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CUSD Board Provisional Appointment Applicant – David Fung This page contains the same information as my response to Application Question #4 in a more readable format. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ 4. Do you have any leadership/membership experience in CUSD, FUHSD, or other school district or school level activities or committees? Please list and indicate dates served. Cupertino Union School District: Measure H Bond Committee ‐ Chairman (2016, 2014), Member (2013‐) District Advisory Council – Member (2013, 2011, 2009) Technology Advisory Council, Member (2012‐2013) Kennedy Middle School: PTA ‐ President (2014‐2015), Executive Board (2012‐2015) Site Council ‐ Chairman (2013‐2014), Member (2012‐2015) Direct Donation & PTA Membership Chair (2013‐2015) Measure A Parcel Tax ‐ Site Chair (2014) KMS 50th Anniversary Committee ‐ Member (2012) PTA Honorary Service Award Regnart Elementary: PTA ‐ President (2011‐2012), Executive Board (2007‐2012) Site Council ‐ Chairman (2011, 2009), Member (2008‐2012) Committee Chair – Yearbook, Directory, Discovery Day, Direct Donation, Fall Festival, etc. (various) PTA Golden Oak Award, Honorary Service Award (2), and VSP Award Fremont Union High School District: Citizens’ Oversight Committee ‐ President (2018‐), Member (2015‐) Math Advisory Council ‐ Charter Member (2015‐) Family Engagement Committee ‐ Charter Member (2017‐) Monta Vista High School: Site Council ‐ Member (2016‐) Measure CC Bond Parent Rep (2018) PTSA ‐ Member (2015‐) FREMONT UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT Cupertino High School | Fremont High School | Homestead High School | Lynbrook High School | Monta Vista High School | Adult School January 7, 2019 Dear Cupertino Union School District Board of Trustees, It is with great enthusiasm that I recommend David Fung for appointment to the vacant seat on the CUSD Board of Trustees. I have known David for several years and he is a steadfast advocate not only for what is best for students, but also what is best for the community at large. I first met David in his capacity as a member of the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) Math Advisory Council. The council is made up of teachers, parents and administrators from FUHSD, CUSD and Sunnyvale School District. The Math Advisory Council provided input and direction to staff on how best to navigate the changes which came about with the shift to the Common Core Standards. What I appreciated most about David’s contributions to the council was his circumspect consideration for what is best for all kids, rather than a focus on what was best for his own child. David is also a longtime member and current President of the Citizens Oversight Committee, a group of community members that is tasked with ensuring that our bond measure implementation adheres to what was promised to the community. David’s fiscal prudence and keen attention to detail serves the District and its constituents extremely well in this capacity. David always asks the right questions – often questions that don’t have easy answers. It is this level of engagement that makes David stand out from his peers. Beyond the official capacities listed above, David is active in various ways in our school community. He has attended several school board meetings and has engaged staff in strategic thinking on several issues. For example, he and I have had more than one discussion on thoughtful ways to address the pressing issue of declining enrollment, and the need to engage the community in such discussions. He also understands the importance of the relationship between a school district and city governance. For example, his expertise on the Cupertino Planning Commission has provided great insights on what can or cannot be done with respect to teacher housing. While all of the examples described here demonstrate David’s experience and expertise with respect to school governance, it is important to point out that David’s warmth and friendly personality are equally important traits. David is a listener first and foremost, and seeks to understand issues deeply before offering his input. He has no ego that would get in the way of doing what is best for students. He is a humble, well‐rounded and caring man who espouses servant leadership. In conclusion, I write this letter not only as an employee of Fremont Union High School District, but also as a community member who resides in the Cupertino Elementary School District. While my two children have now graduated from CUSD and FUHSD’s ranks, I still care deeply about how our elementary school district is governed. As retired board member Nancy Newton once stated, “If we expect our school district to be excellent, then we need to be excellent as a Board.” No one could contribute more to that level of excellence than David Fung. Sincerely, Tom Avvakumovits Associate Superintendent 589 W. Fremont Avenue, PO Box F, Sunnyvale, CA 94087 | TEL (408) 522‐2200 | FAX (408) 245‐5325 | WEB www.fuhsd.org SUPERINTENDENT: Polly M. Bove | BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Rosa Kim, Jeff Moe, Naomi Nakano‐Matsumoto, Roy Rocklin, Bill Wilson Minh Le President The Wilfred Jarvis Institute 23505 Oak Valley Rd Cupertino, CA 95014 650-625-9099 Office [email protected] January 10, 2019 Board of Education Cupertino Union School District 1309 S. Mary Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94087 Dear Honorable Board Members: Thank you for the privilege of writing to you to convey my most enthusiastic recommendation that David Fung should be selected to serve in the Board position vacated due to the resignation of Trustee Liang Chao. I came to know Mr. Fung in early 2016 as one of the outstanding community members I would very much have liked to include in the Citizens Advisory Committee I was facilitating for the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) to address the enrollment challenges for Lynbrook High School. Since he would later run for political office that year, he was not able to serve on the committee, but in the process of evaluating his qualifications, I was impressed with the many positive characteristics of Mr. Fung. They have continued to be reinforced since then, and today they are the reasons he is one of the people I respect and admire most in our community. They are the same reasons you should appoint him to this position on the Board of Education for the Cupertino Union School District (CUSD). The first quality I admire about David is that he is highly intelligent, and extremely capable in performing critical analysis of highly complex subjects. He prizes knowledge and competence and strives to explore and learn every subject no matter how difficult until he can intelligently understand and explain it to others. In the modern climate of angry sound bites and ad hominem attacks, David’s commitment to being objective and fact-based about issues is a precious asset to have for any public entity. I have time and time again watched David patiently respond to reactive political judgments with calm, rational, and constructive information and solutions. David has been an active and vocal advocate for students and the schools. As a parent, he has a long history of engagement in the schools, with the staff and administration, and at Board meetings. At the site level, he has many years experience with the PTA including multiple terms as PTA President, on Site Council, and as a volunteer leader. At the district level, he has been a member of the District Advisory, Parent Advisory, and Technology Advisory Councils, and currently serves on the FUHSD Math Advisory Council, the CUSD Measure H Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee, FUHSD Citizens’ Oversight Committee, and FUHSD Family Engagement Committee. Through this many-faceted involvement, David has acquired a great deal of knowledge and expertise about how our school districts operate. It is clear that his sensitive and thoughtful approach to addressing issues and challenges is appreciated and respected by students, parents, teachers and administrators alike. Together with an inquisitive nature, an ability to learn highly complex subjects, David is also calm, patient and kind in dealing with all types of differences of opinions. In the years that I have known him, I have found that most people will appreciate and respect the process he uses to reach a final decision and will agree with him about it. Mr. Fung’s work on the Planning Commission with his fellow commissioners on the Vallco Specific Plan issue in September 2018 was a great demonstration of all of these positive qualities at work. This major project generated literally thousands of pages of information provided by City Staff, yet it was clear to me and anyone watching the proceedings that he had done his homework. They were five people with highly diverse opinions about what would constitute a win-win or compromise solution for the City. The public was deeply divided, and emotions were running high. Nevertheless, David and his fellow commissioners were open, collaborative and thoughtful as they engaged in a respectful give-and-take dialog with one another for an entire evening. The way they arrived at a high majority consensus of a (compromise) tier 1.5, and a sensibly re-prioritized list of community benefits to recommend to the City Council was a powerful model of civil discourse. If only the City Council had taken their recommendations to heart, and if only members of the City Council were as effective in community problem solving as David and his fellow commissioners had been, we might have arrived at a much better outcome for all parties and the community. We are talking about qualities of leadership, which are most necessary when the going becomes difficult or dangerous. My experience with the FUHSD advisory group on enrollment problems showed that change can trigger division and chaos but that a fact-based, civil and collaborative effort by community leaders can overcome that challenge and make the next chapter for our schools as positive as those before it.