Student support, academic achievement and how a newly elected school board will work together were central topics at an Oct. 13 forum featuring three candidates for the Mountain View-Los Altos (MVLA) High School District Board of Trustees.
Current Board President Thida Cornes, Trustee Catherine Vonnegut and former trustee Sanjay Dave are competing for the district’s Area 3 seat in the Nov. 3 election. The livestreamed forum was hosted by the Los Altos-Mountain View League of Women Voters and co-sponsored by KMVT.
The candidates offered different approaches to closing achievement gaps, supporting students’ well-being and preparing new trustees to work together.
Closing achievement gaps
Cornes urged the district to hear more from students and families about unmet needs and to reduce student stress, saying the district should take a systemic yet individualized approach to student well-being and “ensuring every student has a caring adult on campus.”
Dave said the district’s 12 locally developed academic indicators could help track student progress and achievement gaps, but he criticized the board for not reviewing them in recent years. He described comparing students’ assessment results in eighth and 11th grades to gauge their progress and examining results across student groups and subject areas.
“The school board, in the last couple of years, decided not to go look at that, and I think that harms our district,” he said. Dave also suggested artificial intelligence could help students practice skills such as math and writing.
Vonnegut pointed to the district’s multi-tiered system of support, which uses students’ needs to guide interventions. She said data and research should help determine which approaches work, particularly for English learners and students struggling academically. She also called for more emotional support for LGBTQ+ students and other groups.
“The English learners could use much more individualized support … both academically and otherwise,” Vonnegut said.
Preparing a new board
With several new trustees expected after the election, the candidates offered different ideas for helping the board work together.
Dave proposed a board retreat led by an outside facilitator to help trustees establish shared goals and understand their roles. He said the retreat should be “moderated by a third party.”
Vonnegut supported training for new and returning trustees, including instruction on school board governance and the Brown Act, California’s open-meetings law.
Cornes said board members should be able to discuss disagreements while keeping students’ needs at the center of decisions. She also proposed revisiting the board’s governance handbook and encouraging new trustees to seek mentorship from experienced board members.
Finances and student well-being
The district’s finances drew attention, with candidates emphasizing different concerns. Cornes pointed to slowing property tax growth and rising pension costs as reasons for careful long-term planning. Vonnegut said the district’s finances were in good shape but should continue to be monitored. Dave emphasized fiscal responsibility and competitive teacher salaries, which he said were important for attracting strong teachers.
The forum also touched on student mental health and technology. Dave raised concerns about academic pressure, social media and students’ use of artificial intelligence. Cornes discussed the district’s AI handbook, which covers student privacy, AI literacy, teacher training and equitable access to the technology.
Vonnegut highlighted empathy, collaboration and critical thinking as important parts of students’ education beyond academic performance, noting that such skills can be harder to measure than academic knowledge.
The Area 3 contest is the district’s first under a trustee-area system, replacing elections in which voters across the district chose all five board members. Cornes and Vonnegut serve on the board but are not considered incumbents in this race because they were elected under the former system. Areas 4 and 5 will be on the ballot in 2028.
