1) We have recently redesigned our website at AEF to coincide with our “Step Up” public awareness campaign, and in the process of its launch some items were accidentally left off for a time - until they came to our attention and we had the opportunity to correct the error. The after-school enrichment registration button is an example of an unintended omission. The list of current board of directors is another. We apologize if that information was difficult to find as we launched - we have replaced it for the public.

2) I am a West-End parent and am the Executive Director of AEF. My eldest is graduating from EHS this spring; my middle child will be attending Chipman in the fall; and my youngest will be attending kindergarten (I don’t know where yet since our initial enrollment was diverted through the lottery of the AUSD - a policy change I supported on the basis of equity. I have requested that my child be placed at Paden and am waiting to hear from the AUSD if that has gone through. It is my sincere hope that it does.)

3) When I first arrived at AEF in September one of my top priorities was to reach out to the West End and to introduce an evaluation of AEF through the lens of equity. Those members of the AEF executive committee who were present for my job interview will attest to the fact that I made the issue of equity and my passion and commitment to it one of the main themes of my presentation to them. Moreover, it was the very first topic I addressed with the AEF board when I led my first meeting with them as Executive Director. My history of working with children is a long one though I never went into education directly as a career path. My passion for children began during four years I spent as a youth, working in the housing projects in Chicago - when as an intern I helped set up and run day cares centers during the summers, as fairly intensely contested welfare-to-work programs were being instituted and children were left without supervision. Those days have shaped me today.

4) When I arrived at AEF the first parent group I met with was from Washington, because I wanted to get a sense of their perspective of the Foundation and get some ideas of how I might focus some continued efforts on behalf of the West End. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to speak to parents at Encinal and also at a West End Neighborhood Network parent meeting held at Paden. I have met with administrators at several West End schools - including a meeting with Niel Tam at Washington. I have also spoken to teachers and staff at Encinal and Chipman. I will also be speaking at an upcoming Ruby Bridges parent meeting.

5) I would agree that there are needed changes in how our schools are funded in Alameda - on the marco and micro levels. I would agree with Mr. Rodriguez that some funding inequities are institutional, while others have to do with access to programs and still others have to do with private fundraising (the differentiation of PTA funding capacities comes to mind).

For our part, I am asking AEF to take equity seriously and as we examine all of our efforts on behalf of the AUSD we have committed to have equity as part of our main mission. AEF has a long history in this community as a volunteer organization. Only recently (three years ago) did the board hire its first Executive Director. So, I don’t expect you to believe me just because I say it. I will expect that my commitments on a number of fronts will be questioned and tested by those among you who are suspicious, until it no longer is an issue because our actions speak loudly on our behalf. I will be quietly over here - walking like a duck and talking like a duck until everyone knows exactly what I am.

But I do hope that criticisms levied against myself or the Foundation in the immediate term remain rooted in fact and not gossip. That they are presented in a manner befitting adults. And that they refuse to stoop to personal attacks.

Any insinuations intended to besmirch the character of Ron Mooney are misguided and unnecessary, deflecting from the real work at hand - which in my estimation has more to do with finding creative solutions to our funding crisis than spending time looking for trouble where there isn’t any to be found.

Working to pass the parcel tax and working with the AEF - even at the same time - are not crimes, nor do they represent deficiencies in person or direction. As a mother of three children in the AUSD I am glad to have good people working to create solutions to the problems we face in our schools, and I thank them for their efforts.

Is there a lot of work left to be done? Yes, of course there is. I, for one, am pleased to have been given this opportunity to roll up my sleeves and get to it. I look forward to working with other, like-minded citizens in my community, who recognize that public education is not only an important thing to do, but the right thing to do. I am working today because of that belief - I know many of you are as well. And I will wake up tomorrow and do the same.

To me, the interesting post is from Mr. Rodriguez. Is anyone going to challenge his perception relative to bias at the District level? If not, then that says something, I think. If there is bias at the District level, why is that?

1) Brooke Briggance, the executive director of AEF, is a West End parent. She’s pretty darn involved in “senior decision making.”

2) Questioning AEF’s dedication to equity is just laughable at this point. Those of us who work for or with the foundation (I manage the AEF website) are very, very aware of the equity issues in this district (as well as the issues at the county and state level)and we are very, very committed to solving those issues.

I cannot even begin to quantify how many hours and how much effort AEF staff and volunteers have put into trying to help this district this spring. It has been an exhausting effort, inspired by, yes, our dedication to the district, not just our own schools.

If some of us are also helping KASE, it’s because we’re so passionate about, again, saving this district and supporting high- quality public education (for ALL kids) that we’re willing to work on both fronts. Most of us are taking time out from our families, our jobs, and our school sites to do so. As such, the implications of elitism and cover-ups and conspiracies are just plain ludicrous.

The second largest part of AEF’s budget relates to the Adopt a Classroom program. Here again, AEF’s discretion is liimited. The adopt a classroom program allows donors to direct their contribution to a particular classroom, school or program. While there likely are some donors (such as businesses) that do not direct their dollars, many donors direct their adopt a classroom donation to their children’s classroom or school. In those cases, again, AEF does not have discretion, and although I don’t know how the discretionary adopt a classroom funds are directed, I would be very surprised if those dollars were directed disproportionately to East End Schools.

Much of the rest of AEF’s budget is directed to things like music programs (which AEF specifically states is offerred to teachers at all the schools), AP classes at both AHS and EHS, and grants that teachers at any school can apply for.

In other words, I think that the charges of geographic bias by AEF have no basis, and I would challenge anyone who charges AEF with bias to show specific facts supporting this claim.