Letter to the Editor:
At Tuesday evening’s Special School Board meeting, it was wonderful to witness so many citizens who care deeply about our schools stepping up to be considered to fill the Board vacancy. It gave me great hope for ongoing leadership in our schools for years to come.
Like all of the candidates, I too want current BUSD students, and those who will be students here in the future, to have the same opportunities that my children had during the 16 years they went to our public schools. I want their parents to have the same confidence that I had as a parent of BUSD students. Our school District is the reason why my family and many of the candidates on Tuesday evening moved to Burbank. I want that to remain a fact.
In considering who should fill the vacancy, building back public trust should be the top priority. A significant part of repairing trust will be addressing the fiscal mismanagement that has recently come to light. None of the questions asked of candidates during the interviews addressed their fiscal experience, which is crucial if this Board intends to confront and repair the financial and leadership crises that plague our district.
This BOE, with the new member who will be selected tonight, will hire BUSD’s next Superintendent next spring. The new Superintendent, whether it is Dr. Macias or someone from the contracted search, will need our district’s finances to be stabilized and public trust restored if they are to have any hope of success.
It is clear that our schools, our administrative teams, our teachers, our students and the current board members need for this fifth person to be able to hit the ground running. There is no time to get up to speed.
We are so fortunate that twice-elected Former Board of Education member Debbie Kukta is willing to offer her time and expertise to help address the issues facing our district at this critical juncture.
Ms. Kukta has already completed Board Policy required Board of Education training. She has institutional knowledge of prior bond allocations and infrastructure improvements, and knows what has worked well in the past as well as an understanding of what could be changed for the better.
Her extensive fiscal experience includes being elected two times as Burbank City Treasurer, serving as BUSD Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services, and running her own business. She also holds a Masters in Business Administration. She is clearly unparalleled in the applicant pool.
Ms Kukta does not live in District Area 3, so she cannot run as an incumbent, but at this time, during this pivotal year of rebuilding trust, Debbie Kukta is needed NOW MORE THAN EVER.
I hope that our Board members put our schools and our children first this evening and choose Debbie Kukta, clearly the most experienced applicant, for the vacancy on the board.
Suzanne Weerts
Burbank, CA
