Two weeks before Mark Zuckerberg was named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year,” The Mercury News reported on Zuckerberg’s intention to donate much of his wealth to charity. I’d like to offer the following suggestions to Mark, and to any other billionaires looking for charity investment ideas.

In eleven days we celebrate the first day of the new year. For Californians it is the most critical year for our future as a state, at least in my lifetime, in my opinion.

Few can argue that quality public education is the means for us to reduce crime, increase employment, grow the economy and decrease poverty. California schools have $20 billion less than was promised by the legislature three years ago. Therefore, we can no longer continue to slash funds from already under-resourced institutions without peril to our children, their teachers and our future. This insanity must stop in 2011 with the help of Governor-elect Jerry Brown’s leadership.

Last year, the council was faced with cutting the aquatics program down from ten pools to two due to the budget deficit. Stuck between a rock and a hard place the council invoked the “Unique Service Purchase” clause.

Team San Jose chief Dan Fenton resigned this week, following critical audits of TSJ’s financial management of city facilities.  Team San Jose was formed in 2004 in a coalition between labor groups and the city’s hospitality sector. It serves as San Jose’s Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as the operator of the convention center and performing arts facilities, including the Center for Performing Arts, the Civic Auditorium and the California Theater. Exceprts from Fenton’s resignation letter follow.

I wanted to take this opportunity to inform you of a recent decision I have made. I have decided to step down as the CEO of Team San Jose. I have had 14 plus years in the San Jose community and it is time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life. I have thought about the wonderful accomplishments and experiences I have had and want to share some of them with you.

Thirty-six years ago I began my teaching career at Osborne School at Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall. I was hired by Superintendent Glenn Hoffmann (who served from 1967-84), a charismatic and visionary man, as a first-year teacher for the then-Office of the County Superintendent of Schools.  As of last Wednesday evening, I am the newly elected board president of the same office, which is now the Santa Clara County Office of Education

In a small city park in West San Jose, there’s a drinking fountain that’s in need of repair. The fountain’s water source has been shut off, presumably until repairs can be made. The water fountain has been “closed” at Gullo Park for not just the past few weeks, or even a month, it’s been unusable for most of this past year.

Tax Base Erosion Night lived up to its name last Tuesday at the Council meeting as a truck drove through the Employment Lands Framework. Council voted 8-3 to amend the General Plan and allow new townhouses instead of reserving land for jobs next to Santana Row. Thank you to Rose Herrera and Sam Liccardo for voting to hold the line and retain our tax base.

The City Auditor is at it again, finding ways to save San Jose money while cutting back services only minimally. This week’s target is the SJPD, which has already suffered from severe budget cuts.

It was a tough week, image-wise, for the City of San Jose. The nation’s seventh-smartest city looked pretty stupid thanks to two stories that received a fair amount of press attention.

City Councilwoman Rose Herrera didn’t mince her words. “If we were the private sector we would be asking for resignations,” she said about Team San Jose, which runs the McEnery Convention Center and Visitors Bureau.

Councilman Sam Liccardo reported that when compared with six other similar-sized California cities, San Jose comes in dead last in the number of conventions booked. Meanwhile, special events like the Genghis Khan exhibition not only end up losing money—they have to be bailed out by the city. Yet shortly after CEO Dan Fenton informed the city that Team San Jose was $950,000 over budget, he went and gave bonuses to himself and his staff

It’s incredible—I have been writing this weekly column for SJI for two years this week. I went back to my first-ever post after my election to the County School Board on Nov. 4, 2008. Here’s my lead: “ California spends a lot of money on education—more than $65 billion from all funding sources in 2007-08 for K-12 education. Yet nearly 40 percent of Latino and African-American youth drop out of school prior to high school graduation… How disdainful is this in the land of the wealthiest and most educated people on the planet?”

I wrote that while attending the December 2008 California School Boards Association conference in San Diego. Perhaps I underestimated our communal stupidity.

It is that time of year again, with lobbyists circling City Hall in preparation for the General Plan hearings.

With the leadership of Mayor Reed, modifications to our General Plan (GP) have been reduced to once a year, for the most part. At the GP hearings, applicants make their case as to why current land-use designations should be changed to allow for the applicant to build what they want, regardless of how the land is currently zoned.

San Jose City Manager Debra Figone has not yet made a decision as to who will be the city’s next police chief. As the evaluation process goes on, more and more positive stories are coming out about acting chief Chris Moore.

“A rising tide lifts all boats” said Pres. Kennedy.  Will Governor-elect Jerry Brown be the leader that raises the tide for every California student from preschool to college commencement? After all, California—specifically Silicon Valley—was the economic engine that drove the nation’s economy just a few decades ago. Our declining high school graduation rate and achievement gap threaten our very economic and societal survival.

The Public Safety, Finance And Strategic Support Committee took up the topic of unnecessary force in conjunction with drunk-in-public arrests. The police department, along with the city auditor, city manager and Independent Police Auditor, spent approximately 500 hours going through paper to pull out data. Inherently, a paper system is cumbersome and takes time to extrapolate data. Although we have a records management system, it is antiquated and unable to make queries that a modern system would, and it was not set up to manage certain historic data. This issue is indicative of our city’s lack of investment in information technology. 

I was correctly quoted by Internal Affairs in the Sunday Merc as saying “we did look like clowns.” I probably should have said our Nov. 17 SCC Office of Education Board meeting was more like bad Kubuki theater, a little dance and a lot of misplaced drama.