Relaxing yesterday on a friend’s back porch overlooking a perfect kelly green plot of grass, Nancy Goldberg, candidate, found herself on defense against two of the toughest inquisitors in the school community.
Activist Alan Elmont is a no-nonsense seeker of data and opinions while School Board member Steve Gourley — whose chair Ms. Goldberg is pursuing — blends his rigorous questioning with self-deprecating humor that only seems to make questions softer.
Once again Ms. Goldberg appeared to be on an information-gathering mission rather than on a here-are-my-views tour.
She was far more comfortable fielding questions about teacher evaluations and testing than in confronting policy issues.
Mr. Gourley sought to smooth over the gaps in Ms. Goldberg’s knowledge. He repeatedly assured her that once on the Board, she would catch up with her mates just as he did when he came to the Board four Novembers ago.
Since announcing her first-ever run for office in July after retiring from Culver City High School the month before, Ms. Goldberg indicated that she has been cramming in relatively arcane areas where she did not during her teaching years.
“As a community member,” said Mr. Elmont, “I am interested in policies and directions that you would take as a Board member.”
“You have sure opened my eyes to a few things that may happen rather quickly if I do get on the Board,” a response that Ms. Goldberg has given a number of times throughout her campaign.
“This is very sobering. I find myself reading lengthy reports, trying to reason out what would I do in a given situation.
“I still keep coming up with the beauty of the solar panels. It is not an enormous project, just for three schools. I wonder what would happen if we could solarize all of our schools.
“Then wouldn’t our electricity bill be correspondingly reduced?
“I know it takes five years to bring back what we have invested, and with a benefit of upwards of $500,000.”
When Mr. Elmont replied with a data-loaded response, Ms. Goldberg said:
“The only thing you can say that is reasonable is that when you get in there and deal with each of these issues, you will decide.
“I think it is foolish to prognosticate on the future. I can’t do it and you can’t, either.
“I am sorry,” she said, perhaps tellingly, “but there is more to life than budgets.”
