The contested election for three seats on the Menlo Park City School District Board Nov. 7 seems to be almost a rerun of the 2002 election.
Again, three candidates who have been involved in the school scene — incumbent Laura Rich and, this time, Jeff Child and Deborah Fitz — face the same shadow challenger, Noria Zasslow.
Ms. Zasslow, listed second on the ballot, followed a pattern of triggering an election when she filed papers in August, then not responding to repeated requests for information and interviews by the Almanac.
This time, Ms. Zasslow did file a candidate’s statement for the first time since forcing elections for a seat on the San Mateo County Board of Education in 2004, the Sequoia Union High School District Board in 2005, and the Menlo Park school board in 2002.
Candidate Zasslow is in the unusual position of being a candidate for the board while requesting a review in the U.S. District Court of Northern California of an administrative law judge’s decision that was “favorable in every way” to the Menlo Park district, according to John Nibbelin, county counsel representing the district.
Ms. Zasslow contends that her daughter, a student at Hillview Middle School last year, was deprived of her rights to receive a fair education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act because the district did not comply with state and federal laws.
Ms. Zasslow did not respond to Superintendent Ken Ranella’s invitation to brief all candidates on challenges and issues the district faces as it launches a $90 million multi-year facilities project to expand and modernize facilities to accommodate a projected enrollment boom at the district’s four schools.
Candidates Rich, Child and Fitz have jointly launched a Web site: www. richchildfitz.org. It includes the three candidates’ statements and a list of more than 330 endorsements by district parents and community members, plus endorsements from district trustees, past and present, and officers of the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation and the school PTOs.
The three vow to work to ensure that funds from the $90 million bond measure, approved by the voters June 6, are spent wisely and effectively to provide additional facilities at the four schools for the next 30 to 40 years.
Below are some of their thoughts.
Jeff Child
A lifelong resident of Menlo Park, graduate of Hillview School and Menlo-Atherton High School and parent of four children now in the schools, Mr. Child knows the district first hand. He wants the “great school system for the community” to continue.Mr. Child said he would bring financial expertise to the board to ensure tax dollars are spent effectively and the completed construction project comes in on budget. He supports investment in effective teacher training, grade-level collaboration and differentiation of instruction.
As a board member, he said, one has “to make decisions and the worst decision is not making a decision.”
Noria Zasslow
In the official voter information pamphlet, Ms. Zasslow’s lists her goals: Improve student safety by requesting a motorcycle police officer be at the corner of Lemon and Santa Cruz Avenue during school arrival and dismissal times; implement a “walking school bus” with parents and volunteers walking children to school along specified routes; encourage district compliance with state and federal law regarding students with special needs.Laura Rich
Good communication between the board and the community is a special interest of Ms. Rich, who is seeking a third term on the board.She took the lead in developing the annual Community Report, moving the monthly district newsletter and other communications online, and encouraging responses from parents.
Interested in innovation in education, she supports the integration of technology into the curriculum and a pilot program that trains teachers to help students use technology in the classroom as a tool for learning.
Deborah Fitz
Involvement with the schools for Ms Fitz has ranged from reading with children in the classroom to being co-chair of the $90 million facilities bond measure campaign to expand and modernize school facilities. That 70 percent of the voters favored the bond measure, she said, showed “phenomenal support from the community.”Her interests center on investing in the professional development of teachers, promoting innovation in the classroom, and working to improve the transition of Hillview students to Menlo-Atherton High School.
Jeffrey B. Child
Education: University of California, Davis, BS in chemical engineering, 1982; Wharton School of Finance, MBA, 1989Civic service: Treasurer, Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation, 2004-present; co-chair, Menlo Park school district’s 2003 parcel tax campaign; co-chair, finance committee for the district’s 2006 bond measure; board member, Menlo-Atherton Coop Nursery School, 2001-2006, president, 2005; coach, high school water polo.
Experience: Financial manager, 1989 to present, Montgomery Securities (became Banc of America Securities in 1997); board member for two public companies.
Years in district: Lifelong Menlo Park resident, attended Fremont School K-5, graduate of Hillview School and Menlo-Atherton High School
Age: 46
Family: Married to Dianne Child; four children in district schools
Noria Zasslow
Ms. Zasslow, listed on the ballot as mother-translator, did not respond to the Almanac’s requests for information; nor did she come to the editorial interview or provide a photo.Laura Linkletter Rich
Education: Stanford University, BA, psychology, 1984Civic service: Incumbent, Menlo Park City School District board 1998 to present, board president, 2000-2001, 2005-06; creates and produces district’s Community Report, maintains district Web site, produces district newsletter; four-year member, Delegate Assembly for California School Board Association; president, San Mateo County School Board Association, 2002-2003; former president, Menlo Park PTA Council, 1998-1999, and Encinal School PTA, 1996-1997; chair of Encinal School Site Council, 1997-1998
Experience: Designs Web sites for clients and nonprofit organizations
Years in district: 22
Age: 44
Family: Married to Mark Rich, two children, district graduates who went on to Menlo-Atherton High School
Deborah Fitz
Education: Northwestern University, BA, economics, 1978; Stanford University, MBA, 1986.
Civic service: Co-chair, $90 million Bond Measure U campaign for Menlo Park district, 2006; steering committee member, district’s 2000 and 2003 parcel tax campaigns; helped launch Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation’s Endowment Fund, serves on its investment committee; former member, foundation’s Jeanie Ritchie Grants Committee; former board member, Las Lomitas Education Foundation, 1996-1998
Experience: Collaborated with Stanford faculty to develop curriculum and training materials for corporate executives, 1986-1996
Years in district: 9
Age: 49
Family: Married to Alex Fitz; four children, one at Encinal School, Hillview Middle School and Menlo-Atherton High School and a graduate of M-A.
