SJ Inside: A Look Ahead: Educational Initiatives Moving Forward in 2014
Posted by Joseph DiSalvo
The new year brings renewed hope for children, especially those who need a hand up. As a member of the Santa Clara County Board of Education, I begin my work this year with excitement about how far we have come in the last five years and the path we are paving to create a system of publicly funded schools that provide educational equity for each and every child and are held accountable for the results.
Here is my list of top initiatives, in order of importance, that have required enormous energy, courage and passion from community and state ...
Sam Liccardo: Why a San Jose mayor should care about schools 2
Special to the Mercury News
Recently I launched a public conversation with San José parents, residents and educators about the city's role in supporting schools, particularly in extending the school day. Parents cheered. Their eight-year-olds groaned.
Mercury News columnist Scott Herhold weighed in, expressing concern that focusing on schools will divert a mayor from priorities like hiring cops and repaving streets.
It's certainly true that San José's mayor shouldn't take over schools. There's plenty of politics in schools already. Yet if our next mayor hopes to ...
Mercury News: Made-up names doom San Jose ballot measure to overturn Styrofoam ban
By Mike Rosenberg
SAN JOSE -- The contentious drive to overturn San Jose's ban on Styrofoam containers has failed after elections officials found more than half the signatures gathered to place the issue before voters were bogus -- and many were just made up.
Local restaurant owners had collected 38,784 signatures in hope of putting a measure on the June ballot to repeal the ban, which took effect for large chains last week and will hit smaller shops at the start of 2015. San Jose became the largest city in the country to prevent shops from using the clamshell food ...
San Jose Councilman Wants Longer School Day for Kids
SAN JOSE (KCBS) — A San Jose city councilman who is also running for mayor wants to extend the school day for the city’s public school students. While education leaders are applauding the proposal, they are also questioning how to pay for it.
On average, American students go to school 6.7 hours a day. City Councilman Sam Liccardo would like to extend that to something more like an adult eight-hour workday.
“We know that there would be a lot of relieved parents out there who know that they could pick their kids up at five, rather than struggling everyday to ...
Mercury News editorial: Liccardo plan for San Jose’s St. James Park deserves a chance
December 2, 2013
Mercury News Editorial
The latest of many plans to revive St. James Park in downtown San Jose will be the most complicated to pull off. But the idea for a performance pavilion linked to community partnerships has the best potential to finally reclaim the city's venerable square as a lively civic space.
To give it momentum, the City Council needs to vote Tuesday to authorize working with neighbors and potential partners to explore the possibilities.
This is Councilman Sam Liccardo's baby. He has worked for many months with the nonprofit Levitt ...
Do You Support a Longer School Day for San José?
One of our first priorities should be ensuring that our public schools give every child the opportunity to achieve. I am running for Mayor of San José to make our city safer, grow our economy and improve our quality of life. One initiative can help us accomplish all three: working in partnership with educators and parents to extend the school day. We are beginning to organize and build community support for this idea – learn more below and sign the petition here.
COUNCILMAN SAM LICCARDO STARTS COMMUNITY OUTREACH ON LONGER SCHOOL DAY FOR SAN JOSÉ PUBLIC SCHOOLS
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And We’re Launched
Here’s the press release from the launch of our campaign kickoff last Thursday – thank you to everyone who made it such a success!
Three Former Mayors, Over 800 Supporters Gather to Launch Sam Liccardo’s Campaign for Mayor of San José
San José, CA - City Councilman Sam Liccardo was joined by three former mayors and more than 800 supporters last night as he formally launched his campaign for Mayor of San José. The extraordinary attendance underlined the city’s enthusiasm for independent, innovative leadership that puts citizens before special interests.
L...
Here We Go
Here we go. After thousands of conversations with community leaders throughout San José, I’ve made the decision to formally launch my campaign for Mayor of San José.
I’m committed to keeping independent and innovative leadership at City Hall. We have much to do to fight crime, grow our economy, and improve our neighborhoods. We need leadership that will stand up for everyone – particularly when powerful interests apply their pressure at City Hall.
We’re organizing a campaign that can touch every voter in every neighborhood. Building a campaign strong ...
Do You Agree that We Need 200 More Cops to Protect San José?
As you may have read or seen on the news, I’ve recently introduced a proposal with Mayor Chuck Reed to create a strategy to hire more than 200 more police officers. We’ve also proposed to better retain our current officers by restoring net pay over the next four years, as the city’s coffers recover from the Great Recession. We’ve already identified over $30 million in funding for police hires and pay restoration — with more decisions about future cuts or revenues needed to get us to our goal.
Do you agree that as our scarce revenues rebound, our first ...
Bay Area Bike Share Launches
Bay Area Bike Share launched today – we’re off to a great start! Proud to have been part of the great team who made this a reality. Check it out here to become a member!