Northside Planning Council School Board Questions

Arlene Silveira

Candidate, Seat 1

516-8981

arlenesilv@aol.com

January 26, 2006

What personal qualities and experience (activities, education, occupation, civic, etc.) do you have that you believe qualifies you for this office?

A parent of an 8th grader, I’ve been an active participant in Madison public schools for 9 years. I am president of Cherokee's PTO, and past president of Leopold's PFO. Civic involvement includes working with Madison Foundation for Public Schools; steering team member of Madison CARES, the community-based pro-referenda support group; and I currently serve on the MMSD West/Memorial Demographics Task Force. As a businesswoman, I am Director of Marketing for Promega, with experience as a budget planner, facilitator, negotiator and project manager. I have a MS in molecular biology and a BS in biology, chemistry and secondary education.

Considering the rapid demographic changes and the increasing concentration of poverty that is taking place throughout Dane County, is the district acting effectively to alleviate the student achievement gap? What are your ideas for making sure that every student receives the resources he/she needs to succeed? Be specific.

The Board must continue to address the differences in proficiency levels and graduation rates between racial and ethnic groups. In addition to continuing what has been working, including Schools of Hope, small class size and cultural training opportunities for teaching and support staff, we must develop and expand partnerships with community groups and use a variety of venues for parents to come together to help the district find ways to allow all children to succeed. With the high mobility rate of some students, we should look at ways to help stabilize students’ school experience by ensuring supportive and consistent enrollment processes across the district. I support the formation of an Equity Task Force to look at resource allocation across the district. I believe that to continue to be an excellent school system, we must expand our vision beyond just addressing the achievement gap and ensure that we are meeting the needs of all our children and are challenging each student to meet their full potential.

What role should the school board and the public have in district decision-making and how will you insure that the administration stays accountable to those practices?

The Board should create policy and delegate to the administration the implementation of the policy. The Board should be responsible for, and be held accountable for, ensuring that policy is implemented in a manner consistent with the goals/direction of the Board. Metrics, assessments and reporting should be used to keep the Board abreast of performance. Communication between the Board and the community is a priority as it is the role of the Board to represent the MMSD. The Board needs to reach out to the public to understand their needs and ensure equity in decision-making.

For several years, the district has had to grapple with annual budget shortfalls – pitting program against program and school against school – and has regularly gone to referendum as a stopgap measure. Would you support more referenda in 2006? What are your ideas for a long-term solution to our annual budget crisis and what would you do to implement those ideas?

I have not made a decision about my support for a referenda for operating revenue. I am in the process of reviewing the budget to gain a better understanding of current expenditures and am talking with people and asking questions to gain a better understanding of what the current dollars support. More importantly, I need to hear public feedback from the entire district on what they value in the Madison schools. I support the $100 budget process because I believe it is a positive step toward educating the public on the budget. The process will also provide time for the public to communicate their priorities. Long-term, we must work together to change the state system of funding K-12 education. I will work to build grassroots support, here and statewide, that will force change at the state level.