November 2nd you will be able to vote for THREE candidates

Question #4: Who decides the direction of the District — the School Board or the Superintendent? What kind of relationship do you envision between them?

Dave Wilde: Both members of the school board and superintendent should have a vision for the FUSD. Constant dialogue and assessment must be in place to ensure neither lose sight or focus of that shared vision. The school board, however, has final say.
The superintendent is selected by the school board and should represent who they feel can best lead our district in a positive direction. That person has many responsibilities. Several important ones are: Make affective use of both district and school staff. With staff help develop and propose both plans and strategies to move our district forward. He/she must ensure that district monies are used in a responsible manner. Lastly, to ensure our students and staff a safe environment in which learn and work.
With that in mind it is still the school board's responsibility to over see and make final approval on these efforts. They are ultimately responsible and must make every effort to make decisions that reflect our school's primary product and that is the education of our students.

Lucy Rangel: The direction of the District is set by the School Board. This is one of the primary responsibilities it has to the entire community. If it is to govern effectively, the Board must ensure that a long term vision is established for the school system. This vision should reflect the consensus of all board members, the Superintendent, staff, and the community as to what students need in order to achieve their highest potential. The focus should be on learning and achievement for all students. The Superintendent should provide leadership based on the direction of the board; and he should accept accountability for implementing the vision, goals, and policies of the district.
Together the board and the Superintendent form the governing team. I envision this team to have a trusting relationship – one of mutual respect. The board and the Superintendent should work together collaboratively in order to move towards the district’s vision and goals. Communicating openly with trust and integrity is the type of relationship that is needed to ensure that our students receive a high quality education.

Mark Austin: The School Board should primarily be the entity deciding the overall direction of the Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD). The School Board should establish this direction by providing a clear vision of what they expect of the Superintendent. This does not appear to be happening within the FUSD and thus there is no accountability at either the School Board or administration levels. In the FUSD, the Superintendent’s primary role should be to provide strong leadership and to establish goals that facilitate the implementation of the School Board’s vision. The Superintendent is responsible for the daily oversight of the District from the direction given by the School Board.
I envision the relationship between the School Board and Superintendent to be one of shared respect. School Board members must remember that they are an elected body that serves the community and is responsible for the Superintendent. In other words, the relationship is much like an employee and employer. The School Board must hold the Superintendent accountable for meeting the community’s expectations. www.votemarkaustin.com.

Kimberly Rivers: One role of the Board is to set the vision of the District and to hire, evaluate and provide oversight to the Superintendent who carries out that vision. The Superintendent is accountable to the Trustees who sit on the Board as representatives of the community. As a trustee a goal of mine for the Board would be to demonstrate a strong “back and forth” relationship with the Superintendents office. And should the Board feel the Superintendent is off track, it should seek information, provide feedback and support, to bring the efforts more in line with the intention of the Vision.
To be clear, I feel it is important that the Board have a strong sense of oversight and hold the office of the Superintendent responsible for all the duties assigned to that office including the quality of education provided, responding to issues and concerns raised by the community, administrators, faculty and staff, while at the same time challenging and empowering the Superintendent to use his/her skill-set to improve and innovate where needed and respond to the needs of the students and all employees of the District.
Ultimately I feel that a School Board and a Superintendent should be clear on what is needed along the road to achieve the Vision. There are sure to be bumps along the way, and a good collaborative relationship allows for that, but the Board and Superintendent should be proactively transparent, accountable and always in communication with the Community at large. www.votekimrivers.com.

Tony Prado: Ideally, the direction of the District rests with the five elected Board members. In reality, to get five individuals to agree on all matters related to the District is very difficult. Therefore, the concept of team building or building a consensus of ideas becomes very important. This is where the role of the superintendent comes to play. At California School Board Conferences it has been stated that a superintendent acts a as sixth board member. A good superintendent will then guide the Board towards problem-solving and systems-thinking when issues arise.
The superintendent has enormous responsibilities. He helps the Board develop its goals and works with the Board to develope the superintendent's goals. Ideally, this reinforces the importance of a positive, productive relationship with the Board. The reality is that he will not make all Board members happy. As long as there are three Board members, a majority that agree on an issue, the decision is made.
My community involvement in various areas and having coached for more than 20 years in a variety of boys and girls sports, I believe gives me the ability to be a good team player and if necessary a team leader. Working with the other Board members and the Superintendent we can chart a course for the District into the future. In essence, I working with the other Board members and the Superintendent can provide vibrant leadership and a common voice for the District. Therefore, remember to vote for Tony Prado.