SDUHSD Board candidate: Randy Berholtz

Del Mar Times

Oct. 17, 2016 11:45 AM PT

Name: Randy Berholtz

Occupation: Corporate Attorney, Life Sciences Entrepreneur, Adjunct Professor

Education: Cornell: BA summa cum laude; Oxford M.Litt (Rhodes Scholar); Yale JD; University of San Diego School of Business: MBA

Community Service: Parent-Teacher Committee, Del Mar Union School District; Basketball and soccer coach; Member, Rancho Bernard Community Council; President, San Diego Chapter, Republican National Lawyers Association; Board member, San Diego Chapter of the Federalist Society; Member and later Alternate, San Diego County Republican Party Central Committee; Member, LEAD San Diego Program; Board member, San Diego Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel; Board member, ALMA Life Science Foundation; Advisory board, Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences at the Claremont Colleges.

What do you think are the biggest issues facing the San Dieguito Union High School District?

a. The lack of a comprehensive, long range strategic plan.

b. The passing of a budget that has slashed spending for teacher school supplies and has increased student to teacher ratios up to 35, 40 or higher per classroom.

c. The approval of an embarrassingly terrible teachers union agreement that has been awarded a Golden Fleece Award by the San Diego County Taxpayers Association

2. How would you propose to address those issues?

a. Development of a 10-year strategic plan that places the needs of the district’s students and their parents first.

b. The provision of complete funding for teacher supplies and a plan to decrease student classroom size to 30 or less and to consider that in its future contract negotiations.

c. Amending the teachers union agreement to eliminate some of its most egregious provisions such as the most favorite nations provision and the negotiation of a new agreement when the current one expires which links student achievement with teachers’ salaries, provides for greater ability of the district to deal with underperforming teachers and rewards those teachers who are truly performing at higher levels with incentive compensation.

3. Do you agree with the way the San Dieguito Union High School District operates? If not, what changes do you think need to be made.

No, I don’t. The board needs to become fiscally responsible, independent and balance the needs of students, parents, teachers, administrators and taxpayers.

The board needs to utilize a definitive process to review contracts, provide the public with opportunities to review agreements, solicit the view of district lawyers and financial personnel and consider the needs of all district constituents.

The board also needs to develop and adhere to a code of ethics and fair play for all of its board members which guarantees that all of its members will have an equal opportunity to have its views heard without interruption or undue influence from third parties.

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