We need to develop and implement a comprehensive plan that includes:

• Quality pre-school opportunities
• Parent education and participation
• Reduced class sizes in K-3 so that teachers can give necessary attention to literacy and numeracy
• Setting high expectations, believing in students and helping them meet expectations
• Structured time for teachers to share strategies, which will better enable them to help struggling students
• Early intervention, including mentors and tutors for students who fall behind
• Scholarships and enhanced programs in music and arts
• Expanded classroom hours, including targeted summer school programs
• Differentiated and culturally responsive instruction
• Partnerships with SMC, youth-oriented non-profits, and volunteers to provide focused attention to at-risk students and families and augment school programs

A working group should be created to ensure that we have the right pieces and that they work together.

What is the greatest book ever written?
My personal favorite is Anna Karenina.