The board currently models bad behavior for our kids. Staff and district management don't trust each other. No confidence votes in leadership. People are not at the table where decisions are made. No wonder the community is not confident in the district. I would support a code of conduct for board members and participants at board meetings.

High performing districts regularly spend 50% or more of their time on issues that are directly related to monitoring student achievement. PVUSD regularly spends less than 10% of board time on this most essential topic. There are many great teachers and some outstanding learning and achievement, but those are islands rather than representative of a systemwide commitment to student success

The recent drafts of district goals and guardrails is a long-overdue start, but they are unfinished. and are not yet adopted. They need to be completed and implemented so we can start to develop a coherent vision for teaching and learning.

Decisions are often made in secrecy while study groups have unfinished business, and important people are not present for input and discussion. There is little transparency in budget and planning, or student achievement. Consultants are hired and renewed without clear definitions about scope of work and deliverables. The strategic plan has more "activity goals" and not enough "outcome goals".

The school closures debate needs to begin with a vision of what a great school that kids want to go to looks like. Closures will not bring the cost savings portrayed without a companion plan of what reshaping schools look like and a plan for the disposition of closed sites.

I've watched budget debates and collective bargaining debates where different sides are using different information. Student programs are evaluated without data about accomplishments or regular progress reports. There are conflicting data platforms that prevent a coherent approach to using data to measure achievement. Students do not regularly have learning plans with benchmarks for progress.

The end of Covid funding, declining enrollment, and budget cuts led to large layoffs of counseling and support professionals. There was no clear commitment to the continuity of care for kids who need it. As of now (June 2026) there is no clear path or restructuring of contracts with non profit partners. This system needs to be restructured with sustainable partners to support student needs.