What if you held a Candidates Forum and only four of the six candidates appeared?
Well, if you were at the School Board Candidates Forum at Raintree last night, you experienced just that feeling.
Oh, the three favorites, Karlo Silbiger, Kathy Paspalis and Alan Elmont, continued to show why they are the favorites, nailing virtually every question.
Mr. Silbiger again showed his vast knowledge of the K-12 educational system, and the Culver City system in specific. Ms. Paspalis demonstrated her ideas, intelligence and reasonableness.
Mr. Elmont again displayed his almost encyclopedic understanding of the budget and the financial condition of the School District.
All three proved yet again why they are likely to be the three winners come election day. However, and finally, Gary Abrams showed why the Teachers Union endorsed him, why the parents and educators at Linwood E. Howe School asked him to run, and why his supporters stand behind him.
Mr. Abrams was spot-on during the questioning, giving Everyman answers, providing a glimpse of what he’d be like as a school board member.
Unlike Patricia Siever and Robert Zirgulis, Mr. Abrams didn’t equivocate. He answered those questions he could, and he honestly deferred those that were worded in such a manner that a reasonable answer wasn’t available.
In contrast, it seemed like Patricia Siever and Robert Zirgulis were making things up as they went along, including Mr. Siever’s incredulous claim that the California Education Code somehow provided the answer to the long sought-after question, how many students are too many at Culver City High School. While the other five candidates spoke of limiting the size of the High School population by limiting the number of permit students accepted, Ms. Siever dodged, as she often does.
She refused to answer the question, instead explaining that diversity was a good thing, that permits bring in diversity and money. So more permit students is a good thing,
And finally, she said, the answer is in the Education Code. While I’ve never read the Education Code, I seriously doubt that it considers square footage of the school, the number of classrooms, the square footage of the classrooms, the square footage of the cafeteria, the square footage of the halls, or any of the other factors to be considered when deciding how many students to properly place into a school.
I'm not interested in jamming more kids just to make money, Ms. Siever. While it is unlikely that Mr. Abrams will get enough votes to win this election as he apparently has not (done) any campaigning, he showed quite clearly that he is a man of conviction, intellect and passion.
He is certainly in the top four candidates, along with Mr. Silbiger, Ms. Paspalis and Mr. Elmont. It’s only too bad that the election is so near, and Mr. Abrams doesn’t have another opportunity to show why he is a viable candidate.
Mr. Anderson may be contacted at richardanderson98765@gmail.com
