This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Lafayette School District Board Election 2010: Berch Parker On the Issues

As the Nov. 2 elections draw near, Lamorinda Patch is providing issues-based sketches of local candidates and where they stand. Today: Berch Parker, Lafayette School District Board candidate.

Berch Parker: Lafayette School District Board Candidate

Experience

  • Lafayette Police Department Youth Services Officer
  • Twenty-year career centered on professional work with students, teachers administrators and parents
  • Former high school English teacher at Southern California's Long Beach High School
  • Former executive in the business sector of Educational Technology
  • Bachelor of Arts in English and teaching degree from the University of California  at Santa Cruz

Priorities and Goals

Find out what's happening in Lamorindawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Teaching the whole student
  • Support our parents and our students
  • Create facilities and programs for after school that aren't necessarily just the sport teams their parents have signed them up for

Questions from the public

Q: How do you plan to raise funds for schools? What revenues will you look to within the school district, instead of just making cuts?

Find out what's happening in Lamorindawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Parker: I'll do everything I can to get as large a parcel tax that we know we possibly can, to get it passed. I will work as hard as I can to see that happen.

Q: If you're asking us as homeowners to pass a parcel tax and we're thinking about quality education and small class sizes, then how are we assured you won't allow new students in from out of the district and such?

Parker: We're not opting to bring in 100 students that we'd have to build new classrooms for. There's an efficiency curve where you have empty seats that aren't being filled, and that means there's room to bring new students in. You're not increasing the overhead by having to build new classrooms or facilities, it's just to make the school more efficient.

Personal Quote:

"I believe that our district can continue to offer a well-rounded education that includes music, art, athletics, horticulture and industrial art in the face of that state budget crisis."— Berch Parker

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?