Redwood City School Board Incumbents to Run Again

Despite having to make tough budget decisions and even lay-off teachers, the three board members whose terms expire in November will run again, they said. Alisa MacAvoy, Shelly Masur and Dennis McBride will all officially declare candidacy in the coming weeks for the board of trustees in the .

They all pointed to the unfinished business that they all felt was still left in the Redwood City School District boardroom.  In interviews with Patch, they said that the state had slowly chipped away at the budgets they were given, which have been cut seven out of the past eight years, according to current trustee Dennis McBride.

“If someone were to take a tanker truck and dump it into the Bay, there would be a huge outcry,” McBride said. “But there isn’t a similar protest when there are cuts to our most valuable natural resource in the classroom: the students.”

Masur said that she was glad to see all the incumbents running again, which demonstrated their commitment to the children.

In most elections, the power of incumbency is often a deterrent for other candidates to run. San Mateo has a rule to level the playing field: if an incumbent does not declare candidacy by Aug. 12, the last day, the filing period is extended by five calendar days should others want to declare candidacy. An incumbent cannot declare candidacy during that extension period.

The boardmembers said that they had not heard of any other candidates running.

McBride said that for any candidate running, it was important to note that there were also four other trustees making decisions as well. Lofty individual goals could only be passed if two others were in agreeance.

But in the past four years, the board often voted unanimously on tough issues, voting in favor of the extensively researched recommendations of the school district administration.

And rather than simply fighting Sacramento on the budget from 100 miles away, Masur said she would like to be an advocate for public education at the state level, work she had actively participated in during her previous term.

Though budgets were the primary concern for all future candidates, they also spoke of fundamental changes to state testing.

The boardmembers said measurement of students’ progress shouldn’t be so narrow and focus on development of skills needed to be successful.

Masur said that partnerships with nonprofits and parents in the district would be crucial.

“We can’t replace what’s been lost, but we can try to make the best of a pretty bad budget situation,” Masur said.

MacAvoy added that partnerships with county agencies and businesses could also be crucial. This could even translate to revenue in the form of grants, parcel taxes, and other lobbying efforts.

But in addition to the often onerous discussions of budget cuts, the board was able to celebrate higher test scores and individual student achievements during their terms, said McBride.

"Just watching the Patch from the to the shows how much success we've had," he said.

“We’ve been able to give 9,200 students a solid education,” MacAvoy added. “Not just the basics like math and language arts, but programs like music, outdoor education, arts and P.E. that are important for overall education.”