O'Connell, the California state superintendent of public instruction, laid all his cards on the table during a rare visit to Saratoga and Los Gatos high schools on May 5. The visit was prompted by an invitation from Cindy Ranii, superintendent of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District. Even though he was only here two hours, his schedule was jam packed.

O'Connell tries to visit five or six school districts a month within the state, making direct contact with staff, administrators and students.

"He's really personal," said school board member Cynthia Chang. "I like him a lot. He's very down to earth, and he seems like he really has a passion for education."

The state superintendent was greeted in the Saratoga High faculty lounge by the energetic all-female cantare choral group, directed by Jim Yowell. Albert Chiang, the student representative to the district's school board, and Felicia Dorng, Saratoga High's student body president, were also there to shake his hand.

"You can really sense a great deal of pride here," he said. "This is a school district that's moving in the right direction."

As he quickly consumed a bag of potato chips, a soda and a sandwich, O'Connell talked to students and staff about his expectations for the governor's budget revision, which is expected to be released on May 13. O'Connell also joked about the unlucky date--Friday the 13th.

O'Connell bluntly said he's not in favor of Gov. Arnold Schwarzanegger's recent proposal to place limits on tenure for public school teachers. The proposal would extend probationary periods for new teachers from two years to five years. It would also permit teachers to be fired following two unsatisfactory performance reviews.

"I want teachers to work together collaboratively and not to be in competition with each other at school sites," he said.

Instead, O'Connell advocated merit-based programs at school sites and following best teaching practices. As for what he thought of Saratoga High, O'Connell was impressed with the arts and athletic programs, the Performing Arts and Lecture Center, which is nearly complete, the school's academic success and its newly
built library.

Over lunch, he addressed questions from teachers about upcoming statewide testing and the effects of Proposition 98. The voter-approved legislation guarantees a minimum level of funding for K-12 education and community colleges in the state budget. O'Connell was in the room with the governor when Schwarzenegger agreed to cut education funding by $2 billion with the promise that the money would be restored and that public schools would get their fair share of any additional state revenues.

O'Connell said that the governor broke his promise and submitted a budget that takes more than $2 billion from K-14 education.

Finishing his lunch, O'Connell praised the school for its highly motivated, engaged and energetic staff, which he said is the key ingredient to forming successful students.

"If every high school had a team like this, we'd have a different educational system in the state," O'Connell said.

O'Connell proceeded to the physics classroom of Saratoga teacher Jenny Garcia, where he told juniors and seniors about how his love for education and leadership started when he was involved in high school student government.

O'Connell's trip wrapped up with a brief tour of Los Gatos High School. He was greeted by retiring Principal Trudy McCulloch and the newly appointed principal, Doug Ramezane. Student body officers Mathieu Berthet, Stephanie Hodgman, Melissa Shawhan, Ali Rubnitz, Ashley Quisol and Marlana Shile were also there to shake hands with O'Connell. While at Los Gatos High, O'Connell's last visit was to the woodshop classroom of teacher Rocky Maramonte.

"It was really nice to have the state superintendent stop by and see what the vocational classes are all about," said Maramonte. "We're one of the few left in the state."