Office manager eyes seat on school board
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

Dana Greenspan

Dana Greenspan, the office manager at White Oak Elementary School in Westlake Village, will vie for one of two seats on the Las Virgenes Unified School District Board of Education in November.

Greenspan faces stiff competition. Board President Terilyn Finders is seeking her third term on the education panel, and former teacher Jill Gaines, who co-chaired the campaign for Measure G6, a $128-million school bond initiative, also announced her candidacy. School board member Pat Schulz will not run for reelection, leaving one spot open for a newcomer.

"I am running for school board because I want to share my vision for the school district, afford the community a chance to engage in meaningful discussion of the issues and have their voice heard in this election," Greenspan said.

Greenspan also said she would focus on negotiating more competitive salaries for classified staff and teachers if elected to the school board.

"We must retain our outstanding teachers and support staff and be able to attract the very best new staff," she said. "Recently, we lost several counselors to surrounding districts who pay more, and we have difficulty in filling classified positions and finding substitutes. We must not let that trend continue."

Several issues spurred Greenspan to run for the school board. She said she's impatient with the implementation of technology districtwide and believes communication between parents and school officials will be greatly improved once the technology is embedded into the daily routine of administrators and teachers.

Fiscal accountability also tops Greenspan's list of issues needing attention.

"To date we have done a good job in preparing for declining enrollment, but we can't forget that our funding is based on average daily attendance and not enrollment," Greenspan said. "We must focus on student attendance so we do not find ourselves in a situation we experienced several years ago when we lost substantial funding as our attendance fell." Greenspan played an instrumental part in a variety of programs and events over the years. She served as secretary for the Las Virgenes Classified Association for two years and was a member of the association's bargaining team for the same time period.

She now serves as the association's vice president.

Greenspan was co-chair of the district's health benefits committee and is chair of the technology workflow committee.

In 2006, Greenspan was named the district's "Employee of the Year" and was presented with the "Edward L. Masry Award for Integrity."

Greenspan envisions the Las Virgenes district as a "model of 21st century education" for the nation. "We have the best teachers and support staff who continually go above and beyond for our students," she said. "We have the commitment from our parents and our cities."