Election 2018: Emery School Board Candidate Brynnda Collins

School Board Election 2018

Candidate Questionnaire

The Tattler presents the 2018 Candidates Questionnaire; School Board edition.  Five candidates are running for three seats, making this a very consequential election that will constitute a majority on the five member Board.  The order of presentation for this series was chosen randomly.  Only one candidate's answers will be posted on a given day but regular Tattler stories might be interspersed in the sequence of candidates and there might be more than a day between candidate postings.
Readers may use the search bar to see the candidate's answers as they are posted by typing in 'School Board 2018 Candidates Questionnaire' or the candidate's name; Katy Brown, Ken Bukowski, Brynnda Collins, Susan Donaldson or Sarah Nguyen.
We thank all the candidates offering their services to the benefit of our school district, the parents and children.
The election is on November 6th.

Brynnda Collins
Emery Unified School District, appointed governing Board member
email: brynnda.collins@emeryusd.org

Name the top three problems with EUSD right now and what are your suggestions for how to deal with them? 
As the current Board President, I am not looking at things as if they are problems.  I am currently looking at situations in which we need to improve, grow and develop our school district.  One, being teacher retention, with the recent choice in new leadership it is the hope that this will be a move in the right direction to retaining not only great teachers but overall quality EUSD staff.  Focusing also on improving our test scores, while preparing our youth for college and career readiness.  These are not problems but what I would like to see as goals for improvement.  We are also reconnecting with the Emeryville stakeholder’s and strengthening community relationships.  We are currently reaching out to deepen and strengthen our relationships.


How do we know if a school superintendent is doing a good job?  Is there any way to measure it?  Are there objective components? 
There are goals in which the board is charged to set for the superintendent which are used as measurable.  These are factors in determining if the superintendent is performing on the level to reach district goals. 


Would you be willing to consider examining the idea of melding EUSD with Berkeley Unified if they would be amenable to that?  Why or why not. 
No I would not, as a governing board member we are responsible to making sure our district offers equitable and assessable quality education to our Emeryville community.

EUSD has had the worst teacher retention record of any district in the Bay Area for at least four straight years.  Former superintendent Rubio said that was a feature of his tenure, not a bug….a sign he was doing his job.  Do you agree that was needed and if so, was Superintendent Rubio the right person for the job? 
I feel that if Rubio was the right person for the job he would still be in position.  I am truly not interested in commenting on past superintendents or their what if’s.  It’s time to move past from the history of what Emery superintendents have done or did not do, as these conversations take away from focusing on the district’s current possibilities and what our new leadership is capable of doing.

Are you aware of EUSD’s academic ranking among Bay Area districts?  Has it been trending up or down? 
As with any other School District in the Bay Area there is always room for improvement.  Some grades are trending down, however, at EUSD most are treading up, especially at the Middle School.

Between parents, teachers or the administration (Superintendent, managers), who should play the leading role in general at EUSD and specifically in the formation of policy?  
It is the role of the School Board to adopt policies that give the district the direction to set priorities and achieve its goals.

When was the last time you voted?  How would you describe your political views?
I voted in every election including the June 2018 election.  My political views will not be discussed as this is a nonpartisan election.

How do you feel about School Resource Officers at ECCL? 
From my experience School Resource Officers have been an amazing resource for the EUSD campus in the past.  Their presence was not to criminalize our community but was able to build unity.  They worked with the students and staff, mentored at risk youth and developed relationships that led students into a law enforcement career.  I believe some of these same students would have a totally different perspective and outlook on life if it were not for our SRO.

Have you ever attended a school board meeting in Emeryville? PTO meeting?  Met with district administration?  What involvement have you had with the school?  How familiar are you with its management? 
As the current Board President I am charged with running the meetings.  I was also the PTO President in 2010 when my daughter was School President.  I worked for EUSD for almost 10 years building relationships with student, staff and parents.  I am meeting with district administration weekly.

How much money do you plan to spend on your campaign?  Do you plan to fundraise?
I am not planning to spend more than $2,000.  I am hoping it’s not about the amount of money I am willing to spend that will win me this election to retain my School Board seat but the work I am willing to do on behalf of the EUSD community.  I am not planning to personally fundraise, however, the Emeryville City Council has been kind to hold a fundraiser on behalf of the candidates they are endorsing, me being one of them. 

What is your first goal (or goals) when you take office?
As a current Board Trustee my goal is to continue to move EUSD district forward in an innovative and progressive manner.