Three seats on the district board are up for grabs in the Nov. 8 election. Five candidates are vying for the seats: former Los Gatos High teacher Steve Chen, Saratoga High parent Misty Davies, incumbent David Guidry, former Los Gatos Union School District (LGUSD) board member Chris Miller and former LGHS teacher Alex Shultz.
The Falcon reached out to all five candidates with a standardized set of six questions to understand their qualifications, priorities and stances on pressing issues.
Shultz emphasized his background as a former LGHS science teacher and parent. He said his role as a board member will be to help develop a consensus, which should usually be formed at school sites. He said he supports raising teacher salaries to increase staff retention, expanding stress-reducing programs like the arts, passing an increased parcel tax, introducing a coding curriculum and improving a mentoring program for new teachers. He is one of three candidates endorsed by the District Teachers Association, along with Steve Chen and Misty Davies.
What are your background and qualifications?
I am a former LGHS science teacher and parent of three LGHS graduates and have been an active member of the community for 36 years. I have a deep passion for the education of all of our students. For 28 years, I enjoyed helping build a world class science program with my colleagues, and I’ve witnessed first-hand the value and impact of our district’s education.
My professional and parental experiences provide me with a unique understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced by those that make our schools great — our employees. Through this distinctive lens we can ensure the success of all students.
What are your thoughts on employee hiring and retention?
Our district’s salaries are becoming less competitive with many of our surrounding districts, and we are losing teachers to neighboring districts. Many of our neighboring districts have headquarters to the world’s largest companies, which gives them a tax advantage over our district, which is primarily a bedroom community. Over the long term, this will affect the quality of our programs. We must find a way to be more competitive if we are to maintain our place as one of the top-tier high school districts in the country. Our community values quality education and takes pride in the performance of our schools.
How can the schools better address student mental health?
In addition to providing on-site mental health counseling and guidance, we must continue to provide opportunities within our elective programs to meet the needs of and provide outlets for students outside the academic classes. Students often find relief from daily stresses when they have a class like band, drama and the arts to look forward to on a regular basis. It is vital that we retain and expand these types of classes and encourage students to participate in them.
What is the role of board members?
I’m a believer that the school site is the best place for most decisions to be made, as the people at the school site have the best understanding of the needs and culture of the school. Certainly, the school board can facilitate discussions that help develop a consensus of opinion that finds the best solution to the problem.
Do you support renewing the parcel tax?
Yes, I think the best — and perhaps the only — way for us to compete for top notch talent at all positions within our district is a larger parcel tax. We need to be sure we retain and attract quality teachers for today and the future. In order to raise our compensation for all employees, the community needs to consider raising the parcel tax.
What are your other priorities?
Introducing a new coding curriculum: I would like to partner with “coding bootcamps.” The schools can provide physical space in exchange for spots for district students in the program. It might be possible for students to graduate from high school and go directly into the workforce in Silicon Valley.
Launching mentoring program for new teachers: I’d like to schedule an extra prep period for new teachers allowing them to work directly with an experienced teacher in their assigned subject area. It would help them become integrated into their department faster as well as give them a better understanding of the school culture.