Roger Schulke's SfSchools Questionnaire answers

Here are Roger Schulke's responses to our 2006 SfSchools BOE Questionnaire. Thank you Roger for taking the time to answer our questions.

KC

1. What qualifications are you bringing to the board that will help bring new vision and positive academic achievements for all students?
After spending four years in the US Air Force I went back to school and got an MBA in Finance I worked for several large San Francisco Corporations, where I managed and dealt with budgets involving millions of dollars. The USA has over two hundred years of teaching children, the problem is that we have gotten too far away from the basics. Remember, many of the people who worked to put a man on the moon, started out in small one room country schools. With all our present day resources there is no reason we are graduating children that cannot read their diplomas. Our schools are failing because San Francisco is experimenting with indoctrinating our children into Politically Correct behavior. My vision is to stop the trend toward political indoctrination, and get back to basic education.
2. The next BOE will lead the effort to hire a new superintendent. What is your opinion of Arlene Ackerman's administration? What can the BOE learn from her tenure at SFUSD as they go about hiring the next superintendent?
Arlene Ackerman did a decent job and was responsible for rising student achievement scores. However, it was the incompetence of the present BOE that gave her a Platinum Parachute, where she could be fired or quit and still get a big severance package. After I am elected I will see that the next superintendent gets a contract that does not rape the school system of the City. There will be no Platinum Parachute.
3. What are the most important considerations for a new enrollment policy? Between the opposing poles of desegregation, parental choice, and neighborhood schools, where do you stand?
The current student assignment policy is nothing but Racial Profiling, and I am against it. Students should not spend more time on the bus than they do learning English and Math combined. I would advocate going back to the old system that assigned students according to achievement levels, and closeness to home. Besides, San Francisco is diverse enough that we don't need to diversify the schools.

The courts have said we do not have to bus children, the parents and students do not want it. The only reason that students are bussed around the City is to hide failing schools. By putting a bunch of smart students into failing schools, the overall average of achievement of the school is raised. If bussing stopped it is estimated that more than half the schools in San Francisco would fail.

4. If you could implement one change as a BOE commissioner to address the achievement gap, what would that be? What is the most important action that you, as a BOE commissioner can take to address this problem?
I am surprised that people blame the school system for any achievement gaps. Students fail because they have bad study skills, and lack motivation. The only way to fight this is to bring in both the student and the parents on a Saturday and give them both training and counseling. The parents have to make sure that failing students are prohibited from time wasters like watching TV, and encouraged to read books.
5. Give us your opinion of the recent school closures and consolidations. What would you do differently when this issue comes before the BOE.
The problem is not so much that schools are being closed, it's that there are not enough neighborhood schools to replace them. Schools that are too expensive to repair or no longer needed should be closed. In some areas these building are sometimes rented out to other groups or the property is sold. Both of these uses can be used to obtain money to fix some of the real problems in the school system.
6. Enrollment is declining in district schools, and is projected to continue declining for the immediate future. What does this portend for the district and what can the BOE do about it?
It is a quality of life issue of which poor performing schools are apart of the problem. If the schools did not spend so much time trying to brainwash our children into the Secular Liberal agenda, more people may choose not to leave San Francisco. Arts programs, physical education and parks are useless if you have to walk through urine-stained streets dodging alcoholics, drug-abusers and the mentally ill harassing you for spare change. Clean up the streets, and make the City more Child friendly and maybe you'll see progress.

I would refer you to the following article "Child Population Dwindles in San Francisco"

7. The distrist has had a rocky history implementing its Small Schools initiative . Please tell us what you think are the pros and cons of small schools, and what do you think is an appropriate small schools policy for the district at this time?
I am not against or do I promote the Small School initiative. It comes down to economics and who is going to pay for the increase in teachers and administrators.

It has been shown in studies and in the class rooms of Japan, that unless you get down to about 10 student per teacher there is no advantage to small class rooms for the student, whether there are 20 or 40 students in a classroom. It is a benefit for the Teachers Union because smaller class room size means more salaries and more teachers. Personally I think the best student to teacher ratio is low 30's with a good cost vs. benefits.

With a student base as large as San Francisco, I think we could have a few schools for gifted students. These schools could emphasize math and science courses teaching at college levels.

8. What do you see as the future of Lowell High School and School of the Arts, the district's two selective high schools? What, if any, changes would you make to enhance GATE and AP offerings throughout the district?
If the current board gets its way, they will destroy Lowell advantage because the want to put students into Lowell on a strictly lottery system. By using racial profiling the BOE has decided that there are too many Asians and not enough other groups attending Lowell. I want to use Lowell as a starting point for achievement levels for all schools in San Francisco. (see my answer to question 7)
9. What experience with California school finances do you have? What have you done to familiarize yourself with SFUSD finances?
As I mentioned earlier, I have extensive business experience with large budgets and have study the books of San Francisco.

San Francisco's budget is larger than about 20 States in the USA, where the state has millions of people to help pay it. The schools are falling apart because the money is being stolen to be used for pet projects of the Mayor, the Supervisors, and to support both Unions and political groups.

If your were to look at the budget for the city you would find the following expenses:

Demonstrating the efficient use of condoms $486,081?

Studying HIV prevalence and prevention in Zimbabwe beer halls $303,774?

Providing advocacy and legal services for illegal aliens $1,510,800? (Note this number has been recently raised about $2 million)

Transgender cultural competency training $75,000?

In addition to these, the City has decided to fund Non-American Cultural Development Centers for a total of $10,162,682.81.

So our schools are suffering so that we can study how AIDS is spread in Zimbabwe beer halls. Do you really think we need to give the City even more money?

10. Prop H, the Public Education Enrichment Fund, will bring new revenues into SFUSD during the coming years. What do you think of the way Prop H funds have been allocated so far, and how do you see them being used going forward?
I do not support any bond issues that this City puts on a ballot, because if you read the small print, you find a clause that allows them to spend the money any darn way they feel like, on any thing they want. It is irrelevant what the bond is for, they are not required to spend the money for those purposes. By putting on a bond measure with the word Schools on it is a marketing ploy.
11. What is your experience with Special Education? Are you close to anyone who has a child with disabilities?
I have worked with and been a big brother to children at Edgewood Children's Center. In addition, while in the Air Force I worked on the Children's Ward where I had to deal with a variety of children with a variety of problems.
12. The IDEA law mandates that children with disabilities must have a right to a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. What practical steps do you think the BOE can take to reach that goal?
This is and will be a big problem in San Francisco. Part of the problem is that the definition of "disability" keeps changing, and is highly political. We need to setup both guide lines and special schools to deal with this issue, so as to balance the needs of the children with the ability of the City to fund such accommodations.
13. Do you support the proposal to eliminate the JROTC program at SFUSD?
I am strongly for the JROTC programs and the Boy Scouts for both help build character and leadership skills. I would fight to keep these programs. Again, we need to get away from the politics of hate America, and teach children respect for the USA. Before 1776 there were no democracies in the world. That fact alone should be used to teach respect for this country. Those that want to eliminate JROTC are Marxists that want to destroy the American culture.
14. The recent contract negotiations with the SEIU and UESF unions were difficult. The UESF agreed to a two year deal, meaning negotiations will resume during the next BOE's tenure. Tell us your views on the recent labor negotiations, and what will you do as a BOE commissioner to influence the labor negotiations to come?
At a recent BOE meeting they spent the first two hours on unions. The BOE seem to have forgotten that schools are for teaching children, not enriching union members. I would be more practical and hard headed with the unions.