Dan O'Brien, Neighbor

I am a Culver City resident of 11 years, who is obsessively proud of our city and intently interested in its welfare.  I have been known to speak my mind at city council meetings, city commission meetings & school board meetings, and strongly believe that if you're not willing to be a part of the solution to an issue, then you should probably stop complaining.

I was raised in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and moved to the Los Angeles area to attend the University of Southern California.  Both my wife and I graduated from the business school and are die-hard Trojan fans. 

I have been married for almost 13 years, and have two children; my oldest will be attending Culver City Middle School in the fall, and my youngest will be entering 4^th grade at El Marino Language School.

The primary focus of my blog entries will be on the Culver City Unified School District.  I am a trustee on the Culver City Education Foundation, and my children will attend CCUSD schools until they graduate from Culver City High School.

I am passionate about the value of K-12 public school education.  And I feel the biggest threat to our public schools is the loss our students to charter and private schools.  I feel this is a bigger threat than the receding allotment of funding we receive from Sacramento.

With this in mind, it is my goal to keep Patch’s readers informed of all the opportunities that our schools provide; positive attributes that you may not find at any charter or private school.  I feel that many parents who may be concerned about Culver City’s schools haven’t taken the time to investigate whether their fears are justified, or they haven’t weighed the positives vs. the negatives of each option.

My hope is that this blog will be a source for all of Culver City's parents, as I seek to educate myself and others on all that our schools have to offer.