Superintendents, Board Members and Parents Face-to-Face

What makes Cupertino schools so successful? Can the same factors remain for the next decade to keep the success? A parent with small children raised these questions to superintendents of Cupertino's two school districts Sunday in the Q & A session of a seminar titled "Investing in Your Children's Future."

The free seminar, presented by the nonprofit International Development & Education Association (IDEA), gave parents an opportunity to communicate directly with superintendents and board members of Cupertino's two school districts.

Parental involvement, the selection of highly qualified teachers, continuous curriculum improvement, and no distractions such as poverty and classroom discipline contribute to the success of Cupertino schools, said , superintendent of the (CUSD.)

And parcel taxes boost the high schools, added Polly Bove, superintendent of the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD.)

About 95 percent of the high school district’s budget comes from local funds, such as property tax and parcel tax, she said, which prompted a parent to ask: "If only five percent of your budget is from the state, does it mean that state budget cuts shouldn't matter much?"

Not exactly.

Bove explained that the high schools still get hit by budget cuts because the state mandates every school district to have a fair share, which means FUHSD has to give the dollars exceeding the statewide standard number to the state, to help other school districts.

As such, FUHSD has to give back $2 million to the state, said Homer Tong, an FUHSD board member.

"Is there a different funding for special education?" asked another parent.

Yes, there is additional funding for special education, Bove said. As past director of special education she’s noted the city has fewer special ed students compared with neighboring districts, but the cases here tend to be more severe.

The federal government promised to pay 40 percent for every public school special ed program, but so far it is popping for about 12 to 17 percent, varying from year to year, Quon said.

CUSD’s elementary and middle schools, which rely on state funding, have been hurt as a result of state cuts.

"We lost close to $1,100 per child," Quon said.

In recognition of the budget crisis, one parent said some, like herself, donate to schools while others don't. The donors who do donate end up shelling out more to make up for parents who don’t contribute, she said. How can we make all parents donate, she asked.

You can’t, Quon said.

"Public education in California is [by definition] free and public. The cost is zero," Quon said, explaining that under ideal circumstances donations wouldn’t be necessary, but regardless donations cannot be forced.

Ben Liao, CUSD board member, brought a new issue to the discussion—cyber bullying.

"Statitics show that 40 percent of kids have been bullied, and one in four of them more than once," Liao said, pointing out that 70 percent of cyber bullying cases originate from schools.

Liao presented a slide show in which cyber bullying victims told their stories.

When a parent asked Liao what parents could do to prevent cyber bullying, Liao made a suggestion.

Tell children to not to accept a Facebook invitation from anyone they don't know.

A class for parents on how to help their children deal with cyber bullying will be offered later.

Cupertino Mayor Gilbert Wong, who has a child in both elementary and middle school, was among attendees. He is also a board member of the Asian American Parents Association (AAPA), which co-hosted the seminar with IDEA.

Jeff Moe, another board member of AAPA, and , founder and producer of Ding Ding TV co-hosted the seminar as masters of ceremonies.

A video recording of the entire seminar can be found here, on Ding Ding TV.