Candidate for
Trustee; Arcata School District

I believe that the role of public education is not just to teach our children academics, but to teach them the value in being honest, responsible, respectful, fair and compassionate people. All adults who work in the district, either as paid personnel or as volunteers, should strive to model this type of behavior. Our children learn from more than what is given them in the textbooks.

As a governing unit, the primary task of the Arcata School District Board of Trustees is to oversee the operation of the school district. The board does not run the district or micro-manage day-to-day district affairs, but rather oversees the Superintendent, teachers, administration and staff to make sure they continue to provide an excellent K-8 education for Arcata's children. As such, we attend to matters of school budgets, policies, curriculum, and the larger mission of the district.

In these days of declining enrollment, attention to budgetary issues is critical if we are to continue to provide the high-quality education for which the Arcata School District is known. Over the past year, district administrators, teachers, staff, board members, parents and other interested parties worked together to identify where we needed to spend money, and areas where money could be saved or reallocated. Today, the district is financially sound, personnel have received significant and well-deserved pay increases, and we have preserved programs, such as music, that children need.

For me, the high-quality of the personnel in the district have made the trustee position both easier and more pleasurable. Board members receive the information they need in a timely and easy to understand manner. Questions that I have had for district personnel about the functioning of the district--which is quite complicated, really--have been answered with patience and with a clear desire on their part to make sure I understand the issues.

While efforts were made this past year to make programmatic decisions with the input of any and all people concerned, I think the board can do more to communicate its activities, and more to promote proactive action on the part of children, parents and guardians, district personnel and other people interested in ensuring the Arcata School District continues to thrive. This district belongs to the people of Arcata, particularly to the children who are enrolled and their parents and guardians, and we need to do more to communicate and instill that sense of ownership.