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Parents & Community Members: Stay Involved and Demand Accountability
Posted on November 18, 2007
Outgoing School Board Member Sally Soriano's Statement on Election Eve (11/6/07)
I learned a lot from this campaign.
It has rolled out over the past seven months during a historical moment when it looks as if keeping and improving public education is up for grabs.
My theme, "Keeping Public Schools Public" was chosen because of the urgency I felt to stop the harm from charter schools, school closings and No Child Left Behind/WASL - all descending on us at breakneck speed. It became even clearer to me through the campaign how these three mechanisms are the pillars of the corporate model for education. In this corporate model, wealth is transferred from public to private hands.
I have taken positions as a board member that were contrary to the corporate model. Those positions and my belief that education is a human right not a commodity for private profit, didn't sit well with those invested in maintaining the status quo. I have had to constantly explain why I took those positions because the opposition slate seems to be in lock step with those who want to privatize education. I say that because of those who are funding their camapign. My critics objected strongly to my campaign against charters. They attacked me equally for opposing school closures. Remember they never debated my analysis that the outcome would be negative for advancing educational equity or that there had been no cost benefit analysis presented to justify closing or consolidating schools.
The corporate model leads to accepting the ideology that drastic cuts in personnel and not paying for bricks and mortar are the only way to balance the budget. What is neglected are the human consequences - larger class sizes, the shredding of school teaching staffs that took years to put together and issues of gentrification of communities. By the end of the campaign, though, all the candidates were questioning the reasoning that led to the school closure proposals. My position was clear and though risky at first, did make it possible to have some dialogue.
Another coporate mandate that I reject is the No Child Left Behind Act and our state's response which has turned our state's education system into a race for the best test scores. Only a corporate model would try to turn all learning into solely a quantitative assessment.
Early in the campaign, I recognized that some issues really resonated with the voters: lead in the water, tailoring an individual learning plan to indiviudal students, and real neighborhood schools with increased parent and community participation. The issue that resonated the most with voters was the problem with the district's math curriculum. State wide people are shocked by how poorly our students perform in math. For the past three years I have been meeting with parents and teachers who are suggesting alternative curriculum and submitting alternatives for the 10th grade math WASL to the legislature.
What does it mean for all of us to be up against the big money that's behind the opposing slate? (They've raised over $440,000 and my opponent raised $157,000 - obscene!) Parents have the power. What big money fears more than anything else is - the wrath of parents and parents who recognize spin, especially when they hear it and talk to other voters about it. This is the opposition's worst nightmare.
Whether or not I win tonight, all of us need to keep in mind that our objective is to "Keep Pubic Schools Public" and not allow the corporate model to be imposed on students, teachers, staff and communities. We all have to gear up for the long-term struggle as it is clear that the moneyed interests are behind the other side.
You have all contributed to raising public awareness on these issues. I applaud you for that and thank you on behalf not just of myself but for all the students in our school district. The students need you to continue this work by speaking up and acting up at board meetings, at PTA meetings and at any other opportunity.