School Board Candidates Talk District Money Woes at Forum

Knowing they'll have to take on tough financial issues with limited support from the state, the three candidates for the board talked mainly about district finances, or lack thereof, during a Tuesday night forum.

In the upcoming Nov. 8 election, incumbent Larry Vanden Bos, of Rolling Hills Estates, will be challenged by Dianna Chooljian, a doctor from Palos Verdes Estates, and Erin LaMonte, who works in the district and is from Rancho Palos Verdes. The three candidates are vying for two open seats on the PVPUSD Board of Education.

All three answered questions submitted by audience members at the forum held at the , co-sponsored by the district's Parent Teacher Association and the local League of Women Voters chapter.

"I'm fully committed to promoting education in our community ... [and] strong fiscal management," Chooljian said.

Vanden Bos said he brings "financial expertise" to the board.

"I think what I bring to the board is ability to work on the financial aspects," he said.

LaMonte cited her experience on a parcel tax committee and as a businesswoman.

In the midst of , all three candidates voiced support for the measure, which would replace two existing parcel tax measures, Measures P and V, with the same tax rate at $374 per parcel per year. Unlike Measures P and V, which are set to expire in 2013, Measure M has no expiration date. It will protect $7 million in local education spending, according to the district.

"Our district fundamentally is going to be needing the $7 million ... for the foreseeable future," Vanden Bos said. "We need to have the resources and the state simply doesn’t provide [them].

Chooljian also agreed the measure was necessary to reverse some of the negative impacts from state budget problems.

"We're getting held hostage to our state crisis," she said.

And if the measure fails to pass in November, LaMonte said she hoped the community would "give it a shot again."

"Seven million [dollars] is a tremendous piece of our budget," she said. "To think it's not going to affect our classrooms is not realistic."

The candidates also addressed issues with special education funding at the district level, and the "astronomical" costs associated with serving special needs children.

"Special education is one of those things that is challenging to our district," LaMonte said. "It really comes down to fact that we want to serve every child, [but] they're expensive to serve."

In response to an audience question about improving the appearance of schools, Vanden Bos said new improvements aren't likely under limited budgets.

"The problem is simply money, we simply don’t have the resources to maintain the schools the way we should," he said. "Unless we get back to having some money in the next few years ... if we're going to cut away from classrooms ... things like that are one of the first things to go."

Each of the candidates agreed there was also not much that could be done to improve athletic facilities at .

"There's nothing we can offer in that regard," Chooljian said.

When asked about her receptiveness to , LaMonte said listening to all points of view was important. She said making "the best decision for this community doesn't mean making everybody happy, we know that's impossible."

Chooljian said she might have held town hall meetings about the issue before it came to the school board.

Vanden Bos said another look should be taken at board policy regarding future capital campaigns.

"We need to go back, look at our board policy and make some significant adjustments to how we handle these campaigns in the future," he said.

Candidates also responded to a question about sex-separated math and science classes at schools.

Chooljian said she was in favor of co-ed education, while LaMonte felt parents and teachers could make the decision on their own to move toward the sex-separated classes.

"I don’t think as school board member I would necessarily want to make that decision," LaMonte said.

Vanden Bos disagreed.

"I would not leave that up to the site, that is something the school board should set policies on," he said.

Each of the candidates maintained dealing with shrinking budgets would not be easy.

"We do see the storm coming across the lake," LaMonte said. "It's going to be very challenging these next few years."