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# School board candidates state stances on hot topics
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/school-board-candidates-state-stances-on-hot-topics/
- Published: 2006-10-12T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T21:39:00.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Candidates speak*

SMMUSD HDQTRS — The hot-button issues of bulging classroom sizes, budget cuts and standardized tests took center stage here Tuesday night during a candidates forum for the Board of Education.

Five of the six candidates — three incumbents and three newcomers — vying for four open seats on the board were on hand, with Sidonie Smith, an education administrator running for the first time, the lone absence.

The League of Women Voters of Santa Monica Education Fund hosted the locally televised forum in an attempt to educate the community just four weeks before ballots are cast on Nov. 7\. The Board of Education was just one of three forums staged Tuesday, in addition to the Rent Control Board and the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees.

The questions, selected prior to the debate, covered everything from adequate school funding to parental involvement in the classroom.

Incumbent Oscar de la Torre said a priority of the board will be to continue to encourage parents to work with teachers in order to ensure their children are receiving the best education possible.

He added that parental involvement will become very real to him, as he is the father of a 5-month-old boy.

Incumbent Shane McLoud, the only teacher currently on the board, said parents, especially those with children in post-elementary school grade levels, need to participate more in their children’s education.

“Parents are the child’s first teacher from day one and the students who do well... are predominantly ones whose parents are involved,” McLoud said.

On the issue of budget cuts, the candidates agreed that the board should put more pressure on local and state officials to increase public school funding to the Santa Monica-Malibu School District.

Kelly Pye, an administrator mounting her first run for the board, said the school board could also improve funding by partnering with the community.

“I am very much in favor of the city partnering with us in education because strong communities and strong schools are deeply intertwined,” Pye said.

Barry Snell, an accountant, said he supports having a full-time grant writer on staff to research different ways the school system could generate additional revenue.

The candidates generally agreed that standardized testing should be used to measure not only a student’s progress, but also to evaluate how well teachers and the school district are performing.

Testing, they felt, should not be the lone measure used.

“I do think the tests do provide a way of gauging how we’re doing for all our students,” said incumbent Emily Bloomfield.

According to de la Torre, standardized tests should be used as a gauge, but should not be used to limit opportunities for the students. He added that the school district should also look to alternative ways to measure progress.

“We need to ensure that we balance it out,” he said.

Q&A Following three rounds of answering the same question, the candidates were then given questions to answer on an individual basis.

Snell was asked how the board will ensure that taxpayers’ money is spent only on students who legally attend the system, either through residency or per-mitting.

Cautious in his response, Snell said he does believe the money should be used for those who are in the system legally, but that it is more important the board concentrate on spending to ensure all students in the district receive the best education possible.

In response to a question asking for ways to effectively market Santa Monica High School and attract more students, McLoud said the high school is already very large, at approximately 3,200 students, and proposed a second school.

“I do think that we need to offer a smaller learning community,” McLoud said.

In response to her question of whether the relationship between the board, administrators, teachers, staff and parents is healthy, Pye feels it is thanks to the efforts of a “phenomenal staff and phenomenal administration.”

Bloomfield received a question about charter schools, to which she replied that she does not see room for them within the school system.

“We’re not a very large district, and we have excellent schools here that do serve the needs of many children,” Bloomfield said.

On the question of whether the district should charge the cities of Santa Monica and Malibu for use of its fields and facilities, de la Torre mentioned the district already receives $6 million annually for its general fund.

“I am a strong believer of building sustainable partnership that will have a positive impact on the schools,” de la Torre said.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 12, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/101206.pdf?ref=smdp.com)