Responses for Dr. Mary Kay Bacallao, candidate for Board of Education Post 2

Question: 1. The school board is faced with the likelihood of having to increase the millage rate from 18.569 to 19.35, a rate just .65 mills under the maximum allowed. If negative conditions such as Fayette’s economic downturn have not improved significantly by mid-2009, the board might be faced with deciding to either cut programs or expenses, increase the millage again or all the above. How will you handle those decisions? Are you prepared to cut people and programs if necessary? Be specific. (And please explain — if you don’t have any definite position on this, why should anybody vote for you?)

Answer: Families from all over the country have moved to Fayette County because of the excellence in our public schools. This has strengthened our economy in the past. So far we have been able to maintain excellent schools without having to use the maximum millage rate. This is due to dedicated and motivated teachers and administrators, interested and hard working students, and committed families.

From my experience, I have seen that money alone is insufficient to improve schools. For example, I was recently hired to analyze the St. Lucie County School District expenditures and academic indicators. In my analysis, I noticed that drastic increases in funding were accompanied by noticeable decreases in student achievement (2008).

Increasing funding is not the only way to improve schools. On the other hand, I also had the experience of teaching in a school without enough textbooks or materials and had to be resourceful (1988). Funding is necessary. It is an important element in attracting and retaining the best teachers.

Our Fayette County economy is highly dependent on maintaining successful schools. In any organization, there are funding areas that may have become ineffective over the years. These areas need to be identified and eliminated from the budget first.

I would make sure that budget cuts would not adversely effect classroom instruction or the infrastructure that is put in place that is necessary to support teaching. Unnecessary spending needs to be cut in lieu of a tax increase. A millage increase would be my option of last resort.

In these challenging economic times, raising property taxes by increasing the millage rate is not in the best interest of the citizens of Fayette County. I don’t want to add to the already increasing pressure on families to make mortgage payments. I would vote for a millage increase only if it is absolutely necessary to maintain our county’s commitment to excellent schools, thereby continuing to strengthen our economy.

Question: 2. A number of students attending Fayette schools actually live out of county, yet not a single criminal case has been carried to trial or resulted in a plea of guilty in the past two years. Some allege that school authorities turn a blind eye to illegal students because those out-of-county students bulk up the attendance numbers, resulting in maintaining state funding even while actual Fayette student numbers decline. Why hasn’t more been done about this problem and what specifically will you do to get illegal students out of Fayette schools?

Answer: Fayette County schools have been successful, and news has spread. Certain parents, with the best interest of their children in mind, attempt to cross county boundaries to illegally attend our schools. As a school board member, I will be responsible for Fayette County students and work to ensure that all students are permanent residents of Fayette County.

To those who allege that school authorities turn a blind eye to illegal students to bulk attendance numbers, I would advise against this since these out of county students require increases in local funds as well. However, I would like to look at school attendance numbers from a different perspective. I would like to follow up on those students we have lost to private school, home education, and online education.

In light of the recent increase in home construction, a net loss of 280 students points to a greater problem. Certain families are making other educational choices for their children.

We need to make continuous improvement in our schools and reach out to all our Fayette County families in an attempt to win them back by providing the best that Fayette County can offer to all our students.

Question: 3. Recent CRCT results indicate that even when teachers teach the test, a lot of students still don’t do well. What local policies will you strive to change or to implement that will reverse this downward trend?

Answer: Testing and accountability are important to document the success of our students. As I answer this question, I do not intend to apply the examples I am about to give to all Fayette County teachers, but point out a general trend that tends to occur when testing pressures increase.

A problem arises when teachers abandon proven and successful teaching strategies to focus on the rote memorization of unrelated items that are going to be found on the test.

First of all, many of the students begin the school year with the knowledge to pass that test. They spend the rest of the school year, for the most part, learning about what they already know. Many of these students are not challenged and become bored.

Secondly, there are the students that need to learn the material that is on the test. These students are being taught at their level, but because of the testing pressure, there is not always a rich context of background information and the learning remains at the surface level. This type of learning is designed to prepare them for the test but is rarely fixed into long-term memory.

Third, there are the students who are challenged in learning the test material. These students, and their teachers for that matter, are often under tremendous pressure to learn all that they need to be able to pass the test. The fear and stress associated with these students can sometimes cause them to shut down and give up.

In the last four years, the number of students exceeding state standards in Fayette County has decreased for most of the elementary grade levels in many subjects. I think that this is happening in part because teachers are focusing on getting all their students to pass, and it is taking time away from challenging all students to achieve at higher levels.

What can be done to address the impact of testing on learning? Teachers can be given and encouraged to use teaching strategies to meet and exceed the testing standards through activities that are engaging, enriched, and based on higher level thinking. Teachers can get together to discuss effective teaching strategies and share their best practices. Teachers can work with each other and with parents to individualize instruction to challenge and encourage all learners.

I am sure this is already happening to a certain degree. I would like to see all schools focus on the joy of learning rather than on the stress of testing. When teachers are using effective teaching strategies and students are engaged and motivated to learn, students will look forward to the testing challenge and test scores will improve.

Question: 4. Why shouldn’t school board meetings be videotaped and uploaded to the BOE website or put on the dedicated cable TV channel in a timely manner for viewing by those who cannot attend the meetings? What will you do about that?

Answer: I support the videotaping of meetings so that those who cannot attend can watch the meetings at another time or location. The current arrangement of the room also needs to be changed so that the community members are able to see the speakers as they address the board of education as well as the members of the board of education.

Question: 5. The Fayette school budget is nearly $200 million a year. What experience do you have in either making payroll in a small business on a regular basis or in managing and overseeing budgets containing more than five zeroes in the expense line?

Answer: In 1999 I wrote a Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology Grant and was awarded $143,000. I had experience teaching math methods and I took a course in Excel where I learned how to manage the budget as I directed the project. In 2000, I was awarded a second grant for over $1.2 million. I contracted with over 40 college professors and K-12 teachers. I also hired and supervised two full time employees.

Each year I completed a budget report and was given continuations and in some cases additional funding from the United States Department of Education. In addition, I had to account for cost share in terms of in-kind contributions that had to equal or exceed the federal dollars.

Accounting for the federal dollars and the local cost share amounted to over $3 million over the four years of the duration of the grants. This gave me experience in creating and reading large budgets. All financial and evaluation reports were completed accurately and on time. All grant objectives were met and additional objectives were also included and met within the scope of the grant award. The evaluation report was given an award for effective evaluation of educational programs at an educational conference.

Question: 6. In a similar vein, what makes you competent to oversee a nearly $200 million budget?

Answer: My attention to detail, my experience in overseeing over $1.2 million of federal money, my knowledge of educational expenditure categories and grant regulations, and my awareness and training in school finance have prepared me to oversee a $200 million budget. Overseeing a $200 million budget is a big responsibility and I will take it very seriously.

Question: 7. It looks like we built too many classrooms for declining student numbers. That’s a lot of local tax dollars. Who should be held accountable for that miscalculation?

Answer: I clearly had nothing to do with the miscalculation. But rather than fixing blame, I would like to focus on what can be done to solve the current problems and avoid similar mistakes in the future. Assigning blame can take away time and energy that could be better used to find solutions to the problem. I believe in accountability, but I think it is time to move forward from here.

Question: 8. Few people like redrawing school district attendance lines. This year, several candidates seem to focus on that process. Give the current board a grade from A to F for the most recent redistricting plan adopted. And, by the way, should voters elect a single-issue candidate, even if that issue is redistricting?

Answer: I am not sure of the grade I would give the current board on the recent redistricting. It would have been more effective if there were objective criteria that would have been used when making the decisions. Community input was sought but not always utilized. The process was long and drawn out. As a result, families and students were left in an uncomfortable position of not knowing where they would be going to school.

Many parents choose where they will live based on what schools their children will attend. To leave those decisions up in the air for as long as they did caused needless anxiety in both parents and students.

I believe that we lost students to private schools, home education or online education because of the uncertainty that was generated through that process. I hope we can bring them back in the future.

Some families would give them an A and other families might give them an F, depending on the extent to which their voice was heard. As an educator, and in the absence of any objective criteria to use in assigning a grade, I find it hard to assign a grade. If someone feels strongly about a single issue, they may just vote for a candidate because of that issue. I think it is up to the voter to decide.

Question: 9. With respect, do you know what you are doing? Can we trust you with our money and our children?

Answer: The federal government trusted me with over $1.2 million and I was diligent in living up to that trust. There were times when I had to say no to those who wanted to use the money for other purposes. But more important than money, I believe, are our children. I want the best for all our children. I have spent countless hours reading about and participating in initiatives to improve education.

Because children are more impressionable, I believe that the people who work with children need to be even more accountable than those who work with adults. I am certified in early childhood education, middle grades math, middle grades science and educational leadership (K-12) in the state of Georgia. I obtained the educational leadership certification through taking graduate level courses and passing a comprehensive exam in educational leadership. My doctorate is in the field of educational leadership.

I would like to be able to use my expertise and experience to make sure that we select the best policies for the children of Fayette County.