School safety, mental health and district budgeting were among the topics addressed by prospective school board trustees at Wednesday’s candidate’s forum at the Benicia Public Library.

As part of its efforts to ensure a more informed voting populace, Benicia’s League of Women Voters hosted a forum with the five candidates in the Dona Benicia Room. With board President Diane Ferrucci the only incumbent seeking re-election in 2018, this leaves four candidates vying to fill the seats being vacated by trustees Celeste Monnette and Peter Morgan: realtor Adrean Hayashi, Pittsburg middle school teacher Mark Maselli, Arts & Culture Commissioner Gethsemane Moss and retired school librarian Sheri Zada. Moderator and LWV member Jane Keene asked questions of the candidates crafted by the LWV and audience.

Funding priorities

The candidates were asked to describe the financial challenges they saw for Benicia Unified School District and the plans to address them, including views on the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which provides a uniform base grant for school districts based on average daily attendance, and how they would establish spending priorities.

Zada said BUSD gets about $9,000 per year per student from the state, which was a minimal increase from years past, and felt the district should ensure the money goes back into classrooms. She also felt teachers should remain a funding priority, which was evident in the two separate impasses over contract negotiations over the last two years.

“The first year that they did it, they got nothing for their raise,” she said. “Then this year, they agreed upon a 2.5 percent raise, and that was ridiculous, to be honest. That is not even a cost of living increase.”

Ferrucci noted that BUSD was doing fairly well despite being one of the lowest-funded districts in the area, but the money priorities needed to come through the Local Control Accountability Plan process, which includes community meetings. She agreed with Zada that the negotiations were very difficult, and a better two-way communication with staff and district officials needed to be established.

“The money absolutely needs to be driven and needs to be driven by the needs of our students and our classrooms,” Ferrucci said. “The people in our classrooms are our teachers, and we need to know that they are the biggest resource we have to make our students successful.”

Moss said BUSD received limited funds because of its student population, and the funds should be used successfully.

“It really should be based on student needs,” she said. “It should be based on data. We really should be having conversations with our community, with our parents, with our teachers. Everybody should have a communication system going on so that we’re at least aware of some of the basic needs out there.”

Maselli said that before the implementation of the LCFF, the money received was categorical and could be spent on certain things. Under the LCFF, districts receive a “lump sum” of money and are allowed to spend it however they want. He also noted that BUSD receives supplemental grants for students who are English language Learners, in foster programs or part of free and reduced lunch programs.

“The thing here is you have the base grant, you have the supplemental for those kids but this district has received more money each year for the last four years,” he said. “Is the district getting every dollar that they’d like? No, but they’re getting more money each year than they have.”

“I think we need to look at this realistically,” he added. “This district is not poor. It’s just chosen to use the money in the way they wanted to use the money.”

Hayashi said the state is still trying to work out kinks in the LCFF, but she felt the public should be more informed about it.

“I think the public is not very educated on the LCAP and how important it is that we all get involved and have our voices heard about what we want our children to be educated with,” she said.

Hayashi suggested creating an LCAP committee with representatives from all schools, teachers and parents as well as a separate committee for parents of special needs children.

School safety

The candidates were asked how they planned to prevent acts of violence before they occur.

Moss said BUSD currently has site safety plans that are updated every year, and the schools have begun active shooter trainings. She feels BUSD should have ongoing conversations with the fire and police departments.

“It’s best that we know what systems they would have in place for the community or within their own environments as well as for us to work together in order to make a plan,” she said.

However, Moss stressed it would need to be an ongoing process and not held just once a year.

Maselli said a common thread with perpetrators of school shootings is that they got the guns from their homes. He suggested having meetings with parents who own firearms and instructing how to lock them away from their children.

“I think what people have to realize that you don’t know your kid well enough that you should just leave an access point or a way for your kid to get the guns,” he said.

Additionally, he noted that shooters often leave clues on social media and suggested that campuses have an anonymous place for students to report the troubling posts they may have seen online to adults.

Hayashi suggested collaborating with the Police Department to create a curriculum for School Resource Officers to discuss clues of distress with students. She also felt that a discussion should be had on access to pharmaceutical drugs that contribute to mental illness.

“That conversation needs to be started and kept alive,” she said.

Zada, who organized the March for Our Lives event in Benicia earlier this year, stated that she felt teachers should not be armed.

“Teachers are there to teach,” she said. “They are not there to be security guards.”

Zada felt that the community should be vigilant at noticing signs of turmoil, while educating parents about how to handle them. She also agreed with Maselli’s idea of students having a safe place to report clues on social media.

“We need to be good listeners, and we need to be good watchers to make sure that we get those things taken care of,” she said.

Ferrucci agreed with Zada that teachers should not be armed. She also said the district is trying to address the issue of safety and the mental health of students.

“Students need these supports,” she said. “They are coming with a lot more history and story than we have ever imagined they would be coming with, and we need to now be addressing a whole lot more than just education of children.”

Mental health

The candidates were asked how they would support mental health for all students.

Maselli said more money should be spent on counseling. He suggested making connections with local colleges to recruit students getting degrees in counseling and psychology who needed to fulfill an internship.

“They’re getting a bonus because they’re getting on-the-job experience, and the district gets help because it doesn’t cost anything (and) helps the kids,” he said.

Hayashi said having a program to explore extracurricular activities for individual students would be beneficial.

Zada said having psychologists and counselors available at all times was important, and even suggested group counseling for students experiencing similar situations.

“We need to listen to what they’re saying,” she said.

Ferrucci said there were a number of programs in place, including the suicide prevention program Sources of Strength at the secondary schools. However, she said BUSD should continue to build its partnerships and agreed with Maselli that recruiting interns would be helpful.

“It’s an opportunity for them to hone their skills or for them to support us,” she said.

Moss said the district could take better advantage of having county programs like First 5 Solano and Solano Kids Thrive.

“Services are being provided to students,” she said. “We have to accept it and really take advantage of it.”

The LWV will host another forum with the four City Council candidates from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3 in the library’s Dona Benicia Room, located at 150 East L St.