Jesse Tangkhpanya

Jesse Tangkhpanya

Education

High school

Mount Pleasant High School

Bachelor's

University of Iowa

Other

Kirkwood Community College

Personal

Birthplace

Iowa, La.

Profession

Labor relations representative and consultant

Contact

Personal website

Jesse Tangkhpanya was a candidate seeking an at-large seat on the Burbank Unified School District Board of Education in California. He ran against one incumbent and four fellow candidates in the primary election on February 24, 2015. Tangkhpanya did not receive enough votes to advance to the general election.

Biography

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Tangkhpanya was born and raised in Iowa. He moved to Los Angeles, California in 2010 and then moved to Burbank in 2012. He has worked in education and healthcare policy since 2005. He now works as a labor relations representative for the California School Employees Association and consults on labor relations for the company Milo Digital.

Tangkhpanya has specialized in labor relations and school district budgeting in his work with public agencies, governing boards, administrators and school districts. Some of his experience includes representing public sector employees, negotiating agreements, defending employees at disciplinary hearings and helping to resolve employee concerns. Tangkhpanya earned his bachelor's degree in political science and journalism, mass communication from the University of Iowa. He also attended Kirkwood Community College.

Elections

2015

See also: Burbank Unified School District elections (2015)

Three of the five seats on the Burbank Unified School District Board of Education were up for general election on April 14, 2015. A primary election was held on February 24, 2015.

Incumbents Dave Kemp and Ted Bunch did not file to run for re-election, leaving incumbent Roberta Grande Reynolds to run against the following five challengers in the primary election: Armond Aghakhanian, Steve Ferguson, Vahe Hovanessian, Gregory Sousa and Jesse Tangkhpanya.

Grande, Aghakhanian, Ferguson and Sousa received the most votes in the primary election. Grande and Ferguson won election to the board outright as they received more than 50 percent of the ballots cast in the primary. Aghakhanian and Sousa had to advance to the general election on April 14, 2015.

Aghakhanian defeated Sousa in the general election to gain a seat on the board.

Results

Burbank Unified School District, At-Large Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Roberta Grande Reynolds Incumbent	24.3%	5,362
	Nonpartisan	Steve Ferguson	23.1%	5,107
	Nonpartisan	Armond Aghakhanian	16.8%	3,710
	Nonpartisan	Gregory Sousa	13.8%	3,049
	Nonpartisan	Vahe Hovanessian	13.5%	2,971
	Nonpartisan	Jesse Tangkhpanya	8.5%	1,886
Total Votes				22,085
Source: Burbank City Clerk's Office, "Final Results are Tabulated for Burbank’s 2015 Primary Nominating Election," accessed March 9, 2015

Funding

Tangkhpanya reported $3,911.95 in contributions and $3,565.97 in expenditures to the Burbank City Clerk’s Office, which left his campaign with $345.98 as of February 18, 2015.

Endorsements

Tangkhpanya received endorsements from:

• Los Angeles County Democratic Party
• Burbank Democratic Club
• California School Employees Association, Burbank Chapter
• Los Angeles County Federation of Labor

Campaign themes

2015

Burbank Leader questionnaire

On December 22, 2014, the Burbank Leader published a candidate profile of Tangkhpanya. That profile contained the following questionnaire. The Burbank Leader's questions are bolded to provide clarification. The full candidate profile can be found here.

“

Have you run for office previously? I have not previously run for public office. Why are you running? I have always felt an obligation to give back to my community, and I consider myself ranked in the top 3 most-qualified candidates. I am the only candidate to work directly with multiple school districts in a watchdog role, not as an activist but as a protected “exclusive” representative under EERA. This broad-based experience gives me an ability to see the forest from the trees. With three seats open, we need at least one board member who’s not been exclusively “boxed" into Burbank only. What is the most important issue facing BUSD? Important issues include the proper oversight and disbursement of LCFF and Bond funds; a new Superintendent; and the resolution of labor disputes. My exposure to hearings, grievances, contract enforcement, and arbitration give me great insight into district administration issues. Our district administration should not be insular and only exposed to itself and its own issues. We need someone with experience from other district administrations so we can learn from their triumphs and mistakes. Name a recent issue or policy the current board has decided that you agree with. Why? The district administration's backing of Bond Measure S in 2013 was significant. Not only did it provide an additional revenue source for BUSD; it further united the district and broader Burbank community. Additionally, I agreed with the Board decision to NOT adopt the homework standards as policy. Teachers need to be able to set their own standards. But I do think it was appropriate to allow them to be seen as general guidelines. Name a recent issue or policy the current board has decided that you disagree with. Why? Over the last decade, the BUSD slashed student services in half, affecting custodial, maintenance, clerical and aide services for students. Such a stark deficiency of support staff in education is unheard of, and the unintended result of said cuts were workload increases on the backs of students and staff, including teachers. As a result, student services and outcomes suffered under the weight of the employee cutbacks. I am running to restore these services for the benefit of students. What is the best thing about how BUSD is currently run? The district administration has been responsible implementing the Common Core Standards in a timely fashion, and it has provided professional development for certificated personnel. They have also taken first steps in language immersion programs, which are important in the early development of children. Additionally, BUSD continues to support wonderful arts programs. What is the worst thing about how BUSD is currently run? Although long-term financial stability requires prudence with new funds, district administration seems overly reluctant to restore the drastic cuts suffered during worse times. District officials continue to complain that there is not enough money while simultaneously making spending choices I find questionable. What programs or areas do you believe deserve priority or additional spending? Why? The restoration of student services cut over the last decade should be a top priority. The classified staff has been slashed in half, which directly affects the success and safety of our students. BUSD can do a better job engaging younger people (through social media and student committees) and the broader Burbank community (via district E-townhall meetings for citizens who are unable to attend in person). BUSD should also provide additional support for Dual Language Immersion programs. What qualities should BUSD's next superintendent have? - Be intellectually curious. - Be patient. - Be impartial (Be able to play devil’s advocate when needed). - Be open and completely honest. (This is a big problem with most Superintendents I encounter. Some hide information from the Board to protect themselves and district administration.) - Be a leader. (Have the ability to get people to follow them.) - Have the ability to foster collaboration. - Have a sense of humor. (This is important, as not everything goes according to plan.) Open Response: I’m proud to be running with talented candidates, some of whom have years of experience volunteering on the parent and committee level, but I have experience beyond the committee level, directly negotiating with multiple SoCal Districts. We need to be careful to not restrict ourselves exclusively to isolated resources and ideas. There are five school board seats, and at least one should be held by a person with experience from other Districts. That way we can learn from their triumphs, and more importantly their mistakes. My great strength lies in the fact that I have not been exclusively “boxed” into just Burbank. I have broad-based experience, and it allows me to see the forest from the trees. Additionally, the proper disbursement of new state funds will require someone who has experience accounting for the unique revenues and expenditures of school districts. Since the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) is only funded through 2020, the actions taken by the next school board bear special importance. For instance, the Burbank Unified School District (BUSD) can do a better job reaching out to constituents, particularly younger people. Let’s begin hosting E-Townhall meetings for engaged citizens who are unable to attend the current physical meetings. Our job is to prepare students for the next step in their lives, whether college or direct to vocation. I propose we offer additional Advanced Placement courses, so we can better prepare students and reduce their college debt. I’m also a strong advocate of BUSD partnering with local businesses and colleges for new vocational opportunities. Having three of five board seats open this election presents a special opportunity for the board to restructure itself with better balance and moderation. • Moderation results from a variety of ideas that can only come when the board truly represents the diversity of its stakeholders. Without that diversity, the board can lead to shrinking ideas. • Balance means a restoration of power from District administrators back to the board. Your vote is critical this election. Please consider these points before voting: • I work with several Southern California school districts on a regular basis as we navigate the ever-changing policies, funding guidelines, and employment laws of the state. My exposure to these issues at other districts gives me unique insight for protecting Burbank from similar vulnerabilities. • I have hands-on experience scrutinizing District general budgets. • I specialize in Labor Relations. My frequent exposure to discipline hearings, grievances, contract enforcement, and arbitration give me greater insight into the complex issues districts face on their operational levels. • School districts often get in trouble when they violate PERB rules; laws in which I am well versed. This is important because I can catch and resolve unintended breeches before they become issues, potentially saving substantial taxpayer dollars. • I'm the strongest candidate on knowledge and application of the certificated, classified and non-merit California Code of Education. That means I can catch mistakes from happening in the first place, saving taxpayer money from being squandered. • I'm the only candidate that has worked directly with multiple school districts in a watchdog capacity, not as an activist or an advocate but as an exclusive representative under the EERA. • My direct negotiations experience requires me to have a strong grasp of education policy issues and the “boomerang” effects they have on school sites, education stakeholders, the broader community, and ultimately the children they serve. Finally, I don’t have the political baggage that comes with years of public office. I owe favors to no one, and I have no axes to grind. I'm uniquely positioned to provide unbiased, unfettered oversight. Voters can select up to three board members this election. One of those members should be for me, the watchdog candidate – the outside, independent candidate that watches the taxpayer’s money and ensures it is efficiently and effectively applied for the benefit of our students. Thank you for your consideration.

”

Candidate website

Tangkhpanya highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:

“	Independence. Transparency. Oversight. I don’t have the political baggage that comes with years of public office. I owe favors to no one, have no axes to grind, and am uniquely positioned to provide unbiased, unfettered oversight. Voters can select up to three board members this election. One of those members should be the watchdog candidate – the outside, independent candidate that watches the taxpayer’s money and ensures it is efficiently and effectively applied for the benefit of our students.	”
—Jesse Tangkhpanya's campaign website (2015)

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Jesse + Tangkhpanya + Burbank + Unified + School + District"

Jesse Tangkhpanya News Feed

See also

• Burbank Unified School District, California
• Burbank Unified School District elections (2015)
• First openly gay official elected to Burbank school board, two candidates advance to April election
• April school board elections in California and South Dakota see increase in voter turnout (April 15, 2015)

External links

Suggest a link

• Burbank Unified School District
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook page
• Twitter page
• LinkedIn page
• 2015 Smart Voter profile