Q&A with Fairfield Board of Education candidate Perry Liu

On Tuesday November 3rd, Fairfielders will have the opportunity to vote for candidates up for election on the Board of Education and the Representative Town Meeting. These are important elections for both entities. The Board of Education is tasked with hiring a new superintendent of the school district, and the RTM will be faced with another tight budget. Your vote is meaningful. In light of this, we will be interviewing the candidates, and posting individual Q&A to help voters understand who the candidates are and what they stand for. To ensure you do not miss an article, subscribe to HeyFairfield’s daily newsletter in the box at the top of the righthand column. Today’s Q&A is for Democrat Board of Education candidate Perry Liu – Ed

Perry Liu, Fairfield Board of Education candidate.

Perry Liu is a first-time candidate for the Fairfield Board of Education running on the Democratic ticket. He received a BA in Communications and Theatre from San Fransisco State University in 1984. Mr Liu has held the post of PTA Executive Board Member and Board of Education Representative for Burr Elementary School. He is married and has two school-aged children.

What made you decide to run for the Board of Education?

Two years as a PTA board representative. When I sat in those meetings and learning about the process, saw things that worked and needed work. Sorely missing was a point of view from the parents. We’re not heard. I do not expect to win all the time, but at least expect to be heard

What is the most immediate issue facing the Board of Education today?

Transparent government and Government that wants to communicate with the people. A government that wants to be planning and not putting out fires. Right now there are two websites for the Board of Education. Two, three years down the line there is no comprehensive plan. I don’t see how they are working the Long Term plan that has been put together. Everyone working together. I don’t have every single idea, I need to hear from all the people. I don’t think the board sets the tone that we need to hear from all the people.

What experience do you bring to the table to resolve that issue?

I’ve worked in communications all my life and I’ve managed large groups of people. I’ve worked with budgets where you had to get the most out of every buck. I’ve worked with deadlines, something this board doesn’t even mention. They don’t have real deadlines.

Public school has so many different points of views and experiences that if you can’t be open=minded to all the problems and issues that come up then you’re only governing for one neighborhood. It can’t be all about one neighborhood it has to be about all of Fairfield.

After that issue, what other priorities need to be addressed, and how will you impact that?

Population fluctuation. I look around and see homes being built in the densest neighborhoods, closest to schools that are already exploding and above the projections. The school board’s responsibility is to figure out what we are going to do with these children. And I don’t think it is fair that we as a school board are put in a position to figure that out and say busing is the only answer.  As a town we need to understand out how do new homes fit in the puzzle? When groups come after us to cut our budget, part of me wants to say why aren’t you going after some of the people building homes in the densest parts of town. It’s the

How would you start to tackle that problem?

Bringing it to light is step number one. It’s the 800-pound gorilla in the room. That no one wants to bring up. Let’s get together and figure out the solution to the problem and not point fingers. We have a dilemna here. No how do we go about figuring out the solution to the problem

How do plan on working with other Town bodies and commissions to resolve these issues?

We should understand the direction each of the commissions. It’s a relationship, the Board of Education operates according to other Boards plans. We can’t make planning appropriate to the district’s needs if the Board of Ed can’t put forward what their ultimate dream is for fear of making another board say no. As a Board, we are doing the students a disserivce.

What type of leader do you think we need as Superintendent?

Someone with:

enthusiasm

vision

strong management skills, not just educational prowess, someone who can manage and think smart on their feet and strategically. Someone who is not afraid to speak up.

What do you say to the taxpayers that don’t have children in the school system?

Just because the Board of Education has the largest budget, shouldn’t make it a target. I support an audit. But why stop at the Board of Education. There are a lot of children in the system, kids, employees and buildings. There could be fat, let’s take a look at it. We’re the easy target. These groups aren’t saying specifically what needs to be cut. Be specific. A general cut hurts everyone.

I believe without families in this town. If the schools go down, families leave. And then property values go down.

We have an obligation to keep this town going. When we do cuts, if you don’t have the money to pay for maintenance, we are going to pay for it later on.