Page 4 October 15, 2020 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Election 2020
Wiseburn Unified School Board Candidates Q&A
WUSD Candidate
Neil Goldman
WUSD Candidate
Jessica Daugherty
WUSD Candidate
Joanne Kaneda Vote nov. 3
By Duane Plank
What skill set can you bring to the
school board that is unique, considering
that there will be budgetary challenges
in the upcoming years?
Neil Goldman: (1) Strategic Planning/Financial
Management. I own a strategic planning,
financial services consulting company that has
helped 500+ organizations make better resource
decisions, create more engagement, and drive
success. My financial foresight is already helping
Wiseburn proactively navigate challenges:
I’ve pushed to increase reserves—our District’s
savings—for a rainy day fund, and to similarly
reconvene the budget committee. My strategy
work led the Wiseburn Assurances, vision and
priorities; my expertise here will help drive
focus and alignment moving forward.
2) The ability to see the big picture, bring
people together, and create all-win solutions. I
honor, respect and seek out differing opinions,
and then bring opposing parties together to
listen to, and learn from, each other. My
communication skills and entrepreneurial
background help to drive understanding, create
innovative options, and find non-obvious
solutions. This may be especially important if
difficult choices need to be made in a budgetconstrained
environment ahead.
Joanne Kaneda: I have a uniquely blended
classroom and industry management skillset
that is directly applicable to tackling WUSD
budget challenges.
1. I am the only candidate that is an experienced,
certificated teacher. I know first-hand
the necessity of blending classroom goals with
available budget to deliver the best education
for kids and community.
2. I am also the only candidate with years of
experience as a successful aerospace executive
delivering on large commitments. My education
includes a Master’s in Business Administration
and UCLA Executive Management certification.
As your Board Member and Board Representative
to the Budget Committee, I apply my industry
maturity to plan and execute the WUSD budget
within district and community priorities.
3. As your Board Member, I will execute
a rolling five-year budget strategy focused on
education commitments.
4. My combination of classroom and industry
know-how ensures WUSD budget accountability
with community input. More info at: https://
kaneda4wiseburn.com/.
Jessica Daugherty: I run a public policy
consulting firm that helps school districts,
companies, non-profit organizations, and government
agencies solve big challenges, create
education and workforce programs, and fund
those programs. I understand education policy
and the myriad of funding available to districts.
I also understand how to creatively braid
funding streams across sectors in order to create
collective impact and sustainable programs
in tight financial times. For example, I helped
the tech company mitú, develop an internship
program for diverse youth that used City funding
to provide stipends for students and corporate
sponsorships to pay for the program creation.
This allowed the company to expose youth to
the tech industry at no cost to the company.
Furthermore, I raise millions of dollars for
nonprofits and agencies by writing large government
and philanthropic grants and developing
fundraising plans. These skills are directly trans-
ferable to a School Board under budgetary stress.
What do you see as the two most
important issues facing the District,
and why?
Joanne Kaneda: The two most important
issues facing WUSD are: 1) Safely returning
students and teachers to campus during the
COVID pandemic and, 2) Accurate, timely
communication between WUSD, the Board,
and the WUSD community.
As your WUSD Board Member, I believe
educating our students safely during the COVID
pandemic is our highest priority. While LA
County remains in the “purple,” most restricted
tier, distance learning is the safe education solution
for most students. Per LA County Health
Department, only students in specialized programs
can return to classrooms. Your WUSD
Board will proceed in November with a phased
plan to safely return these students to campus.
Your Board and WUSD Administration and
are actively improving communication pathways
with our community. In addition to improved
clarity on the Wiseburn.org website, I’ll add
social media and email blasts to WUSD communications
platforms. Check my website at
https://kaneda4wiseburn.com/ to communicate
with me directly.
Neil Goldman: 1) COVID-19 today; 2)
Managing Change tomorrow. How we work in
the world—indeed, how the world works—is
forever changing. The Coronavirus has further
spurred reinvention, with remote work (and
school), more reliance on Zoom, technology and
digital tools, fluid schedules, and the continuing
need to adapt. We must continue to evolve
to ensure our schools remain relevant, as the
pace of change is only accelerating. Consider:
“The greatest danger in times of turbulence
is not the turbulence – it is to act with yesterday’s
logic.” – Peter Drucker
“It’s not the strongest that survive, nor the
most intelligent, but the one most adaptable
to change.” – Charles Darwin
Our board role is in part to drive vision and
innovation. We all must be open to change,
regularly adapt accordingly, and continue to
find ways to support our students, educators,
and community members in the process. Thank
you. VoteGoldmanWUSD.com.
Jessica Daugherty: The most essential issue
to address in the WUSD is to improve District
communication with the community and community
engagement with the District. Parents,
students, teachers, staff, and taxpayers must
have communication channels through which
they can communicate with the District and
visa-versa. The pandemic has increased communication
and equity gaps for families that
are less technologically connected. Improved
communication must also include improving
communication and collaboration with Da Vinci
Schools in order to better articulate programming
from middle school into high school.
Second, we must identify a financially stable
way to expand access to early childhood
education and childcare in order to meet community
demand. This includes immediately
opening the CDC to provide families with
support during the pandemic. Many districts
have opened their child development centers
with the CDC-mandated 10-1 ratio. Families
need childcare right now more than ever and
our District has not prioritized it. •
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Your Neighborhood Therapist
Dear Neighborhood Therapist:
I am thirteen years old and having a very
hard time with my parents. They are nice
people and they try to be nice to me, but I
cannot take so much of them. They are much
stricter than my friends parents and I feel that
most of my friends have many more privileges
than I do, even though I get good grades and
I’m generally well behaved. I feel like I have
to constantly explain to them why what they
are doing is hurting me, and even when I try
to explain it they don’t get it, or get anything
else I say.
– Too Much Mom and Dad, El Segundo
Now
Offering
TeleHealth/Online
Therapy
Sessions
Dear Too Much Mom and Dad,
You’re in very good company. Even in the
best of circumstances, there are many reasons
why parents and their children have trouble
understanding each other, especially at the
age you are right now. It has been a very
long time since two consecutive American
generations have had similar childhood experiences.
That is in many ways because of
the constant social change that has gone on
around us since before our nation’s founding.
Why am I talking about history and social
change in a response to your concern about
your parents? With so much change, the
crucial years that you’re going through right
now feel different to every generation - and
for different reasons every time. In a sense,
we’re all winging it. For example, I am
“only” 44, but I never had a mobile phone
until after I graduated from college. And even
then, all my phone did was make calls and
let me play a game where a snake avoids its
own tail. Now these things dominate all of
our lives. Every generation is in uncharted
territory. Nobody knows exactly how to do
this thing we call life.
See Neighborhood Therapist, page 9