I encourage fellow readers to read the Palo Alto Weekly editorial last week. We need more accountability than we have gotten from the 2 incumbents running for school board (and this is the 3rd bite at the apple for Melissa Baten-Caswell).

Giving an incumbent 2 terms when governance has been demonstrably poor over the past few years is bad enough -- please read the editorial for examples -- but to give someone a 3rd term? Come on folks. Palo Alto can do better than that.

Melissa is an Ivy League graduate who believes in more rigor for PAUSD high schools. She was the one who pushed for the mandatory 2 years of World Language requirement for graduation.

Don't vote for another elite school graduate. [Portion removed.] Besides the current Ken Dauber (who has a degree from Yale) the Ivy League graduates just want more rigor for our already overloaded students. Almost ever student in AP math or AP science classes has a tutor. Students even have tutors in regular lane because of the poor teaching.

If Melissa works on teacher tenure, I'd be impressed.

Laurene Powell (she rarely uses Jobs) has not had any children in PAUSD for a very long time. She herself splits her time between DC and Silicon Valley, so she is pretty out of it regarding the local schools.

Ignore her backing for Melissa. Don't vote for her! [Portion removed.]

Melissa will provide valuable history to the School Board, which is why she is running again. Vote for Melissa!

@Been There,
Melissa can still volunteer as s community member to her heart's content, it is not necessary for her to continue to dominate the board. I encourage everyone to read the Weekly editorial and endorsements.

There was a Jobs in the graduating class of 16. That was months ago, not so long in my book.

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Nine years of consistently embarrassing governance - and she wants another term to provide the "institutional knowledge"? I give her credit for moxie. Read the editorial for the particulars of the indictment: Web Link

Holding our local elected officials accountable for their performance in office is not something we do very well in Palo Alto.

There is no way to sugar-coat our views on the performance over the last four years of Baten Caswell and Emberling; their actions on the school board, while surely well-intended, have allowed the district to gyrate from one crisis or controversy to another, undermining trust and confidence in the board, in Superintendent Max McGee and in the operation of the district.

People also contribute to campaigns, especially small, local ones, because they are simply friends with the candidate. You don't always need to read more into it...

Laurene's daughter graduated from Paly last year. She has been a longtime advocate of education founding College Track in EPA and recently funding +$100 mil towards education initiatives with XQ which strives to rethink our education system. Make your own decisions on a candidate but don’t knock someone who has been a longtime advocate for education.

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