Who's Applied To Be Considered For Appointment (Not Election) To LB School Board (Rep'ing Mainly ELB-Lakewood)? As of March 1, They Are...(With March 2 Application Deadline)

(March 1, 2012) -- As of midday today (March 1), eight people -- including a former Lakewood City Councilmember (and at least one person who doesn't live within the boundaries of the mainly ELB-Lakewood portion of the district) have submitted applications to be considered for appointment (not election) to the LB School District's board (filling the seat vacated by Dr. David Barton citing health reasons).

They are:

Name	Self-description	Date received
Lori Andrews (LB 90807)	Special education teacher. [Note: Address doesn't seem to be within the boundaries of vacant seat]	2/15/2012
Lynda Lee Gordon (Lakewood 90713)	Retired -- Professor emeritus LBCC	2/23/2012
Marc Titel (Lakewood 90713)	Program Director, Business Programs, Fremont College. [Mr. Titel is a former Lakewood City Councilmember]	2/27/2012
Roberta "Bobbi" Clarke (LB 90808)	Counselor, Cabrillo High School	2/28/2012
Frederick Lim Uy (LB 90808)	Professor	2/28/2012
Camille Donnell (LB 90815)	Staff Accountant II -- First 5 L.A.	3/1/2012
William Baca (Lakewood 90713)	Senior Sales Representative	3/1/2012
Diana Craighead (LB 90815)	Homemaker & Volunteer	3/1/2012

The new Boardmember will become part of a five member Board whose majority in the coming weeks will decide whether to approve or modify budget cuts proposed by LBUSD management (some to teachers/certificated personnel already proposed, others to non-certificated employees may be announced in the coming weeks). Decisions on who and what to cut will ultimately affect parents, students, teachers and taxpayers throughout CA's third largest school district. In addition, School Board members set overall LBUSD policies on matters including school facilities, educational policies and multiple oversight areas.

An application to be considered for appointment to LBUSD School Board (for the mainly ELB-Lakewood district in pink below) was made available on Feb. 14 and can be viewed here. The deadline by which LBUSD has to receive the application is 4:00 p.m. Friday March 2.

Candidates must be 18 years old or older, live in the district, be a registered voter and not disqualified from holding a civil office. LBUSD employees can serve on the School Board, but before taking office must resign their District employment.

LBUSD plans to use the application, plus a screening and interview process, to fill the position. Who's doing the interviewing? The application states in pertinent part:

"The interview committee will consist of one representative from each of the following groups: Teachers Association of Long Beach, Classified School Employees Association, Association of Long Beach Educational Managers, Long Beach Council PTA and the Board of Education. The top three candidates identified from the first round of interviews will undergo a second interview during the week of March 19-22 with all members of the Board of Education. The Board of Education will appoint the new District 5 Board Member at a Special Board Meeting to be called on Friday, March 23."

The application asks:

1. Do you have children who attend school in the Long Beach Unified School District? YES NO If yes, please list the grade level and school of each child.

2. Have you worked on any school committees or participated in any school activities recently? If yes, please list them.

3. Describe any other community or business activities in which you have participated. Describe your role, and whether your work was volunteer or employment-related.

4. Why do you want to be a school board member?

5. What is your approach to effective leadership?

6. What do you see as the basic purpose of public schools?

7. What is the role of the school board in the fulfillment of that purpose?

8. What should be the relationship between the board members and the administration in the handling of school concerns?

9. How would you describe the strengths of LBUSD?

10. What areas are in most need of improvement within the district?

11. How does the Board’s role differ from that of the superintendent?

12. Briefly describe your commitment to public education in the Long Beach Unified School District?

13. What could be done to help improve communications and relationships among the board, staff, students, parents and community?

A School Board majority is scheduled to make the appointment during a special meeting unofficially scheduled for March 23, 2012. Once appointed, the new board member will complete the remainder of the term, which expires in July 2014.