School Board candidate Kelly Osborne claims her PTA record proves she’s a “data driven leader” who doesn’t allow “emotional responses” to influence decisions. Yet, with unwarranted emotional zeal she sounds false alarms her opponents want the Board to take powers away from “school site directors.”
Osborne’s words self-proclaim uncritical cluelessness, eager to be spoon-fed bad data on school governance by 32-year incumbent Jan Vickers and a beleaguered superintendent. If truly data-driven and intellectually independent, Osborne would know terms like “site directors” and “site operations” are used by educational bureaucrats to carve out administrative fiefdoms.
Self-aggrandizing bureaucratic gimmicks by administrators don’t alter the actual allocation of power to govern public schools under state education code. For example, CA Ed. Code Sec. 35161 vests school boards with full executive and legislative powers, so school administrators have no powers independent of those delegated at board discretion. All delegations are revocable, and board members retain full legal responsibility for school employee exercise of delegated powers.
Under CA Ed. Code Sec. 35035, superintendents perform “Chief Executive” administrative tasks, but these are duties not independent powers. Sec. 35161 provides “Chief Executive” duties of the superintendent can be exercised directly by board or delegated to school employees other than the superintendent.
If elected Osborne will join past and present board members embracing a politicized ideology public schools should be governed under either business corporation and/or private school management models. Osborne is smart and driven, but not by civic values in state school governance law.
Osborne will become one more cookie cutter political clone of wannabe “education leaders,” some professionally experienced others not, who have dominated our school board to the exclusion of a more diverse board for nearly two decades. We need diversity of ideas and skills for more competent scrutiny of LBUD’s $65 million annual budget.
Under state law, educators don’t govern public schools, and school boards don’t micro-manage classroom learning. But school boards govern education driven not only by sufficient data and reasoned policy, but also as representatives of values, needs, hopes and other “emotional responses” by the community to challenges facing public schools.
That’s why we will not vote for status quo candidates Vickers or Osborne, who believe “site directors” govern instead of administer, and our board is advisory only, instead of hands on elected representatives of our community.
Howard and Lura Hills
