Editor:

An ad hominen attack is the lowest form of argument. So it doesn’t reflect well on someone running for office that he insults people who dare to disagree with him. Unfortunately, that’s the case with Mike Burkholder, who is running for a seat on the Antioch School Board.

A few days ago I posted on the Oakley Politics Facebook site my concern about the Oakley fire tax that too much of it would go to retirement expenses instead of providing fire protection. Burkholder responded, “Back to lying about fire service to cause voter confusion yet again.”

First, that’s a violation of the site’s civility policy which specifies that posters “be civil, no profanity, no bullying.” Secondly and more importantly, it tells voters in the Antioch School District something about how Burkholder might conduct himself in office. Namely, that if you dare disagree with him, he might publicly insult you, which is a form of bullying intended to silence you.

This is not the first time he’s trashed me — he did it often when I opposed the previous East Contra Costa fire tax hikes. And I’m not his only victim. He’s insulted journalists at the East Bay Times and Antioch Herald and at least one member of the Oakley City Council.

The description for the Oakley Politics site states that it is “a way for local candidates to meet and interact with Oakley, California voters.” Voters should be concerned that Burkholder chooses to interact with them by publicly hurling insults, disparaging their character and attempting to bully them into silence if he disagrees with them.

This is especially ironic given that Burkholder at an AUSD candidates forum said this in response to a board member pointing out the district’s dismal academic performance: “That kind of language is so negative, that is not my style. Our job is to promote the district, talk good about the district and find ways to engage the community in a positive light.”

Dave Roberts

Oakley

Dear Editor:

My husband, Gary Agopian, proudly served on the Antioch City Council until he passed away in 2014 after a long battle with brain cancer. I don’t usually get involved in politics, as that was always Gary’s passion. But this election is different. The decision we make on November 8th to elect a new mayor for Antioch will define the future of our city for years to come.

I am writing you to ask you to join me in voting for Dr. Sean Wright for Mayor.

Sean Wright has three qualities I strongly value in a leader, and I know my late husband, Gary, would have agreed with me: character to do the right thing; a desire to be transparent with citizens on all decisions made; and the courage to stand up and make the tough decisions that will move Antioch forward in a positive fashion.

Antioch is short on the kind of leadership our community needs to turn our city around. Sean Wright will be a mayor we can count on – he will stand up on the important issues that matter. Thank you for reading this letter.

Robin Agopian

Antioch resident and local teacher

Dear Editor:

Public education is my passion.  I’ve had the privilege of serving on a local school board and as chair of the State Assembly Education Committee.  I’ve worked with leaders from throughout the state and visited schools in many districts.  I’m honored to support Diane Gibson-Gray and Joy Motts for Antioch School Board.  I believe they have the knowledge, skill, and leadership qualities to continue to move Antioch schools forward.

They are two active women with deep roots in the community, having lived in Antioch for many years and graduated from Antioch High School, as did their children.  Joy’s daughter is now a well-respected teacher at Antioch High School.  Both care deeply about our children and understand the profound impact a quality education has on their lives.

Diane and Joy also understand the need to work with the entire education family – students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community leaders – to build strong schools.  They know that the focus has to be the students in the classrooms and programs that support learning.  They know that the quality of life and economic growth of the city also depends on the success of our schools.

Antioch schools, despite challenges, are moving forward in the right direction.  Antioch High is the first comprehensive high school with wall to wall academies. I have witnessed the success of its academies and talked to many very articulate, engaged high school students.  These students are very impressive, as impressive as any I’ve seen throughout the state.  I also witnessed the in-house program started by the principal to ensure all students complete their college applications and financial reporting requirements, eliminating a significant barrier to admission for many students. Dozier Libbey Medical High School was AUSD’s first full-site academy. Deer Valley High School now has four academy choices.

Progress does not happen by accident.  It happens through strong leadership.  It happens with leaders like Diane Gibson-Gray and Joy Motts.  I urge you to vote for Diane and Joy on November 8^th.

Joan Buchanan

Alamo

Dear Editor:

You have probably received a lot of fancy mailers saying very different things. I wanted to take a moment to talk to you all directly about someone who I have worked with for years – Diane Burgis. Diane’s environmental credentials are unparalleled. She has a long history of fighting for our local waterways, parks, farms, ranches and natural lands. By electing her to the Board of Supervisors I know we can count on her to defend the Delta and our open space while also responsively developing the county’s economy so that our children and grandchildren will be able to live in and enjoy the land we love.

I am confident that Diane has the unique skill set that a leader needs to balance strong fiscal discipline with our universal desire to protect our environment, invigorate and enhance our historic agricultural lands, create high paying jobs, expand transportation options to ease congestion, revitalize each of our city’s downtown areas and to strengthen the safety net for our most vulnerable neighbors.

Please join me in supporting Diane Burgis for County Supervisor. She will be an energetic and effective advocate for all of East County, not just for the big developers and special interests that pay for her opponent’s campaign.

Ron Brown

Retired Executive Director, Save Mount Diablo

Walnut Creek

Dear Editor:

Nothing has a greater impact on the quality of life in a community than the quality of the schools.  As a former Real Estate Agent, I can attest that the performance of the local schools is the number one priority of young families when they are looking to purchase a home.  This is only one of many reasons that our local school board election is vitally important.

In the current election, we are presented with a very clear choice.

On the one hand, we have four candidates who are running to be ‘cheerleaders’ for the school district…despite the horrendous outcomes.  State test results show that thousands of students in the Antioch Unified system can’t read at grade level, don’t achieve basic proficiency in math, and haven’t passed the fifteen courses required to enter a California State College or University upon graduation.  These candidates, and their supporters, are suggesting everything will be fine if we only say good things about the schools, stand behind the Superintendent regardless of outcomes, and, of course, give them more of our tax dollars.

The other three candidates, Fernando Navarro, Crystal Sawyer-White, and Alonzo Terry, have a real plan to turn things around.  In their joint opinion piece posted online with the Antioch Herald (see: http://antiochherald.com/2016/10/p24135/), they detail how they’ll improve literacy and math skills, create a college-bound culture, and advocate for transparency and honesty in discussing the problems in the district…so that we can, together, come to viable solutions.

I hope you’ll join me in voting for these three candidates, Navarro, Sawyer-White, and Terry, who will bring about the much-needed course change to put Antioch schools on the right path.

John Crowder

Director, Math Intensive

Antioch

Dear Editor:

I have lived my entire life In East County, my 34 year teaching/counseling career was in the Brentwood Union School District.

I have known Steve Barr for all 34 years: he is a trustworthy man of integrity, and dedicated to bringing the resources we need to East County.

Steve is truly qualified to be our next District 3 County Supervisor. In the past 11 years he has finished a four-year and a two-year (appointed) term on the Liberty Union High School Board, a four-year term on the Brentwood City Council and is now in his second term. When Steve starts something, he sees it through. On the other hand let’s look at Diane Burgis’ record: in less than four years she was on the Oakley City Council for two years, then left that position to run for East County Regional Park District Board, is in her second year, and is now willing to leave that position to run for County Supervisor. What next?

I am a member of the Contra Costa County Transportation Authority Citizens Advisory Committee. Starting in March of this year I attended every Transportation Authority Board meeting advocating for the need to have funds appropriated for the airport connector (SR 239) to be put on this November ballot (Measure X). Steve Barr was at every meeting advocating as well and also spoke up for the funds that were needed in Brentwood and Oakley. I do not recall seeing Diane Burgis at of any these meetings or speaking up on the behalf of East County.

It is extremely important that we elect someone to be our County Supervisor who has true leadership experience and is willing to spend the time needed to get the job done.

In my professional opinion, longevity counts. Please join me in this election and vote for Steve Barr, the most qualified to be our District 3 County Supervisor.

Patricia Mantelli Bristow

Brentwood

By Fernando Navarro, Alonzo Terry, and Crystal Sawyer-White

The 2016 election season is concluding.  We’ve heard from the candidates, and while they have differing ideas, they all agree on one thing:  Antioch needs good, high-paying jobs.

How will we draw the high-tech firms that can provide these jobs?  Only by improving the quality of education.  Only when the educational opportunities in the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) are second to none, will companies that provide such jobs locate here.

For many years, we have not been providing the clear majority of our students with the type of education that will draw people to Antioch.  But, that can change.  It starts by electing a school board that will prioritize and refocus resources toward academic achievement.  We, the undersigned, have a plan to do just that.

Our vision for our schools is, to borrow a phrase, “to focus like a laser” on academics.  This focus needs to begin at the earliest possible time, and involves four main ideas, starting with the development of literacy.

First, we need to ensure that our children are all reading proficiently not by third grade, but in kindergarten and first grade.  Private schools in Antioch are already accomplishing this.  They do it by providing students with a phonics-based curriculum.  They do it by providing full-day classes.  They do it by welcoming parents into the classroom to assist with this important endeavor.  They do it by establishing reading groups, and then reading, reading, reading.

Second, we need to dramatically increase proficiency in math.  To do this, we first need to be intellectually honest, and recognize that students cannot progress until they master fundamental skills, and that students learn at different rates.  We already have one program in the district, Math Intensive, that has shown incredible results by recognizing these facts.  The data from their last program report submitted to AUSD indicated that students improve about two-and-a-half times faster than students in a regular classroom.  African-American students in the program, the demographic most harmed by the achievement gap, improve at three times the regular classroom rate, an even more remarkable achievement.  Expanding this, and similar programs, is the fastest way to improve student outcomes in math.

Third, we need to develop a college-bound culture.  Again, we already have an organization working with AUSD, Parents Connected, that is getting the job done.  Parents Connected helps students with college entrance essays, scholarship applications, and test preparation.  They established a program of college tours, and provide mentors for students.  Most of the students in their mentoring program do go on to college.  This is another program that should be expanded.

Fourth, and probably most important, we need to be completely open and transparent with all stakeholders.  We shouldn’t be posting only good news, or only bad news.  We need to be open about our results, good and bad, but be clear about our plans for continuous improvement.  Trying to ‘spin’ bad results, the theme our opponents are advocating, is a recipe for failure.

Let’s pull together, make academics our priority, and we’ll see parents clamoring to place their children in our schools…and companies clamoring to locate their businesses in Antioch.  Vote for us, Navarro, Terry, and Sawyer-White, and we’ll deliver the much-needed change our children, and our community, deserve.

By Fernando Navarro

Last week I was “taken to task” by a member of the Antioch Education Association (AEA), the local teachers’ union, for voting against a resolution supporting passage of Proposition 55.  What does Proposition 55 do?  It extends for another 12 years what was promised to be a temporary income tax increase targeting ‘high-income’ Californians.  While the commercials hitting the airways, and the statement made by my protagonist at our last board meeting, claim it will benefit our kids, the passage of the measure will really benefit the teachers’ union…to the detriment of our kids.  That’s why I stand firm in my vote against the resolution supporting it.

The California Teachers Association (CTA) is pumping millions of dollars into support of the passage of Proposition 55.  Over half of state revenues already go to education…but to the powerful CTA, and local teachers’ unions, that will never be enough.  They will always want more…dissatisfied with the step wage increases built into their salary tables, they want additional raises and additional benefits…which of course means more money into union coffers.

The problems in our schools are not because of a lack of funding.  They exist because of failed policies, backed by the CTA, AEA, and others.  Just last month, the editorial board of the San Diego Union Tribune explained in an op-ed article why providing additional revenues to schools amounts to continuing to shore up a failed, ‘status-quo.’  It amounts to continued support for extreme job protection policies that make it virtually impossible to fire bad teachers.  It amounts to the continued failure to educate our poorest, most vulnerable students, and ensures the achievement gap that exists for students of color will continue.

Indeed, if money were the answer, the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) would be a beacon for students.  AUSD receives almost a quarter of a billion dollars to educate the approximately 16,000 students in the district.  Over the three school years 2012-2013 to 2014-2015 alone, according to Ed-Data, General Fund revenues increased from $131 million to $162 million, at a time when the student population was decreasing.

This amounted to a jump from $7638 per student (based on average daily attendance) to $9600 per student…an increase of 24%!  What have we gotten in return?  The percentage of students graduating ready to attend a California State school increased from 31.6% to 32.2%…virtually no change.  The statistics are even worse for our most vulnerable students.  The percentage of English Language Learner students reclassified as Fluent/Proficient actually dropped over this time, from an already poor 9.8% to an absolutely dismal 7.3%.  Currently, only 10% of African-American students test even basically proficient in math.

Don’t be fooled.  This measure is a classic ‘bait and switch.’  The education system in California is broken, in no small part because of policies backed by powerful union interests that are about their members…not your children.  I’ll be voting ‘no’ on Proposition 55.

Navarro is an Appointed Trustee on the Antioch School Board and is running for a full-term in the November election.