Candidate for
Board Member; Hillsborough City School District

I am a third generation Californian, born in San Francisco and raised in the east bay. I began working at an early age to pay my own tuition at Moreau High School in Hayward. I continued to work to pay my own way at Cal State Hayward and University of San Francisco School of Law. My wife and I moved to Burlingame in 1981 and to Hillsborough in 1992.

In 1980, I began my life long career in the field of public education law. My love for and dedication to public education stems in large part from my family's tradition of working in education. My father was a public high school teacher for 35 years and continues to substitute teach even in his retirement. My mother is a registered nurse who worked for years at Cal State Hayward. My brother works at the California School for the Deaf. My sister worked for many years for the Contra Costa County Office of Education and the Martinez school district. My aunt teaches high school in Pleasanton and my sister-in-law is a teacher of the hearing impaired.

My wife and I met while I was working my second year as a camp counselor at a residential summer camp for disabled children and adults. I later became Program Director for the Crippled Children's Society of Santa Clara County, the non-profit agency that ran this camp.

I have three children. My oldest, Jill, started kindergarten at South in 1996 and is currently a freshman in high school. Adrian is a student at Crocker Middle School and Tim is enjoying third grade at South School.

My children have received and are receiving an extraordinary education in Hillsborough schools. As a parent and a professional working in the field of education, I am grateful to the teachers, administrators and support staff in our amazing school district. Having served hundreds of districts all over the state for 25 years, I am uniquely aware of the high degree of dedication, energy, and sheer "blood sweat and tears" it takes to create and maintain the standard of excellence that exists in our schools.

Although I work diligently for all the districts and boards I serve, I have tried to contribute to my school district where I could. . In 1997, I served as a volunteer legal advisor on a committee of parents who were studying the feasibility of a creating a high school in Hillsborough. I wrote, pro bono, the legal opinion explaining the legal criteria for such an endeavor, as well as the plusses and minuses of adding a high school to our elementary district. These included consideration of economic, educational and "environmental" impacts. My advice was discussed at length at a meeting of many interested parents; Superintendent Marilyn Miller also attended.

I worked the `Big Daddy' hot lunch at South School for several years. I manned paint brushes, shovels and pick-axes at all the South School Clean Up days. I have worked at Concours Day Set-up for the last few years and Dinner Dance Treasury. I have supported my wife, Martha, in her extensive volunteer efforts: South School Parent Group Board, South School Site Council, Hillsborough School Foundation, Concours D'Elegance Dinner Dance reservations, Dinner Dance Treasury (2 years), Concours Day Games Chair (2 years), Concours Day Carnival Chair (2 years) and a director on the board of the newly merged Concours D'Elegance /Hillsborough School Foundation organizations in the 2004-2005 school year.

My work is representing school boards and administrations of public school districts throughout California. I personally represent most of the school districts surrounding Hillsborough: Millbrae, Burlingame, San Mateo-Foster City, Portola Valley, Cabrillo (Half Moon Bay), South San Francisco, Las Lomitas, and Sequoia Union High School district. Many of the districts I represent are small, basic-aid districts just like Hillsborough.

I advise school boards and districts on the full range of legal and policy issues facing public schools. These areas include: finance, business, property, construction, bond work, personnel, students, special education, labor relations, charter schools and litigation. In all the Districts I serve, I am part of a broad team effort. Frequently I am asked to facilitate and enhance this collaborative process.

I am intimately familiar with the complex array of laws affecting districts, and my expertise is called on throughout the state. I have served on numerous panels as an expert in school financing and budget matters. I am a frequent and regular presenter and trainer of school board members and administrators at conferences and seminars sponsored by leading statewide educational organizations, such as the California School Boards Association, the Association of California School Administrators, the School Employers Association of California, and the California Association of School Business Officials.

I have worked my entire career at my firm, Miller Brown & Dannis. I am a founding partner of the firm and served as managing partner for 14 years, in addition to maintaining a full-time law practice. I cannot imagine a more exciting and rewarding job. Working with boards, administrators, employees and parents on a daily basis has granted me a rare professional privilege: I know that what I do for a living makes a difference in the lives of many children and adults.

I have a longstanding passion for public education. My career proves this. My published articles and speeches emphasize this (articles and speeches available at http://www.mbdlaw.com).

I am eager to focus this passion and contribute what I have learned over the past 25 years to Hillsborough schools. Being a Board member will not further my professional career because I am already recognized statewide as a leading expert in education law, and I turn down more new work than I accept. If elected, my only agenda will be to always act in the best interests of our children and our community. I seek this office out of a sense of personal commitment to education, love for my children and my dedication to public schools.