School Board Candidate Q&A: Chris Norgaard

The Aug. 17 with Board of Education President Chris Norgaard being the only incumbent running again.

Norgaard is joined by newcomers and .

Norgaard has been elected to the school board twice before, in 2003 and then again in 2007. He served as a member of the School District’s budget advisory committee before being elected to the Board.

He is a 31 year resident of San Marino and an attorney working in downtown Los Angeles.

Patch recently asked Norgaard more about why he is running for re-election, how he plans to further address the district’s major issues and how he has been involved with the district. Here is what he had to say:

1. Why are you running for school board?

I’m running for re-election because I believe our district can benefit, particularly at this stage, from someone with experience and institutional knowledge in this position. We will have one new board member in December, and expect to have another new board member in two years. Our Superintendent, although he has been in the district for decades, is new to the position of Superintendent and new to the District office, and we have a new principal at the high school and other recent administrative changes. These changes continue the positive combination of stability and change in which I believe and have helped bring about.   

In addition, there are several vital projects that I want to see through.  These include working with the City of San Marino and our legislators to obtain legislation allowing the District to convey title to the Stoneman school site, to the City, which would provide an additional $1 million-plus of general revenue for the District under the . They also include initiatives to develop additional revenue sources and strengthen our relationships with other institutions, particularly in the San Gabriel Valley. 

2. Have you run for school board or served on a school board before?

Yes, I was elected to the San Marino School Board in November 2003 and re-elected in November 2007.

3. What do you think are the top issues the district faces and how do you plan to address those issues?

Our kids are in the most competitive situation possible in a competitive global environment. For college placement, we face competition not only from the best private schools and from an increasingly international applicant pool, but also from high-performing public high school districts across the country who do not have to deal with the . This challenge is exacerbated by the unavailability of the kinds of state and federal categorical funding that other school districts receive due to their composition.

Our kids also need our continued support in the other essential aspects of education—character development, self-confidence, arts and athletics. Our community needs our schools to remain the best, as an expression of our community values and to protect our property values, which have continued to increase as those around us decline.

We must therefore maintain our remarkable structure of funding that maintains our flagship position in the face of continued state funding reductions. This year, almost 40 percent of our budget has been provided by our own sources, the outstanding contributions of our community to their schools and to the San Marino Schools Foundation, the generosity of our community in approving and paying our parcel tax, the two million dollars we have received from the Stoneman transaction with the City, and the contributions of our teachers’ association and administrative staff. We must maintain all of these revenue sources and develop new ones, by pursuing targeted grant opportunities, by constantly making our case to our elected representatives, by bringing our alumni more closely into the annual flow of activities and funds, by pursuing new partnerships with the City in the wake of the Stoneman transaction, and by opening up the resources of our area’s other leading educational and cultural institutions.

We must also continue the initiatives developed in conjunction with our Academics Advisory Committee to steadily , and to provide counseling and guidance support to our kids as they pursue their dreams to college and beyond.

4. How have you been involved with San Marino schools?

In addition to years as a parent and the husband of a dedicated volunteer, I have been involved in leadership positions with our schools for more than 13 years, as a trustee and President of the San Marino Schools Foundation, as a member of the District’s budget advisory committee, and, for the past seven years, as a member of the School Board, which I have served as President, Vice President and Clerk, and a member of the Academics and Athletics Advisory Committees and Stoneman Task Force, and Chair of legislative action and representative to the Los Angeles County School Trustees Association.

5. What do you like to do in your leisure time when you get it?

Attend San Marino school (and college) performing arts and athletics events.    

6. Is there anything else San Marino residents should know about you?

Just that I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve and contribute to this wonderful community.