Burbank : School Board Race Centers on Upgrades

The race for the Burbank Board of Education has attracted two political novices who criticize the two incumbents for their records on school repairs, improving the quality of education and a plan to restructure schools.

The incumbents, board President Audrey Hanson and Vice President Vivian Kaufman, have responded by citing their experience and agendas for upgrading schools.

The challengers say Hanson and Kaufman have been negligent in allowing all but one of the district’s 17 schools to deteriorate to what officials say is the worst physical condition in the district’s history.

The candidates hoping to unseat the incumbents, high school teacher Denise Wilcox and neurosurgeon and restaurant owner S. Michael Stavropoulos, said the state of the schools and their need for updated plumbing and electrical systems, air conditioners and paint demonstrates the lack of leadership by the board.

Incumbents’ Response

But Hanson and Kaufman, both 58, have insisted that the board is not to blame for the schools’ decay. They said that they have already taken steps to repair the schools, and that they are prepared to propose bond issues and other financial measures to meet the estimated $19-million repair bill.

The dispute is starting to heat up the contest for the two board seats, which will be decided Feb. 28 in the city’s municipal election. Although Wilcox is a newcomer to the Burbank political arena, she has gained momentum in recent weeks with the support of several local groups. She said her approach to education and business would give a needed jolt to the leadership of the 11,474-student district.

“I’m running because I looked at this board and I don’t think they understand the educational needs of our students,” Wilcox, 33, said. “The deterioration has occurred while these people have been in office.”

The other major issue surrounding the campaign is a plan to establish four-year high schools and scale back elementary schools to kindergarten through fifth grades.

Although the five-member board recently approved the plan, the two challengers said it needs to be reconsidered before it is implemented next year. They said not enough attention has been paid to the plan’s educational and logistical effects.

But Hanson and Kaufman said they stand by the plan, saying it will meet the educational needs of sixth-graders and ninth-graders by orienting them earlier to a more mature campus environment.

The candidates do not run for specific seats. Candidates need 50% plus one vote to win in the election. An April runoff will be held for any seats for which there is no winner, with the top vote-getters claiming victory.

Board members receive a stipend of $300 a month and meet every two weeks.

Hanson, who describes herself as “a wife and mother,” is seeking her third term on the board. Kaufman, an escrow officer, is seeking a second term. Both have children who have graduated from the Burbank school system, and both are expected to do well in the election.

Hanson, who is regarded by observers as the panel’s most vocal member, said she is running a relatively low-key campaign. She said she feels that the board is moving in the right direction toward meeting district needs, and that her expertise on school matters would help keep the board on course.

“The schools are moving positively, but we need to work toward higher standards,” Hanson said. She, like the other candidates, favors asking voters to fund school improvements through a bond issue.

“Our priorities have to be improving our facilities,” she said. “We need a new Burbank High School and a complete remodeling of Burroughs High School. We need to put air conditioning in our schools.”

A report released last month by Burbank school officials detailed the poor physical condition of the schools. The document noted, however, that none of the district’s 11 elementary schools, three junior high schools and three senior high schools have major structural damage.

Burbank High School, which graduated its first class in 1908, needs the most extensive repairs, according to the report. Estimated costs include $995,315 for ceiling-light repair and installation, and $23,850 to add building trim.

Lack of State Funds

Kaufman said the district was behind in repairing the schools because of a shortage of funds. State money that had been expected to help pay for the repairs has been cut back in recent years. Because of the shortfall, officials said they concentrated on making only emergency repairs.

In addition to supporting a bond issue, Kaufman said she wanted the board to work more closely with the Burbank City Council. She said Burbank High School, which is in a downtown redevelopment area, may be eligible for city redevelopment funds.

“There are some things we can try that we’ve never tried before,” Kaufman said, adding that she would like to see Burbank High rebuilt.

Kaufman said her other priorities include adding more computers to schools and expanding the district’s music program.

“I feel the music program as it stands is piecemeal,” Kaufman said. “I would like to see an articulation of the music program where students know something about music when they get to junior high school.”

Wilcox, a teacher at Monroe High School and the mother of a 4-year-old daughter, has never held elective office. But she has already won the endorsement of several labor organizations and the Burbank Board of Realtors during interview sessions with the groups.

“She really had a lot of enthusiasm, and that stirred our whole panel,” said Mark Gillenson, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18. “She seemed to have fresh ideas, and being a teacher, was acquainted with both sides of the issue.”

Wilcox has attacked the incumbents for the district’s restructuring plan that would turn both Burbank and Burroughs High into four-year high schools.

“We need to reassess the whole issue,” she said. “The board still has no idea how this is going to work. The specifics of what this will do for our children and the specific educational details have not been addressed.”

The restructuring was to start this fall, but was postponed for a year because remodeling of the two high schools will take longer than originally planned. The delay is due to some recently discovered asbestos that was found in walls and insulation late last year.

The plan was proposed three years ago. The district was faced with soaring costs because of increasing enrollment at elementary schools. Without the restructuring, officials said, the district would have been forced into opening another elementary school and raising operation costs.

Although a committee composed of parents and educators worked out the specifics of the plan, Wilcox said that a large segment of the community did not have any input.

Bilingual Education

In addition to being a teacher, Wilcox, who speaks Spanish, said she had helped coordinate federally funded programs for bilingual students. “I can bring that kind of new consciousness to the board,” she said.

Wilcox said that in addition to a bond issue, she would seek other ways to raise funds and repair schools. She said she would encourage large corporations around the city to “adopt schools and try to make this community more responsive to the district’s needs.”

She said: “This board has not been aggressive enough in seeking new sources of revenues. They just sit back passively and wait for money to come to them.”

While Wilcox seems to be gathering gradual support in the community, Stavropoulos, 50, a neurosurgeon at Kaiser Permanente Hospital, has had a harder time getting his campaign off the ground because of his legal battles with the board.

Stavropoulos, who also owns The Golden Greek restaurant in Sun Valley, sued the board in October after it decided that his 14-year-old son could not attend John Muir High School because the family did not live in Burbank. District officials said evidence showed that Stavropoulos was keeping a phony residence so his son could attend the school.

Stavropoulos is appealing the decision, and the appeal will be heard before the board on Wednesday. However, he said he was not running to get even with the board.

“I’m running to improve education,” he said. “I want to fight illiteracy.”

He said he would institute an education plan for all grades with a focus on mathematics and sciences. “The kids are not getting taught,” he said. “They are going to college without the right preparation.”

Stavropoulos echoed Wilcox’s criticisms of the board in handling the restructuring plan and in not paying closer attention to the state of the schools. “No doubt about it, this restructuring plan has not been well thought out, and they should take it from scratch,” he said.

Stavropoulos and Wilcox said they are not soliciting contributions for their campaigns. Stavropoulos said he is spending his own money “because I don’t want to be accused of corruption.”

Wilcox said, “I’m encouraging those who want to vote for me to save their contributions until I’m elected and can set up a campaign for a bond issue.”