PHS alum and PEF board member Max Roman is one of three candidates in the uncontested school board race.
How long have you lived in Piedmont?
I grew up in Piedmont, left in 1996 after I graduated from PHS, and returned in 2016. So a total of about 18 years and counting.
What you do for work, either in or out of your home?
After working in Hollywood, and then in Product at Netflix and Apple for many years, I have my own small business advising tech startups.
If you have children, do they attend, or have they attended, Piedmont schools? If so, which ones?
I have 8 year old twins who are both in the third grade at Wildwood.
Have you worked or volunteered in Piedmont schools (or elsewhere) previously? If so, in what capacity(ies)?
I was until this year on the board of the Wildwood Dads’ Club. I’m also on the board and executive committee of the Piedmont Education Foundation, and I volunteer occasionally in the Wildwood library.
What does public education mean to you?
I am the son of a public school teacher, who proudly attended and graduated from Piedmont public schools. I think that public education is the best way to educate kids, both academically and in life skills, and it means a great deal to me.
What motivated you to run for office?
In my time on the PEF board, I started to get more and more interested in the inner workings of the District’s budget. It make me realize how difficult the balancing act between providing a world class public education and a balanced budget is, and I figured if I was going to have as many opinions about it as I do, it was probably time to put my time where my mouth is.
What are your qualifications to be on the School Board? Any special skills or experience the voters should know about?
I have a lot of familiarity with the school budgeting process (always more to learn though!) from my time with PEF, and I know my way around a balance sheet from my business. I also have a lot of experience using data and metrics to guide my decision making.
What do you see as the most challenging issues currently facing the school district?
The change in the way money is allocated to public schools by the state changed 10 years ago (the Local Control Funding Formula) and I don’t think that we’ve full faced what that means for our schools. That and declining enrollment are issues that need to be addressed head-on by the Board.
What do you see as strengths of the Piedmont schools?
The people and community really are fantastic. Every teacher I’ve met so far has been a passionate advocate for their students. The administration I think is also a great strength — we have very talented people working on behalf of our students. The community and the support it offers is also something really special.
What will be your top priority as a Board member?
Finding creative ways to make up for the lack of state funding for our public schools.
Do you see yourself being especially involved in any particular school issue or program, whether or not it’s your top priority?
I’d like to work on ways that we can invest in our arts programs and return them to the really robust state they were in when I was a student here.
How will you support diversity and inclusion within the district?
I think it’s incredibly important that we welcome new families to the district into all the ways to be involved in Piedmont schools. It’s truly a rare and special place and it can take a long time to figure out all the ways there are to get involved.
I also believe very strongly that everyone should be able to be 100% who they are at school. Monitoring and establishing culture is a really difficult task, but it’s something that is crucial to everyone feeling like they belong. I want to make sure that the district’s policies are doing the best they possibly can at achieving this goal.
Teacher recruitment and retention has been a challenge for Piedmont in recent years. What should Piedmont do to improve this situation?
Pass Measure P! Once we’ve done that, we’re going to need to think outside the box about both ways we can make Piedmont an even more attractive place to teach, as well as how we can fund our teachers salaries at at the level that they, and we, deserve.
PUSD’s budget depends on state and local funding. What would you do to ensure our funding is robust?
This is a hard question. The state doesn’t allocate nearly enough money per student to districts like ours. In the short to medium term, we need to pass Measure P (and a renewal of Measure G in a couple of years), and then we need to think about ways to increase revenue. I want to learn more before I come up with specific proposals but we are going to have to think about doing things we’ve never done before.
Declining enrollment is a problem for Piedmont and school districts throughout California. How should PUSD address this issue?
I think accepting some transfer students is a great start. We’re also going to need to market ourselves even better to residents who are considering private school (or are considering returning from private school).
School Board members must navigate a wide range of parent opinions and demands. How will you handle those pressures?
We’ll see! In all seriousness I think that everyone deserves to be heard, and that is the job of a School Board member. I will be accessible to anyone in the community who needs to speak to me about an issue, and I’ll do my best to address it.