Name: Janelle Redkey

Status: Candidate

As a school board trustee, what plan of action would you advocate to help close the achievement gap among students in the district?

To best address the current achievement gap of our children, I believe that we must first determine why our students experience difficulties in learning curriculum. Failures in preparation, instruction or aptitude will obviously require different strategies in correcting these deficiencies. Generally, I would support educational programs that are more custom-fit for the student population, including remediation, volunteer tutoring and/or individualized instruction.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget proposes to decrease Proposition 98's current-year funding level for schools and community colleges by $400 million - $360 million for K-12 schools and $40 million for community colleges - according to the California Department of Education Web site. The governor's budget proposes to suspend the Proposition 98 guarantee in 2008-09, and proposes a spending level of $55.6 billion, which is $4 billion less than the guarantee. How, as an ACUSD trustee, will you help create a balanced budget? Are there specific programs that you believe should remain intact regardless of the proposed budget? If so, what are they and why are they important?

While Gov. Schwarzenegger has proposed budget funding for the upcoming year, the specific funding level for the school district remains unknown. The budget must be balanced in a way to ensure the stability of all core curriculum classes, advanced placement preparation, essential vocational classes and extracurricular activities. I would encourage and consider community involvement for the prioritization of those programs should cuts in these programs need to be made.

How will your presence on the Amador County Unified School District Board of Trustees contribute to the "Year of Education" this school year? What are your plans/ goals for your successive years as a trustee?

California's fiscal situation has drastically scaled back the long-term educational policy entitled the "Year of Education." The premise of the "Year of Education" certainly reflects my candidacy. I have two children entering primary and elementary schools who will reap the rewards of careful and deliberate decisions that the school board will make over the course of the next several years. Long-term planning should be the primary consideration when dealing with the difficult policy and budget decisions that will face the district in the future.