Name: Mary Walser

Status: Incumbent

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

We really don't have an achievement gap like larger school districts do. We are proud of our test scores, which for all schools in the regular education sector rank in the 700s and above. This is quite an achievement for our district. Students who do need extra help either get it during the school day or after school in special programs; teachers analyze all of the data from testing results to see what our students need. Our goal as educators and school board members is to help every student.

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?

We do not know at this time how the budget is going to affect us. All the talk that is going on now is just that - talk. It is pure speculation. We need every program that we have. If we had programs we didn't need, we wouldn't have these programs.

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?

We as a school board have set goals and a mission statement to keep us focused. We are focused on accountability, communication, evaluation and maintenance, and custodial work. It is important to have the best school climate and we can achieved this with community support for all of our schools.