Seth Weiss was not unable to attend the Monday night debate. His questions were answered via email. Some answers have been edited for space.
On revenue…
“The best way to get increased funding without raising taxes is to get our funding from the state restored. By now most people know that the state changed their funding criteria and we are now the lowest funded, per student, school district in the county and one of the lowest in the state. This is an outrage. We need to use whatever means we have at our disposal to at least get our funding restored to the prior level. No other district in the state should get an increase until we at least are returned to our baseline. It’s also incredibly important to maintain our extra funding that the parents, citizens and businesses of Hermosa have generously contributed. Our city, like any other, has an interlocking relationship between the schools, the residents, the businesses and the service organizations. As a long-time resident, local business owner, father of two children in Valley and a little league coach I see every day how dependant each of these aspects of the city are on one another. “
On Common Core…
“Common Core seems to be a good idea in theory but I do not believe enough time has passed from its implementation to be committed to an opinion one way or the other.”
On overcrowding…
“Many people have studied the overcrowding issue and have concluded the only viable solution is to re-open North School. I completely agree. Whether it needs a remodel or a total rebuild is an open question but it makes perfect sense to ease school overcrowding by reopening an existing school.”
On sustainability…
“I strongly consider myself an environmentalist and have been for many, many years. I am also a realist. While the goal of carbon neutrality is admirable and I will favor and help implement any realistic idea which would help achieve this goal, I simply do not believe that it is an especially high priority for our schools right now. More importantly, I will not be in favor of any measure which is either unrealistic or poorly thought out, even if well meaning. Take the Styrofoam ban, as an example. My restaurant replaced Styrofoam with bamboo several years before the ban was put in effect because I felt it was the right thing to do. But, they don’t really work. As a result we have to line the box with tin foil and use 2 plastic bags to prevent spills. This is not an environmental improvement, but merely the inevitable result of a poorly thought out, feel-good measure that the schools and the city should not be focusing on.” ER
