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There’s only so much a mayor can do about education, given that the Berkeley Unified School District has jurisdiction over the city’s 15 schools. But that hasn’t stopped the two chief mayoral candidates, incumbent Shirley Dean and challenger Tom Bates, from laying out competing visions on an issue that tops poll after poll. 

Bates, Berkeley’s former state Assemblyman, has called for an “education summit” within 100 days of taking office. The summit, he said, would pull together national, state and local players to discuss youth programs provided by both the city and the school district and develop plans for improved, coordinated services. 

But Dean said the summit would simply amount to “talk, not action” and argued that the cash-strapped city should focus on seeking state funding to strengthen existing programs. Dean said, for instance, that Berkeley should pursue state grant money to place city-run health centers, like the one at Berkeley High School, at the district’s three middle schools. 

Dean said the high school health center has provided effective peer education programs on HIV/AIDS and identified cases of tuberculosis and other diseases among students. 

“This is a real point where we can reach these students,” she said. 

“It’s a good idea,” Bates said. “I would just wonder how to pay for it.” 

Bates said a projected state budget shortfall of more than $10 billion next year would prevent the city from winning significant new state funding in the short-term. 

The challenger said he hoped to develop low-cost youth programs through the educational summit – recruiting parents, for instance, to patrol Berkeley High and boost student safety. 

Bates also said the summit, which would draw on national political leaders like Congressman George Miller (D-Martinez) and state figures like state Sen. Dede Alpert (D-San Diego), would provide a perspective on what other communities are doing to serve children. 

But Dean criticized the idea of a forum featuring political figures from outside Berkeley. 

“They don’t know our district,” she said. “They don’t know our problems.” 

Dean said Berkeley should focus its efforts on a Nov. 18 community meeting, organized by Berkeley Unified’s Superintendent Michele Lawrence, which is designed to weigh community priorities for the school district in the midst of budget-cutting. 

But Board of Education member Ted Schultz, who has endorsed Bates, said the Lawrence and Bates meetings could complement each other. While community meetings called by a superintendent tend to center mainly on the school district, he said, a broader summit could focus on the city- and state-funded health and housing services that help children and schools succeed. 

“I personally think the summit’s a great idea and I’m going to be a part of it,” added board member Terry Doran, who has also endorsed Bates. Doran said that, because most of the district’s funding comes from the state, it makes sense to meet with state leaders. 

Board president Shirley Issel, who is supporting Dean, declined to comment on the summit, but said she was disappointed that the schools have been dragged into the mayoral race. 

“It’s divisive,” she said. 

In addition to seeking new health centers, Dean wants to boost a state-funded program of pre- and post-natal visits by Berkeley’s public health nurse to at-risk families. She also wants to build affordable housing for teachers above a parking lot adjacent to the Ashby BART stop in south Berkeley. Dean said the housing would help to offset low salaries. 

Bates dismissed the idea as a “pipe dream.” 

“Dealing with BART is like dealing with the Soviet Union,” he said, arguing that it would be more realistic to build housing on existing, school-owned property, like the former site of City of Franklin elementary school on Virginia Street, closed at the end of the last school year as a result of budget cuts. 

Contact reporter at scharfenberg@berkeleydailyplanet.net