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Early Endorsements!

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-08-13T20:23:21-07:00

I am proud to have earned early endorsements from key community organizations, including the Fremont Union School District’s Teachers Association (FUDTA), the Fremont Police Association, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1021 (pictured left with Jerry Fillingim and Gary Jimenez). I’ve also received the support from over 20 local elected officials and many people in the community.

“The Fremont Unified District Teachers Association supports Bryan Gebhardt with our unprecedented early endorsement of his candidacy for the Fremont Unified School District Board of Education,” said Jeff Poe, FUDTA President. “Our Association believes his experience and skills will provide the District with leadership to ensure a quality education for all our students.”

You can see all my endorsements here. Read my early endoresment press release here.

Fremont Festival of the Arts 2008

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-08-03T22:40:17-07:00

Not only did I attend the Fremont Festival of the Arts today, but I campaigned there too! I put up my sign and talked to a number of people. I always learn so much from meeting new people.

This was a last minute discovery. I learned late yesterday that there was a free speech area at the festival. My brother and I quickly pulled a little table together to take advantage of this opportunity.

It’s hard to believe this was the 25th anniversary of the festivial. I have gone many, many times in all the years I’ve grown up and lived in Fremont. It’s one of my favorite Fremont events and even more fun now with a family of my own.

We enjoyed all the fun there. Lindsey and I really enjoyed the helicopters and the train in the kids zone. And as always I had my annual linguisa burger and funnel cake. Not health food, but very tasty!

We have a lot of exciting events coming up. Watch my blog for more news.

Candidacy Papers filed!

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-07-28T21:24:43-07:00

I am excited to announce today that I have filed my declaration of candidacy for the Fremont Unified School District Board of Education.

This is an exciting moment in the campaign. I want to thank everyone who has supported me. We’re doing very well, but we have a long ways to go. November 4th is not that far away, and I need everyone to continue pushing hard to get the word out about my vision for our schools.

Read my complete press release here.

6/11/08 School Board Meeting

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-06-17T21:12:20-07:00

Here are a few highlights from last week’s school board meeting (agenda and background packet).

This meeting was a meeting of recognition and celebration. From elementary spelling bee winners to teachers and administrators of the year. But two in particular were special to me.

Recognition of retiring Superintendent Doug Gephart
On a personal note, I've been a new board member twice now -- once in 1991 as a student board member and once as an appointee in 2006. Each time it was the superintendent that helped me succeed.

In 1991, Superintendent Raphael Belluomini served as a mentor and a friend to me. He helped me through difficult times including budget cuts as bad as what we face next year. But I will never forget two pieces of advice he gave me.

Budget your time.
Don't worry.

Superintendent Doug Gephart has also been an advisor and a friend to me. I really got to know Doug Gephart while I served on the board in 2006. I echo all of the board's remarks. He is well respected by staff and community and a man of integrity. I admire how he built up a district team that has achieved and will achieve great things for our district. When I was on the board in 2006, I pushed hard for the board to adopt district wide goals, but Doug was the catalyst that really rallied the district around these goals and made them happen. We worked together as a team.

Doug, you will certainly be missed at FUSD. Thank you for all you've done for Fremont.

Recognition of Student Board Member Eric Chen and SURF Board E
As a former student board member, I have tremendous respect for the contribution that Eric Chen and the SURF Board E made to the board and the district. For those not familiar, the Students United for Representation to the Fremont Board of Education (SURF Board E) is a board of students (2 from each high school) that come together to jointly represent all 30,000 Fremont students.

It is important to always have them there at the board meeting reminding us all why we're here -- for our students. More than that they bring a fresh perspective to issues from the people we are serving. We should never underestimate what their contribution is.

Strategic Goals Year in Review
This is the annual update from staff regarding the district's progress on the board's strategic goals adopted in 2006. There has been tremendous progress this year.

From the board agenda:

Over the course of the past two years, the Board of Trustees defined their overall organizational priorities for the Fremont Unified School District through the establishment of Strategic Goals. ...
Strategic Goals:

Organizational Development
Budget (Strategic Planning)
Student Achievement
Student Housing
Communications and Customer Service
Employee/Employer Relations and Contract Negotiations
Safe Schools
Technology

The Strategic Goals provide long-term direction for the school district and do not fluctuate from year- to-year based upon trendy ideas.

I helped put these goals in place while on the board in 2006. It is exciting to see the progress made. It is also sad to see the things that are working (Springboard staff development training to name one), but will likely be cut next year due to our state budget

While there have been huge leaps forward for the district, there are definitely improvements I want to see. I would like us to measure how we're doing. Each goal should have 2 or 3 key measures we use to show that all our work is having results we expect. Picking this measures won't be easy, but it is crucial to understanding our real progress. As management guru Peter Drucker said, “What gets measured gets managed.”

Sex Education Compliance
The board also address compliance issues with the district's junior high school curriculum.The Argus summarized this discussion best.

In response to findings that its 7-year-old junior high school sex education curriculum is an abstinence-only program that violates state law, the Fremont school board this week instructed the district's health and sex education advisory committee to recommend a new, comprehensive curriculum by January. The new curriculum should provide unbiased and medically accurate information about sex, contraceptives and sexually transmitted diseases, as well as a discussion about abstinence, the board decided.

Read the article here for more details.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_9570148

Technology Year in Review
The district CTO, Dr. David Hotchkiss, entitled his update "Raising the bar" in reference to the fact that the technology department has made huge strides in improving services. Two examples:

Network bandwidth has grown tremendously at school sites - from 7 Mbps to 50 Mbps. Projecting next year it will start at 60 Mbps and grow to 100 Mbps. Reliability is up from 95% to 99.414%. This is huge as one of the major complaints has been around slow and not working Internet. They now have real-time network monitoring.
Customer service has improved too. There is much better tracking of work order and service calls. The new service desk has helped solve 30% of service calls remotely without going out to the site. Only missed 15 calls out of over 5000 calls.

Especially touching were to two special technology projects:

Establishing a video conference link between Niles classroom 2 and Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital for Luna Martell, age 6, Niles first grader in Mrs. Jackson’s class. She has Stage 4 liver cancer. Through a video phone link she and her classmates enjoyed their Valentine’s Day 2008 party. And she used it again to tell class she had a liver donor!
A video conference link was also established for Matthew McCullough, age 11 between Mrs. Chudler’s classroom at Avery Middle School and Matt’s grandmother’s home in Fremont. Matt has a malignant brain tumor. The computer link allows him to attend class and socializes with classmates & relatives.

Doug shared this with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. They want to talk to David to find out how they can get more directly engaged in supporting and spreading this program. This is just the beginning of a huge experience for kids.

Next year: Pressing on. This year the focus was on the Wide Area Network (WAN). Next year focus on the Local Area Networks (LAN's) at school campuses.

Fremont Bulletin: "Three candidates so far for school board race"

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-06-12T22:28:14-07:00

The Fremont Bulletin just posted an article on the Fremont school board race -- Three candidates so far for school board race. I believe it will appear in this weekend’s issue. Here’s an excerpt:

Three residents have thrown their hats in the ring for seats on the Fremont Unified School District Board of Education, but so far there are only two seats open.
Bryan Gebhardt, a former school board member, and residents Desrie Campbell and Lily Mei have officially announced they'll be running for two board seats this November.
Incumbents Peggy Herndon and Nina Moore have said they will step down from the board this year.
Board President Ivy Wu has not announced whether or not to run again. Wu said she most likely won't decide until August.

And about me:

Gebhardt, 33, is a Fremont native who graduated from Washington High School in 1992. He currently works as an engineering director at Fremont-based start-up Digital Fountain.
"It's been a passion of mine for years (to be on the board)," he said. "Being a school board member is where I think I can make a difference."Gebhardt, a student board member during the 1991-1992 school year, said as a student member and an appointee in 2006, he's dealt with issues such as budget cuts, facility upgrades and equity, among others.
But he said his main priority if elected in November is to make sure Fremont students get the best education possible, bringing them to their full potential.
"It all starts with the students," he said. "Board members have the experience and vision to put students first, and student achievement is key for a successful district."Gebhardt also hopes to see the board keep a balanced budget and make sure students have the best facilities possible for education.
"Education is the foundation of our society, I believe," he said. "That's why I've put so much into supporting it. Seeing students achieve is important to me and the most rewarding."

5/28/08 School Board Meeting - Budget Reductions Adopted

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-05-28T21:21:15-07:00

Here are a few highlights from tonight's school board meeting (agenda and background packet).

Approve 2008 – 2009 Budget Reductions
Tonight the school board approved almost $9.4 million in budget cuts. These cuts were necessary because proposed cuts in the state budget. The Governor did present a revised budget on May 14th, but it still has over $4 billion in education cuts statewide. See my previous blog post for more background.

There is still a lot of uncertainty as the Legislature and Governor will likely not have a final state budget anytime soon. The final state budget is likely to have less cuts, but it could even have more cuts. The district has chosen to adopt the necessary cuts, but to defer as many cuts as possible until we have a final state budget.

This is the hardest thing a board has to do. These are deep cuts including cuts in counselors, staff development, technology, secondary transportation, updated elementary text books, and increased class size in jr. high schools and high schools.

In my mind there are two priorities you balance as you decide on these cuts.

Keeping the cuts as far away from the classroom as possible and minimize the impact on our students.
Avoid laying off personnel. It's important to preserve valuable people and the experience and programs they bring to our students. These are much harder to rebuild than cuts to text books or staff development (although even these programs are costly to rebuild). The heart of the district (like most corporations) are it's people. Saving jobs sends a signal that the board and district values them and their contribution.

As hard as these cuts are they are a necessary step to keep the district solvent, I feel they have largely accomplished a balanced approach to these two priorities.

One thing the Financial Advisory Committee (FAC) recommended was for the board to consider dipping into the 1% board reserve, which the board did not agree with. Initially I agreed with FAC, but given the uncertainties in the state budget over the next few years we may need this reserve not for next year but the following year. I think even more important than that is having the reserve to cover any cuts that do not materialize. The complexity of cutting such large amounts from the district budget leads to a lot of uncertainty. Many of the cuts are soft costs and as they are implemented we may not realize the savings we thought. I speak from experience here as this is what happened during the 1992 cuts when I was on the board as a student and also in 2003 cuts.

The board was also in general agreement that all of these priorities would be reviewed and potentially re-prioritized if more money is available.

Health & Sex Education Committee Annual Report
The key issue covered in this presentation was does FUSD meet the requirement for a comprehensive sex education. As of 2004 California law requires comprehensive education including all methods of birth control including abstinence and must be medically accurate. Parents can opt their children out of the sexual education program. One of FUSD's current programs (Await and Find) is an abstinence-only program and is not compliant with state law. The board has asked staff and the committee to get the district back in compliance as quickly as possible.

2007 API Base Scores Presentation
This is not really new news. The 2007 API Base API scores represent a recalculation of the 2007 API Growth report from last August. Each year the state adjusts how the scores are calculated when they issue a base score. This new methodology is used in the 2008 Growth API report coming in August. So you can compare the 2007 base with the 2008 growth knowing they were calculated with the same methodology. Similarly you can compare the 2006 base with the 2007 growth report. Comparing, for example, the 2006 base with the 2008 growth is useful from a trending position, but can be misleading depending on how the score calculations have changed.

Some specific observations:

27 of our 38 tested schools are considered high performing schools (API over 800).
Oliveria and Irvington have moved up to the 800 API and are considered a high performing school.
Grimmer has increased their similar school ranking to a 5. This is primarily due to the increases in STAR test scores at the school, and the hard work students and teachers have put in to get there.
Students with disabilities have the lowest API scores (at 605) however the trend shows an increase from year-to-year.

UPDATED - Fremont Education Coalition update - May 14th local budget rally

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-05-07T08:52:33-07:00

May 14, 2008 Day of the Teacher Rally
Join educators, students, support personnel, administrators, parents, FUSD School Board members from 2:30 pm - 5:30 pm. We will rally together in front of all five high schools to inform the Fremont community that “Education Cuts Never Heal.” Wear your school shirts and band aids! Details will be posted on http://www.fremontedcoalition.com.

UPDATED: See the flyer at left for details on the event.

Pictures from PTA-sponsored Rally at Senator Ellen Corbett's Office
I also posted pictures form our successful rally at Senator Corbett's office

JUNE 1: Ice Cream Social - Bryan Gebhardt for Fremont School Board

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-05-04T22:15:29-07:00

Hello

Please join me for an:

Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social and Fundraiser
SUNDAY, JUNE 1ST – 1 to 4 PM
at MEYER PARK on 38220 Glenmoor Drive between Eggers Dr. and Mattos Dr.

We will have great activities for the kids including face painting, piñata, balloons, & lots of ice cream!

I hope to see you there. Please RSVP by May 30th. Call (510) 792-9234 or email info@bryan4schools.com

I want to thank many of you for your support already. Please spread the word and bring your friends!

Click the map below to get directions.


View Larger Map

Upcoming budget rallys and events!

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-04-22T22:00:25-07:00

The Fremont Education Coalition and the Fremont Budget Task Force have a number of events coming up. Please join us to rally support for education and to learn how you can take action.

PTA-sponsored Rally at Senator Ellen Corbett's Office

"Education Cuts Never Heal"
Please join us, as we rally to protect our schools!
Friday, April 25th, 2008 from 9am to 10.30am
Senator Ellen Corbett's office,
1057 MacArthur Blvd., Suite 206, San Leandro, CA 94577

Education Coalition Info Night

Join Us to Take Action and Stop the Cuts!
You are invited to attend an Informational Workshop presented by the Fremont Education Coalition. The agenda will include:
• brief introduction on the general timeline for the legislative budget process
• summary of the past and present budget cuts in Fremont Unified
• presentation of strategies to lobby the members of the California Legislature
• activities planned by the Fremont Education Coalition
• things you can do to stop the budget cuts

Thursday, April 24 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
FUSD Board Room
4210 Technology Drive

There are more events planned by the Fremont Education Coalition. Find out more at their web site. http://www.fremontedcoalition.com/

Proposed FUSD Budget Reductions posted on the web

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-04-13T20:51:14-07:00

On Friday Fremont Unified School District posted a list of potential reductions here: 2008-2009 Proposed Budget Reductions. This list is being used to get feedback from everyone (teachers, staff, parents, community). These will be discussed at the public forums. You can get more background on the process at http://www.fremont.k12.ca.us/PotentialBudget.html.

Looking at them it reminds me yet again how important it is we change the conversation from cuts to how to do the best for our students.

Budget Crisis Page / Potential Budget Cuts in Fremont

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-04-10T23:48:25-07:00

Budget Crisis 2008-09 Web Page

I have added a web page of resources to my site. It's a good starting point for finding more information about the state budget and it's impact on our Fremont schools. There's also a lot of good information in my blog post - A Coward's Budget.

Potential Budget Cuts in Fremont Schools

Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) has posted a web page on the potential budget cuts. Already the school board has increased class size in our Jr. and Sr. High Schools, and the district has implemented other mid-year cuts to save $5 million. But we still have over $4 million more to cut to meet the Governor's budget. The Potential Fremont Budget Cuts Presentation is the best way to learn how the state budget has and potentially will impact our students.

Community Public Forum Meetings

FUSD is holding two public forums with the community to get input on the
potential budget cuts. The date/time/locations are:

Date: 4-21-08
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Centerville Jr. High School Gym

Date: 4-28-08
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Irvington High School Gym

Please attend! We all need to work together on this.

A Coward's Budget

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-04-07T21:38:14-07:00

I apologize for the dearth of blog postings lately. I've been very busy meeting with people and preparing for the election. I attended the excellent ABC's of Campaigning workshop that the League of Women Voters put on at the end of March. I also met with every school district labor organization (FUDTA, SEIA, CSEA, and FSMA). Communication is so critical to the success of a school district, and I work hard to keep the lines of communication open.

But what I want you to focus on is the severe budget cuts that the Governor proposed in January. This is truly ...

A Coward's Budget

Let me remind you the definition of a coward.

Coward - a person who lacks the courage to do or endure dangerous or unpleasant things.

Governor Schwarzenegger made no attempt with his budget to set any priorities. He simply slashed spending across the board. Contrast his budget proposal with the one from the California Legislative Analyst's office (LAO). It contains much more targeted reductions that better reflect Californians' priorities. I encourage you to read it for yourself - LAO 2008 Budget Analysis: Alternative Budget Overview. If we were to adopt the LAO's proposed budget our schools would still face cuts in services, but would get $2 billion more than the Governor's budget.

Here are just some of the recommendations I've seen that would target cuts and generate revenue for our schools.

Roll back Prop 49 after school program spending saving almost $400 million. We lived without these programs in 2005-06 and can live without them again.
Suspend or reverse the Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA), which settled the billions borrowed form schools in 2004-05 but only provided it to low performing schools. We can all live without this money in tough budget times. Suspending it for the 2008-09 year would save approximately $450 million.
Combine the state’s 43 categorical programs into fewer programs (as the Legislative Analyst recommends) freeing districts to spend the money most efficiently. (LAO 2008 Budget Analysis: K–12 Categorical Reform)
Last year schools were given an Art, music and PE discretionary funds. As important as these are, they are the easiest to give back to help avoid cuts in other areas.
Raise new state revenues through eliminating tax credits and/or raising taxes. For example, the Legislative Analyst estimates $1.3 billion in new revenue from reducing the child tax credit. I would gladly give back my child tax credit if I knew it was going to our schools.

Our schools can and will do there part to tighten our belts during these tough times. But our Governor has to try harder for our kids.

What can you do?

To start with you can write the Governor and your legislator. (Example letters can be found here.) Attend rally's being put on throughout the state.

In Fremont, I recently joined a group of concerned parents, teachers, and citizens that are trying to mobilize Fremont. The Fremont School Budget Task Force meets every Sunday and is looking to join with other groups though out the city. In addition to making sure our legislators understand the cost these cuts will have to our kids, we are just as focused on helping put better to the budget crisis. Email me to find out how to get involved.

I truly believe education is the bedrock of our society and our democracy. That’s why I have devoted so much of myself to public schools. And that's why we must stand up to this cowardly budget.

Other resources:

Download California PTA's has short list of things you can do -- Take Action. See there web site - Flunk the Budget Not Our Children. They are organizing a rally on Sacramento on Thursday, April 24. Please attend if you can.
California Teacher's Association's (CTA) Budget Crisis 2008-09 web page

News from my other job

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-04-07T21:11:16-07:00

Many of you know that in addition to volunteering my time on community education issues, I work as an Engineering Director at a Fremont start up company -- Digital Fountain. The past month we've been working hard to launch our video streaming delivery network -- DFSplash. I'm excited to say we are launched our beta!

In a nutshell DFSplash is an end-to-end streaming video solution that offers a simple way to add stunning TV-quality video to any website. Click this link to experience it first hand.

Tri-City Beat: Meet Milt

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-02-18T10:43:16-08:00

The Argus Tri-City Beat blog has posted a nice little entry about Milt, the new interim superintendent of FUSD replacing Doug Gephart.

I think having a leader with strong instructional background is crucial, especially with the focus by the state and federal government on testing and accountability. It takes a lot of work and experience to meet the accountability requirements without losing sight of the students.

I first met Milt several years ago when he was principal at Washington High School. I was also on the board when we hired him into his previous role as Assistant Superintendent of Instruction. He was a great choice then and is a great interim choice now.

UPDATE: I wanted to expand on my thoughts a little. Milt is a great interim choice. Stepping into that interim role give the board time to carefully consider how to select the next superintendent and at the same time provides stability and continuity for the district. However, selecting a permanent superintendent requires much more careful evaluation. The board will need to consider how he or she matches the board's vision and goals for the district as well as his or her fit with the staff, parents, community, and students. I talked about this a bit more in my previous post - Superintendent Doug Gephart retires.

Superintendent Doug Gephart retires

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-02-14T22:43:34-08:00

As reported in the Argus (Inside Bay Area - NEW: Fremont schools superintendent to retire), today Fremont Unified School District announced that Superintendent Doug Gephart will be retiring at the end of this school year (June 30, 2008). They also named Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Milt Werner the Interim Superintendent for the 2008-09 school year. I want to wish Doug all the best in retirement.

Finding a superintendent is a time consuming and difficult process. The board made the right decision to name Milt as interim superintendent giving them plenty of time to carefully decide how to select the right one. The superintendent is the most important position in a school district and for Fremont is like the CEO of a $270+ million corporation. His or her leadership is crucial. Selecting a superintendent is the most important decision a school board will ever make.

To find the best superintendent you want the best pool of applicants possible. Generally, the best talent will be taken first, so the earlier you start the better. I'm sure the school board will start this process by September if not earlier. Anyone newly elected next fall will have to come up to speed extremely quickly.

I know. I was in that situation when I was appointed to the board in 2006, I got first hand experience negotiating the superintendent's contract and setting his goals. It's not something many people have experience with. At that time I took advantage of the California School Boards Association's resources to help inform me. I also sought advice from two former school district superintendents. WIthout a doubt that information was critical to my decisions, and I would not have been effective without those relationships.

You also must not underestimate the ripple effect a change in leadership has throughout an organization. Milt is an excellent choice and will be a great leader through this changeover. I know the board and the team Doug assembled I know will do a fantastic job guiding FUSD through this transition.

One final note: While we share a similar last name, Doug Gephart and I are not related.

2/13/08 School Board Meeting - BUDGET UPDATE

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-02-13T23:30:00-08:00

Here are a few highlights from tonight's school board meeting (agenda and background packet). The board considered several items tonight including the high school course catalog, summer school, and technology-related items, but by far the most important was the 2007-08 and 2008-09 Budget Report.

2007-08 and 2008-09 Budget Report
Assistant Superintendent of Business Bill Stephens in the board agenda item states, "It is the worse budget [the California] education [community] can recall being presented." That summarizes this dire situation well.

There are two aspects.

The governor has declared a financial emergency and called for mid-year budget cuts (including $400 million in statewide education cuts. In the worst case that could mean a $1.3 million cut in Fremont. However, the state analyst believes there are enough categorical funds at the state level to cover these cuts.
Next year's budget -- (2008-09): The state has a deficit of $14.5 billion or more. The cuts proposed to education are enormous -- over $4 billion. Preliminary figures suggest cuts of almost $7 million to Fremont's budget. More details can be found in Mr. Stephens' agenda item which I have attached with my notes from the meeting.

In preparation for this, FUSD has identified $1.6 million dollars that can be saved now mostly from not filling vacant positions. While that is by far the least painful way to save money, it still means there are important services are students aren't getting.

A more detailed list of budget impacts will be presented at the next school board meeting. The Argus also provides a good summary of the steps Fremont and other local school districts are taking to prepare for budget cuts at Inside Bay Area - Fremont schools brace for cuts.

Superintendent Doug Gephart urged everyone to reach out to their legislators now. "Right now it is quiet on this topic in Sacarmento... We can not wait until May. We have to assume the worst case scenario now and get the word out to our legislators." I agree. It is likely that the legislature won't cut education as severely as the governor proposes but it will be a difficult fight in Sacramento. Without a doubt education will be impacted like many programs, but the more we can educate our legislators the better decisions they can make. Instead of a blunt across the board cut in budgets they can be more targeted.

Are these real cuts?
Many parts of the state budget grow each your by a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), which is a figure that accounts for the increase in costs (e.g. rising health insurance, employee salaries, rising energy costs, etc.). So while we call these cuts many are really just a slowing of how much the budget will grow over last year. But the impact of this is still there. If revenues don't keep up with the increase in costs, then valuable programs and services get cut.

However, the governor's education proposal is more than just a slowing; it is a real cut. From the California School Board Association: "Since the Proposition 98 guarantee will grow by less than $4 billion next year, there will be an actual year to year reduction of $865 million."

On the personal side...
Unfortunately, I have a lot of experience dealing with tough school budgets. This is the third time I've seen severe cuts in Fremont education.

1991-92 - As a student board member I had to accept the elimination of counselors among other serious cuts. Some of these cuts have never been restored.
2002-03 and 2003-04 - As a member of the Financial Advisory Committee I helped the district and board evaluate over $7 million in cuts. Much of this was never returned to our district when the CTA and governor settled on a deal that provided that to low performing schools. (I have no problem supporting low performing students and feel the money should have gone to the students not the schools. Our low performing students are left out of this source of funding.)
2007-08 and 2008-09 - We don't know how bad it will be this time, but the district is right to prepare as best as we can. I will be doing everything I can to help our district this time too.

So where's the hope?
As grim as this seems, I know we will find a solution. If we can confront the brutal facts without losing sight of the students and staying positive I believe we will survive this and even thrive. This is one of the key tricks to building a great organization.

The excellent book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't which was recommended to me by Trustee Lara York talks about this as the Stockdale Paradox.

The Stockdale Paradox:

Retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties.

AND at the same time

Confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.

This applies just as much to school districts as it does corporations.

Other places to find budget information

For more background on the Fremont Unified School District budget please see the Financial Advisory Committee's yearly budget presentation - 2005-2006 FUSD Budget Summary.
Alameda School Board Trustee Mike McMahon has posted and been updating his website with excellent information about the California Budget Crisis for 2008.
The Legislative Analyst's Office has posted an Overview of the Governor’s Budget: 2008-09.

Hate-Free Community presents the annual State of the City Forum

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-02-05T23:45:16-08:00

I attended this event last year and found it quite thought provoking. It was a great place to learn what city and schools are doing and to hear perspectives from the community.

Fremont Alliance for a
Hate-Free Community
Presents the annual
State of the City Forum
Invited Speakers:
Mayor Bob Wasserman
City Manager Fred Diaz
Police Chief Craig Steckler
Human Relations Commissioner
Superintendent Doug Gephart

When: Monday, February 11th at 7:00PM
Where: Fremont Congregational Church
38255 Blacow Road, Fremont
(510) 793-3970

From Mowry: Head North on Blacow. Turn left on Eggers. Turn right
immediately onto the Blacow side-road. Turn left into the church parking lot.
From Thornton: Head South on Blacow. Turn right into Blacow side-road. Turn
right immediately into the church parking lot.

Argus: "Former trustee sets sights on school board"

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-02-05T22:34:08-08:00

Did you see page 3 of the Argus today? If not check out the online version here: Inside Bay Area - Former trustee sets sights on school board
(The link is probably only valid for about 2 weeks.)

The presidential primary election has dominated headlines for months, but it's not the only political race weighing on some people's minds. Since September, former Trustee Bryan Gebhardt has been running a Web site announcing his candidacy for November's Fremont school board race.And on Feb. 24, he will kick off his campaign with a party at City Councilmember Anu Natarajan's house. ...

A great way to kick off and publicize the campaign!

Thank you to Trustee Peggy Herndon and Councilmember Anu Natarajan for their endorsements and support. They aren't the only ones. I'll be posting more endorsements to my web site soon.

First Campaign Press!

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-01-30T23:58:39-08:00

More exciting news to share: Our first campaign press. Argus education reporter Linh Tat has revealed my candidacy in a blog post entitled "Election Day’s not that far off…"

She also reported that Trustee Herndon has decided not to run and has endorsed me. And I quote:

Trustee Peggy Herndon told me today she will not seek a third term. In fact, she said, her decision not to seek re-election made it easier for Gebhardt to decide to run. The two are friends, and Herndon said she’s “wholeheartedly” endorsing him.

Her wisdom and compassion will be missed on the board come next December. I truly appreciate Peggy's support.

She's not my only endorsement. I'll be posting more on that soon.

But will there be Two seats up for grabs? Lin talked to Trustee Ivy Wu about her plans, which are up in the air. I know how difficult the decision is even in the best of health. My family and I wish Ivy the best of luck with her breast cancel check up. She is such a positive person, and I know that will help carry her through anything.

Lin mentioned to me that the Argus blog has just started recently. Check out the Tri-City Beat and add it to your RSS reader to stay on top of the latest local news.

I know it's early, but this election is definitely started! There's a lot of work to get the message out, and it's never too early to start.

Campaign Kick-off February 24!

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-01-30T23:50:33-08:00

I am excited to announce my campaign kick-off fundraiser is scheduled for Sunday, February 24th from
3 to 6 PM (see flyer). Anu and Sundaram Natarajan have graciously offered to host the event at their home.

Mark your calendars now. It is THE place to be before the Oscars!

I've also revamped the front web page a bit. Let me know what you think.

1/23/08 School Board Meeting

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-01-23T22:50:18-08:00

Here are a few highlights from tonight's school board meeting (agenda and background packet).

Progress Report on Preparation for Closed Campus - I support the goal of closing our high school closed campuses, but it's clear from this report that it's more expensive than the district can afford at this point.
Secondary Passing Times - This was in response to a request from a parent who was concerned there was not enough time for restroom use and breaks during the day for our secondary students. While I don't disagree it is an important issue, I believe this is not a great use of board time. This is better left to the sites and staff to solve with students and parents. The board should focus on higher level policy issues with its precious time.

And just such an important issue was on the agenda.

Science Course Sequence Options
The science curriculum in our 5 high schools are similar, but not the same. One of the key differences is that American high school has in recent years has made Biology a 9th grade class, while in other high schools Biology is normally a 10th grade course and integrated or earth science is a 9th grade course. (I am oversimplifying this a little, so please review to the board item for more details.)

This is an important item from both a philosophical and policy level. The board and district have to balance several difficult concerns.

Equity - Is it equitable that one high school offers a 9th grade Biology and others do not? Yes and no. We need to provide the best mix of classes we can for each high school student population, but we also need to not leave any students out.
Student choice - This is closely related to equity. We want to provide students with as many choices as they can and as many ways as possible to meet the standards we've set for them.
Teacher freedom - Teachers should have the freedom to teach the best way they can - to apply their expertise. We should set clear goals and desired outcomes and let teachers figure out the best way to get there with their students.
Staffing - Credentialed science teachers are difficult to find. Additionally starting in 2006 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requires all teachers to be Highly Qualified (credentialed) in the subject they teach.

The district science curriculum committee recommended standardizing on Integrated science courses as the 9th grade class. I understand why they came to this pragmatic solution. However the board did not go with that exact recommendation. They voted to:

Offer at 9th grade 3 options: Integrated science, Biology, and Honors Biology,
Change the 8th grade honors science class to Integrated science, and
Ensure that 9th graders in Integrated science can have the option to apply for Honors Biology in 10th grade.

I agree with the thinking that the board went through to come to this decision. I think Peggy Herndon summed it up best in saying, "I think we need to offer our students more not less." Student choice and the equity of that choice are the prime concerns. Only slightly behind that in my mind is academic freedom. We must provide as much freedom as possible to allow our teachers to reach our goals using a variety of methods, and we must measure the results of these offerings. Are they effective? Would there be better options? Setting and measuring goals is crucial here. Freedom to do your job how you see fit only works when there is accountability.

So as a policy decision, the board, in my opinion, made the right call. Restricting equity, choice, or freedom because you can not find the teachers would be the "easy" way out. There were also concerns about the rigor of the curriculum, having enough lab facilities, and impact to test scores as a result of offering more choice. I believe there are solutions to each of these like the ones we will have to find for staffing. If these challenges prove too difficult we may end up having to go with the science committee's recommendation, but we have to at least try.

I am glad the board set the bar higher, and asked our district, "What more can we do for our students?"

My MacWorld 2008 [updated]

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-01-21T20:29:43-08:00

I hope you all will permit me a non-campaign and non-school related post. Enjoy!
Those who know me know that every year I go to MacWorld. This year was no exception. I love walking every nook and cranny of the show floor looking for new and neat stuff. This year was no exception. I never seem to have enough time to get to everything I want.
Well anyway, hear are my impressions.
Deals! Deals! Deals!
Let’s start with the important stuff… the deals! Some of these end very soon so act now. Here are the deals that tempted me.

Buy Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 Mac 10% of with promo code MACWORLD08 at the Adobe store until 1/31.
RAGE Software - show specials on all products until Friday - coupon code MACWOLRD08.
Kensington MacWorld 2008 deals on there cool mice and other products until 1/21/08
Aspyr gives you $5 off some releases until 1/25 (coupon code: MACWORLD)
SmithMicro Macworld 2008 Store has deals until 1/27. VMWare Fusion is a good option. Most of the others don’t really interest me.
SmileOnMyMac.com: 20% off - dealmac.com. I’m going to get PDFpen for filling out PDF forms. They have other interesting stuff too. They also have an education store that gives 30% off.
Home design studio from Punch! Software - 20% off until 2/15. Need home design software. I guess we’ve been doing too much remodeling talk lately (kitchen, media center, bathrooms next...).
Western Digital MyBook Studio hard drive can be had for 20% off with coupon code MAC2008 until 1/31

For even more deals check out dealmac: “expo” deals
Best of Show
Here are the Macworld Best of Show winners that turned my eye the most.
Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac
One word: Awesome!
The killer feature for me is PhotoMerge. It allows you to merge group shot photos to big the best shots of everyone. I could have used this for our Christmas card picture. With kids always one is looking at the camera and the other isn’t. Check out the demo to really understand.
This feature alone is going to get my to pre-order this. And of course it has all the standard photo editing and managing tools. $89 pre-order deal.
Eye-Fi
Super cool! I walk up to their super small booth and this guy comes up and says, “Want to see the demo?” He then takes my picture and wirelessly it gets uploaded to iPhoto. It’s amazing they fit a wi-fi radio into an SD card. A 2 GB SD card is $99. A bit pricey, but super convenient. Perfect geek toy. While I was standing there he found out he was best of show at MacWorld. They also got an award at CES the week before.
BusySync
This is a nice little program that can sync iCal calendars between your local macs. In the next version they’re adding Google Calendar support. I’m real tempted to pick it up. I live and die by my calendar, so have it in sync everywhere would be nice.
Best of Bryan Show
So what did Bryan like best at the show?
OmniGroup
I always visit OmniGroup. I own most of their products including there just released OmniFocus (which also got best of show). I learned that they’re working on OmniGraffle 5 and that it will be able to read binary Visio files, which is great for those of you who work in Visio shops. I like Visio, but there’s something about the elegance of OmniGraffle that makes it just feel easier to use even though it doesn’t have nearly the same stencil set and feature set as Visio.
1Password
This is a program I love. It makes all those internet passwords effortless to fill in and works in all Mac browsers. I highly recommend it. I met one of the main developers. Nice guy from Ontario, Canada. He told me they’re in beta on a My1Password website that will allow you to access your passwords form anywhere via the web. He said his goal was to keep it very inexpensive for 1Password users. He just wants to cover the cost of server hosting and bandwidth.
Games
The usual game Mac companies were there (Freeverse, Aspyr, Feral) as well as EA. Nothing that interested me too much except for Battlefield 2142: Macintosh. I played that for 2 minutes and was hooked. It’s next on my list just as soon as I finish Command and Conquer 3.
At Aspyr I talked to a real nice tech support guy about my problems running Empire at War. It was refreshing to be taken seriously. I’ve always liked Aspyr’s customer friendliness.
While Belkin isn’t a game company, they had one of the more interesting gimmicks I’ve seen in a while. They had a champion Quake player who goes by the alias PMS Missy. If you could kill her once in 3 minutes playing Quake 4 you got a Best Buy gift card. Needless-to-say I got schooled. I went back later in the day and found out that no one scored a Best Buy gift card. It’s amazing, but video game playing has gone professional. PMS Missy and PMS clan do challenges like this all over the place now. If only I knew playing video games was a career option. :-)
Cameras
So I decided to look for a new digital camera. It’s amazing how much they change every year. Mines three years old and I feel in the dark ages. More on my camera search later, but I have to say MacWorld is a nice place to compare and contrast. Casio, Nikon, and Canon are all there showing off their latest.
Apple
Turns out I didn’t get to the apple booth until only a half hour before the show closes. Ugh! Here’s my take on some of the announcements.

MacBook Air Another elegant and amazing Apple product. Even though my rational mind says it’s not the right laptop for me, I can’t help wanting one. Darn Apple! This was is totally worth going to the Apple store to see in person when it’s out. Check out the videos of it’s multi-touch trackpad. That was very cool! You can bet it’ll make it’s way into the other MacBooks.
Time Capsule Everyone’s talking about MacBook Air, but for me this was the most exciting announcement. I recently decided I needed more disk space for backups. This combines a disk and an 802.11n base station at an extremely competitive price (1 TB $499). Amazing! I’m totally getting one.
AppleTV I wanted to see this, but didn’t get to. I’m very interested to see how much better take 2 is.
Apple iPhone Yes, I know it’s awesome. I’m waiting for 3G though. The new apps they released are very nice.

iTunes Library Sync Saga
I’ve been looking for a way to keep two different sized libraries in sync. I want a small library on my laptop and my full library at home, but I want ratings, play counts, and new additions to all be relatively easy to sync.
I stumbled across an application named SuperSync that syncs two iTunes libraries over a network. I bugged the developer a bit and then decided what the heck, I’ll buy it and try it.
A few hours later I stumbled across ANOTHER iTunes library sync program — TuneRanger.
I’m honestly not sure which one is better or how they differ, but I’m going to start with the one I bought. Both programs are cross platform (i.e. on Windows too).
Miscellaneous
Here are some miscellaneous things that I noticed on the show floor.

FastMac - They over a wireless 802.11n card you can install yourself (for the brave) in your MacBook Pro - $59 at the show; $99 normally. Good to know that option is out there.
Guitar Center offered the - MIDIsport Uno for $39. It provides a MIDI to USB interface for 1 device. Perfect for me to plug my keyboard into my Mac and use Garage Band to rock out! Alas
Harmony One remote: This replaces the excellent Harmony 880 remote which I own. It has much better buttons and a cool touch screen. Retails for $250, but you can get one for much less. Also look for close outs on the 880.
I love my Belkin Flip VGA keyboard/monitor switch. They announced a DVI version last year, but somehow I missed that it was actually shipping. Belkin : Flip DVI-D KVM Switch with Remote - (Part #F1DG102D) - $149
Yugma looked interesting. They were talking about a cross platform Skype plugin. They support Windows, Vista, Mac and Linux — truly cross platform. Might be good for work.
Intuit rewriting Quicken Mac from the ground up. This is major! The new version is expected in the fall, but it won’t have the same feature set of the 2007 version. Update: More details in the MacWorld article. I feel for the Quicken Mac team and applaud their bold move. Quicken 2007 is an ancient code base probably even still compiled in Code Warrior. Getting to Intel native would be a major undertaking (much like the Office 2008 team just took years to do). Instead they’re doing it all in Cocoa and giving it a true Mac look and feel. On the down side they aren’t likely to have any of the investment, stock, and 401k stuff. Quicken Online, their new all online product, may help bridge the gap by providing investment and stock hooks.
I bought Swift Publisher from Belight Software in the December Macupdate Promo. I found it so easy to whip up a flyer that at the show I upgraded to the retail version with like 23,000 clipart images.
TechTool Pro 5 is coming in March. I own TechTool Pro 4, but thankfully have had no need to use it. For better or worse I’ll upgrade when I’m in desperate need.
DiskWarrior from Alsoft - Version 4.1 coming next week with full Leopard compatibilty. Show price was $79; it’s regularly $99. Very well regarded product, but again I’m going to wait until my hour of need.
Elgato Systems - didn’t get as much time to look at these guys as I would have liked. They always have an excellent show special if you’re in the market for their products.
Mac Office 2008 - I am going to upgrade. Being Intel native is nearly reason enough. Exchange support is in Entourage 2008 supposed to be a bit better too, which will help me at work. (updated)

Furniture section
What’s more exciting?! We’re redoing our office and I was keeping an eye out for more pleasing laptop stands like the Rain mStand - $49. But other than that I didn’t find much, except for the weird stuff at Anthro. Not my style.
I know from first hand experience that being in a chair all day is hard on the body. I’m always interested in the latest. I stumbled across Swing Seat, which make an interesting approach. It was quite comfortable and they seemed knowledgeable about how to customize your chair for you. Prices where in the $300 to $400 range, which isn’t too bad for a good chair. But for now I’m sticking with what I got.

Updates: Fixed broken links and noted that OmniFocus also got best of show. Much deserved.
Updates 2: Added Quicken, Entourage, and Exchange articles

1/14/08 School Board Meeting

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-01-14T22:36:03-08:00

Here are a few highlights from tonight's school board meeting (agenda and background packet).

Board Discussion on the Proposed Patterson Ranch Development
The school board discussed a number of aspects of the development including the following aspects.

Size: How many students? From the board packet:

The projected number of elementary students generated from the 800 unit Patterson Ranch development is estimated at 171. The projected number of elementary students generated from the 276 unit Villa d’Este development is estimated to be 94. Elementary K-6: District-wide average from all homes is .339 per home X 1,076 homes = 365 [elementary] students American High School total enrollment is 2,060 with an anticipated increase in student enrollment ranging between 89 students and 102 students... Based upon these calculations, the new development will generate between 48 and 54 students [at Thornton Junior High School].

That's 365 elementary students and around 150 secondary students.

Staff has recommended an elementary school with enough core facilities (bathroom, multi-purpose room, etc.) for 840 students to accommodate growth and enough classrooms for 600 students as follows:

School Cost for 600 Students: Adding underground infrastructure for future expansion of 11 more classrooms for a potential build out to 840 students would add $3.85 million dollars to the project. For planning purposes $26.85 million would be a 2007 cost estimate.

Another benefit is that it provides potential space for Forest Park and other overcrowded American attendance area elementary schools. An interesting and related comment from trustee Lara York was that the previous developments in that area were Patterson family land and have generated many more students than planned for. It can be said this is just the next phase in the development of that whole area. Staff is going to research this.

Location: All elementary kids would have to cross Ardenwood Blvd. This is a non-starter for safety and traffic reasons. In the current proposal they have placed the church closer to the homes than the school! That makes no sense to me.

Costs: In summary, the board wants the developer to cover all the costs. "It's important that all the costs and fees ... are born by the developer," said trustee Larry Sweeny. Cost considerations include:

The board was very strong in saying the school must be ready before they sell the homes, and that this be committed to in the development application. If not, then the houses will be assigned to another elementary school with capacity which could be quite a distance from the homes.
Inflation factors need to be built into the building costs.
The developer needs cover any additional costs that accrue due to any delays.
The district would very much like to own the land.
The developer should also provide funding to mitigate the impacts on secondary schools impacts.

Process: Need the school and housing application to go forward at the same time and that they be linked. The housing application can not go forward without having agreement on the school development. Superintendent Doug Gephart summarized it well. "We need to be a prime player. Our interests need to be considered at the same time as the others. This should be done simultaneously." I agree. Schools are not a secondary concern. They are the primary concern of many if not most of those home buyers.

Unfortunately, there has been little dialog between the developer and district at this point. The developer wanted to do their own independent assessment of the costs of the school. After that they do want to work with the School Board.

This is the second of two major proposed developments (the other being the A's ballpark village) in Fremont that the board has discussed in the last 6 months. This is a great proactive step to put the district's needs in front of the developers. Unfortunately, the district has little leverage in negotiations with developers.

Fortunately these two development are big enough to really call for a new elementary school to be built, and it is in the developers best interest to make sure a school is built. However, I am not sure developers may truly appreciate the needs. The pessimist will say they are looking to minimize costs, which I am sure is a consideration. But it's really impossible for them to truly understand the schools' needs. That's the job of the school district. But it's critical that the city and developers seek to understand this need.

Teachers and other contracts
FUDTA (the teacher's union) and the school board have ratified a one year teachers contract agreement. The contract includes a 4.55% cost of living adjustment (COLA) for this year (2007-08) only. This contract only set salaries for one year, which means next year the district and employee groups will have to negotiate salary again, but given the ominous state budget deficit it may be for the best.

Additionally, the assistant superintendents and superintendent have been given a 4% cost of living adjustment. The district has also extended the 3 assistant superintendent contracts to all be July 1 2008 to June 2011.

All COLAs are retroactive to July 2007.

Speeches and Writings added

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-01-12T10:52:14-08:00

I have added a new section to the web site with some of my speeches and writings from my time on the school board. You will learn a lot about my views on education and the role of a school board member in these writings.

1/9/08 School Board Meeting

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-01-09T23:28:43-08:00

Here are a few highlights from tonight's school board meeting (agenda and background packet).

Employee Contracts
The board ratified the agreement between Local 1021 SEIU and Fremont Unified School District for 2007-2010. Additionally, a tentative agreement is now in place with the teacher union (FUDTA). Both of these contracts only set salaries for one year, which means next year the district and employee groups will have to negotiate salary again, but given the ominous state budget deficit it may be for the best.

Community Day School
Val Williams (Directory of Pupil Services) presented her teams report on finding a location in Fremont to set up a community day school. She is exploring the Fremont Teen Center.

I am very supportive of this initiative. The challenges are many but I can think of no more important group of kids to invest in. It makes me think back to what former school board member Guy Emanuelle has said, "“Never give up on a student even when a student may have given up on themselves."

Having served on the board, I can say one of the most difficult jobs a school board has is being the final review for all student expulsions. I am thankful that we had the option to send our students to Hayward Community Day School, but that is not a great solution because many of the students never make it there. It's just too far. When you look at Robertson Continuation School that serves another group of at risk students, routinely 30% of their students miss school. And to those who say these kids don't try hard enough, you try being a 14 or 15 year old and take public transportation for as much as 3 hours a day to school from north Fremont.

You have to remember that these are kids that have "given up on themselves." We need to show them we value them, they are part of our community, and that there are other ways to behave and succeed. They benefit and we, society, benefits. And frankly, $155,000 in additional money it would cost is a cheap way to provide hope and help to this group of kids.

Two-Story Modular Construction and Approve Classrooms for Warm Springs Elementary School.
The board approved adding 7 classrooms to Warm Sprints Elementary School. These are the first two story modulars in the district. They are much more expensive than single story classrooms, but given the size of our sites in the north and south of Fremont and the growth at each end of the city I think we'll be seeing more pressure for two story construction. The big question will be how to fund these.

Safe Schools
When I was on the board in 2006, we established district-wide goals including one focused specifically on safe schools.

2007-2008 Safe Schools Strategic Goal:

To ensure that our schools provide a safe environment, conducive to learning, for all students and staff, and that our schools encourage positive behaviors and choices, teach students to respect themselves and others, and provide appropriate discipline and counseling for negative and self- destructive behaviors.

This update presented the many types of programs that the district and community have organized to make schools safer and give students the skills to resolve conflicts. Students need to feel safe at school, because only students who are safe will be able to focus on learning.

I had the great fortune to talk a bit with Jan Steed the assistant Director of Pupil Services. She really helped me understand that safe schools programs are about helping student make better choices. We want to arm our students with the skills to choose words over fists, compassion over ignorance, understanding over name calling.

But how do you measure safe schools? For example, the number of suspensions and expulsions are a bad measure. Suspensions and expulsions are tools to improve school safety, like any other program. The measures need to be the behaviors we're seeing in our students. Maybe we measure the number of fights in schools or continue surveying our students. I don't know what the right measures are, but we need to find the best ones to evaluate our programs and the choices our students our making.

The next board meeting is on January 14, 2008 (next Monday) for a Patterson Ranch study session and to ratify the teachers contract. It's at 6:15 pm at City Council chambers.

Two other important unscheduled but upcoming items:

The updated SchoolWorks demographic study and report is almost ready and will be is coming soon to the board.
Length of residency as an overload requirement is being evaluated by legal council now.

New resources page and education links

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-01-07T22:04:18-08:00

I just added a page of resources. Right now it contains my education-related web links that I find here and there. I'll be adding to them. You can subscribe to an rss feed by clicking this link http://del.icio.us/rss/bcgebby/education.

Over time I'll be adding campaign and other types of resources. Feel free to send me links you'd like me to add.

FUSD Boundary Maps

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2008-01-02T22:24:16-08:00

I recently stumbled across great attendance area maps on the Fremont Unified School District web site. The Parent Resource Information - Attendance Area contains a list of which schools are in which attendance area along with easy to print maps.

Fundraiser Letter and other updates

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2007-11-10T22:36:06-08:00

I am sorry I haven't posted in so long. I started my new job on 10/8 and also sent out the first fundraising letter for the campaign. Those two things have sucked up most of my time. I've gotten a great response from the fundraising letter. I truly appreciate everyone's support.

If you haven't gotten a letter or email yet, don't worry. I will get to you.

But don't wait for me. Go over to my improved contribute page and contribute now!

Improved you say? Yes, I've updated the website to allow you to choose any amount when contributing with Google Checkout. It was easier than I realized. There's a simple tutorial on Google's web site titled Allowing buyers to specify their own price, product name, description, or quantity. Thanks to my first online contributer for inspiring me to improve this. Please report any issues you have here (with online contributions or any part of the website).

A lot has been going on in the past month, and I plan to post more about that soon. Here are a few highlights.

The school board is seriously considering length of residency as a criteria for overloading. The board is continuing the discussion on it's Nov 14 agenda.
A's presentation to the board on their thoughts about an elementary school in the project.
The board discussed the overcrowding at Parkmont and Forest Park in their Nov 3 study session. No decisions were made. This is just the beginning of the discussion. The board will also be seeking public input as they have for Mission area elementary schools.
I attended a great free workshop put on by the Alameda Democratic Central Committee entitled "So, I Might Want to Run for Office..." They'll be doing another workshop for candidates early next year.
Ellen Corbett spoke at the Tri-City Democratic Forum meeting.
And of course I had a happy Halloween trick-or-treating with my 3-year-old Lindsey!

PayPal donations added!

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2007-10-14T20:58:39-07:00

I've added PayPal for those of you who would like to contribute online.

It should work as long as you have a PayPal account. I'm still testing it so please report any problems you have on our contact page.

Currently, Google Checkout is the cheapest option as it is free until the end of 2007. After that it will still be cheaper than PayPal, but not by much. Please contribute using what ever way is most convenient.

Classroom overcrowding news and my new job

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2007-10-10T22:29:56-07:00

It has been a busy two weeks since the last school board meeting. There's been a real focus on student housing (i.e. seats for students in classrooms). The school board and district have been working on this issue since last November when they received a demographic and facilities study. In April (agenda and packet) and June (agenda and packet) there were two study sessions to discuss the various options for dealing with our overcrowded schools.

In the last two weeks there has been significant progress in two ways.

The city council and school board had a joint meeting on October 1 completely devoted to the impacts developers have on student housing. The joint report presented by staff was particularly useful.
The district conducted two community meetings in the Mission attendance area (one for Chadborne Elementary and one for Mission Valley Elementary).

I attended the joint meeting and the Chadboarne meeting and both were extremely informative. While there were no decisions made, these events are critical as they have educated and opened the lines of communication between everyone. I will blog more about these student housing issues in the future.

On a personal note, I started a new job on Monday. I now work as an Engineering Director at Digital Fountain a Fremont start up company. A little blurb about the company:

After a decade of innovative technology development yielding over 100 patents, our software solutions are now being deployed around the world by the leading standards bodies and major content providers from Hollywood and the Internet. Early next year, we'll add the world's first instant-on TV-quality CDN to our offerings, fundamentally changing the way the world watches online video.

I'm working on the CDN project. We're also hiring, so if you're interested let me know!

New Logo and Google Checkout added!

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2007-10-08T00:29:19-07:00

I have some significant updates to the web site to announce.

1. I added the new campaign logo everywhere on the site. Trisha Tahmasbi kindly donated her time to create this wonderful logo for the campaign.

I've also added Google Checkout for those of you who would like to contribute online.

It should work as long as you have a google checkout account. I'm still testing it so please report any problems you have on our contact page.

Contributions through Google Checkout are free until the end of 2007. After that Google takes a small percentage of every contribution. This is even cheaper than mailing in your contribution! So please contribute before the end of the year!

NEXT UP: PayPal...

9/26/07 School Board Meeting

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2007-09-26T22:52:38-07:00

Here are a few highlights from tonight's school board meeting (agenda and background packet).

STAR/API/AYP testing report
This was a fascinating presentation. API scores in Fremont have flattened this year. District wide API was 839 in 2006 and is 834 in 2007. The slight decline is probably not statistically significant. From 2002 to 2006, Fremont has gone from 797 to 839. These have been huge jumps. Board President Nina Moore helped explain that many districts have seen these big growth's in scores as they have updated their curriculum to cover the then new California state standards. After the initial growth, many districts see flat growth which may be what Fremont is seeing now. Essentially, teachers and students are using better tools and instruction has been more effective.

How do we continue to improve?

Superintendent of Instruction Milt Werner looked at this. In particular he went to schools that are having success in working with lower performing students. He asked them how are they being so successful. They mentioned there aggressive academic interventions, but more interesting was that all of the schools also highlighted the "culture and climate" work they are doing at their schools. This includes things like celebrating diversity, providing students with engaging activities, and inviting parents of low performing students. Put another way when the students are engaged they do better and schools and communities that work to engage their students succeed.

I will save a discussion for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) for another blog post, but suffice to say the bar for student achievement that the Federal government has set will be jumping aggressively every year from now until 2014 and even great district's like ours will not be able to meet it. The mandates are unrealistic and woefully underfunded.

Bottom line: When you look at all California schools, Fremont schools continue to be among the best, and we should all be proud of the work our students, teachers, and parents have done. We have fantastic schools. But we can't stop there, and I am thrilled to see how hard staff is working to find ways to continue to improve our schools.

Sabercat Development Attendance Area Assignment
On the heels of deciding to allow non-contiguous school boundaries on 9/11, the board decided that students generated from the proposed Sabercat development go to Irvington schools even though it is currently in the Mission attendance area. Mission schools are overflowing and just don't have physical space for any more students. In the past 6 years there have been around 300 units added in the Mission area. Sabercat would add 158 more generating an estimated 65 students. This seems to be one of the few options the board has to manage the overcrowding from Mission area developments.

Other Notes

Community meetings on facilities and overcrowding are being scheduled.
We've seen declining enrollment this year, which can have serious budget impacts. In their Oct 10 meeting this will be discussed more.

Web site update - changed blog theme

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2007-09-15T21:03:53-07:00

I changed the blog page from the school chalkboard theme the rest of the site uses as that them didn't work very well for blocking. This theme works much better with my blogging software.

I'll be playing around with the look of the web site a lot over the next few months. Let me know what you think of it. Contact me here.

Visualize API scores with School Performance Maps

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2007-09-15T20:54:52-07:00

Recently a friend pointed out this cool site to me. It provides a map interface to look at California school API scores. A picture is worth a thousand words, so...

Each pin corresponds to a different elementary or secondary school. The colors represent their average API base rank from 2004 to 2006. I clicked on the Mission SJ High School pin above.

Click here to see the map above.

CAUTIONARY NOTE: School API scores are but one measure of a school's performance and a volatile one at that. It doesn't take much for a school's score to change by 10-50 points. I encourage anyone interested in a measuring schools to visit the school. Talk to the principal and teachers. Look at how involved the parents and community are. Those are just as important measures.

9/11/07 School Board Meeting

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2007-09-15T20:25:28-07:00

I will do my best to share my observations and thoughts about the school board meetings I attend in the next year on this blog. Starting tonight here are a few highlights from tonight's school board meeting (agenda).

Springboard Partnership Agreement -- This is an exciting program. It is a coordinated district wide consulting partnership. Together with FUSD they developed a "plan that includes coaching and professional development to assist site administrators and teachers in raising student achievement and closing achievement gaps." I think staff development is so important and think this is a worthwhile investment. It is important that the right metrics in place to measure it's success before we make this an ongoing expense, but this first year collaboration is a great proactive step.
Discuss Master Facility Plan Goal on Contiguous Boundaries -- The board decided to change the policy to allow non-contiguous boundaries. This means that in impacted areas when a new development comes in the district will have the option to assign just the houses in that development to a school that is different from the schools the surrounding neighborhood is going to. This is a good move that gives the district more flexibility especially given how tight space is in many of our schools.
Sale of Site Funds -- This refers to the fund containing all the one-time funds from the sale of sites over the last 5-10 years. Among other things this fund has been used for the MVROP building, leased classrooms, and permanent classrooms.

MVROP -- Great news! We have completed the new MVROP facility on budget, and the land we were selling to pay for it has been sold. In this real estate market we are very fortunate no problems happened with this deal. I am president of the district's financing corporation and signed this $18 million bridge loan that allowed us to build the new MVROP building. On top of this the district has applied for about $5 million in matching state funding. A great move to stretch our dollars.
Leased classrooms -- The district routinely leases modular classrooms to handle temporary fluctuations in student populations at various schools. Paying for these ongoing costs out of a one-time fund is not a great long term solution, but is the best option at the moment.
Permanent classrooms -- On the flip side the district is also using this money to replace the temporary classrooms with permanent construction.

Mission San Jose Elementary project -- With this nearly $2 million project the site will get 2 new classrooms, an updated library, an updated computer lab, and a staff room. It's hard to spend this much of the sale of site funds on one school, but this school is particularly small and overloaded, which contributes to the high cost of this project.

The board has also added some of the Mission area developments to the 9/26 board agenda to discuss which attendance area they will be in.

The school board and city council have a joint meeting on Oct 1. The city and school staff's are working on a draft white paper to share at the joint meeting.

Mike McMahon's web site

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2007-09-10T21:55:37-07:00

Board member Mike McMahon has an excellent web site that contains a host of information for those interested in school issues and especially how school boards and districts work. It is focused on Alameda Unified School District where he currently sits on the board, but is useful for all interested in school issues.

Click here: Mike McMahon AUSD

I first met Mike at the Alameda County School Board's Association. This group meets once a month to discuss issues that effect all boards and districts. It is an incredibly useful resource for school board members.

My History with Fremont Schools

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2007-09-03T22:27:47-07:00

I have been involved with Fremont school issues since 1992 and was a student in Fremont schools since 1979. Here are some of my accomplishments.

Advisory Commission on Instructional Equity (2007 to present)
Board of Education Trustee (2006)
Financial Advisory Committee (2003 – 2006) – Served as Chairperson in 2005. Advised the district on $9 million in budget cuts in 2003. I worked to develop the district’s User Friendly Budget.
FUSD Educational Facilities Financing Corporation (2004 – present) – As president of the board of directors, I signed the $18 million loan required to build the new MVROP facility at Kennedy High School. The loan is to be repaid from the sale of the Liaola site.
Superintendent’s Technology Advisory Group (2005 – present) – A joint effort by staff and the community to establish a FUSD technology vision and technology advisory committee.
School Services State Budget Workshop (May 2005) – As FAC chair I was invited to attend the May Revise workshop.
Technology Task Force (2003-2004) – Member of this superintendent-created 6-month task force
Citizen’s Facilities Committee (1998-99)
Graduate of Fremont schools – Washington High School, 1992
FUSD Student Board Member (1991-1992) – Served on the board during the 1991 Measure A bond and the approximately $5 million in budget cuts.

The Purpose of Public Schools

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2007-09-03T22:27:07-07:00

A quote I saw at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. summed up the purpose and importance of public schools to me.
KNOWLEDGE WILL FOREVER
GOVERN IGNORANCE:
AND A PEOPLE WHO MEAN
TO BE THEIR OWN GOVERNOURS.
MUST ARM THEMSELVES
WITH THE POWER
WHICH KNOWLEDGE GIVES.
– James Madison

Education is the foundation of personal freedom and central to a healthy, vibrant democracy. Public schools provide equal opportunity for all to seek knowledge. They empower everyone with the knowledge and skills to succeed. They create better citizens, which produces a more responsible community.

[I originally posted this on Friday, June 16, 2006 on a previous web site.]

The Purpose of School Boards

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2007-09-03T22:24:38-07:00

As the only elected officials that represent children, the school board’s fundamental role is keeping the district focused on the learning and achievement of all students. The board accomplishes this by:

Setting the strategic direction of the district for staff and the community
Listening to every view in the community to inform their deliberations
Evaluating and adopting policies consistent with the district vision
Equitably allocating district resources based on the district’s vision and goals, and monitoring the district’s fiscal health
Operating openly and honestly
Performing regular and timely evaluations of the superintendent’s and the district’s effectiveness
Representing and protecting the district’s interests at the local, state, and federal levels

[I originally posted this on Friday, June 16, 2006 on a previous web site.]

My First Post

bryan@bryan4schools.com — 2007-09-03T22:16:46-07:00

I am excited to announce that I am running for the Fremont Unified School District’s Board of Education in November 2008. I am also excited to announce my first blog.

Through this blog I hope to reach out to all people -- parents, students, teachers, community members, etc. I will share with you:

Campaign news,

Insights into Fremont schools and current school policies in California and the U.S., and
More about my education philosophy.

My goal is to update this blog several times a month. Watch this blog for campaign and school board news!

-Bryan

Bryan4Schools RSS Feed

Early Endorsements!

Fremont Festival of the Arts 2008

Candidacy Papers filed!

6/11/08 School Board Meeting

Fremont Bulletin: "Three candidates so far for school board race"

5/28/08 School Board Meeting - Budget Reductions Adopted

UPDATED - Fremont Education Coalition update - May 14th local budget rally

JUNE 1: Ice Cream Social - Bryan Gebhardt for Fremont School Board

Upcoming budget rallys and events!

PTA-sponsored Rally at Senator Ellen Corbett's Office

Education Coalition Info Night

Proposed FUSD Budget Reductions posted on the web

Budget Crisis Page / Potential Budget Cuts in Fremont

Budget Crisis 2008-09 Web Page

Potential Budget Cuts in Fremont Schools

Community Public Forum Meetings

A Coward's Budget

A Coward's Budget

What can you do?

Other state budget-related items and links

News from my other job

Tri-City Beat: Meet Milt

Superintendent Doug Gephart retires

2/13/08 School Board Meeting - BUDGET UPDATE

Hate-Free Community presents the annual State of the City Forum

Argus: "Former trustee sets sights on school board"

First Campaign Press!

Campaign Kick-off February 24!

1/23/08 School Board Meeting

My MacWorld 2008 [updated]

1/14/08 School Board Meeting

Speeches and Writings added

1/9/08 School Board Meeting

New resources page and education links

FUSD Boundary Maps

Fundraiser Letter and other updates

PayPal donations added!

Classroom overcrowding news and my new job

New Logo and Google Checkout added!

9/26/07 School Board Meeting

Web site update - changed blog theme

Visualize API scores with School Performance Maps

9/11/07 School Board Meeting

Mike McMahon's web site

My History with Fremont Schools

The Purpose of Public Schools

The Purpose of School Boards

My First Post