I would like to present a different perspective regarding Nancy Goldberg's readiness for the School Board.
With all due respect, there is more to life than budgets. To expect any of the candidates to fully master the complexities of the budget without the benefit of explanation from the District Assistant Superintendent of Business Services is both unfair and unrealistic.
If we are going to use that as a standard of comparison, we have to hold all candidates to the same high standard. Yet I've heard nothing from either of the other candidates during any candidate forum who has completely convinced me of his or her breadth of knowledge regarding our budget issues, either.
Members of our community shouldn’t take at face value that one candidate is “in charge of a $15 million budget” without asking exactly what that means, specifically how the budget is administered, or how those responsibilities translate into what will be expected of her as a Board member.
Voters should question the incumbent when he states in his brochure that he wants to maintain “an open and transparent budget process with increased community involvement” when none currently exists.
No one who sits down with the District’s budget can make heads or tails of it, including the candidate who once told me he “didn't understand all the budget stuff” when I asked him about excessive allocations for legal fees and independent consultants.
He simply compared the figures in the budgets for the last two years (which I had brought with me to our meeting), and said that since it looked like we had allocated about the same amount of money to each of those categories for the last two years that “it must be okay.”
So when this candidate stated last night at the Culver Crest Forum that the District budget is easy to understand, I’m thinking not so much.
Last year we allocated over $6 million and this year we’ve allocated over $8 million for legal expenses and independent consultants. The explanation that we repeatedly hear at Board meetings, that blames everything on “special education” expenses is inadequate. According to a statement made by a top candidate, our District pays 228 percent more on independent consultants than other districts. If true, that is absolutely astounding. Shouldn’t that be explained? Is there anything we can do — and rather quickly — to reduce our dependence on these consultants?
The fact is, that’s what’s responsible for our budget woes, not salaries and benefits. If you haven’t noticed, we are moving toward less transparency, not more.
Yet, you expect budget expertise of Mrs. Goldberg before she even sits down at the dais?
I’m looking for a candidate who is willing to learn, who is open to new possibilities, and who will keep the community informed. I’m looking for a candidate who doesn’t try to make it sound as if he or she knows everything. It is impossible for anyone to “know everything.”
I believe that the people most successful in their lives and work are those who know that others have something to teach them. I’m looking for a candidate who will be accessible, who will listen to and appreciate his or her constituents and will be respectful of perspectives that are different.
I want a candidate who will restore a sense of decorum and mutual respect to the Board of Education. It has been lacking for quite some time, and we need it now more than ever before. That candidate is Nancy Goldberg.
Ms. Hamme, President, Assn. of Classified Employees —Culver City, may be contacted at antiquer01@aol.com
