Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Whittier Union High School District

As a school-board member, I don't have a "political" philosophy, but I do have values and beliefs about good school-district governance. School-board members, known as "Trustees" in the Whittier Union High School District, need to view themselves as members of a governance team, composed of the board and the Superintendent. Individual members must recognize that they have no individual authority, and that they can only be effective through cooperation with board colleagues and the Superintendent, and with the other educational leaders of the District.

As a Trustee in the Whittier Union High School District, I am a team player. That does not mean that I subordinate my beliefs or values to those held by others. However, it does mean that I will always try to find a way to harmonize my views with the views of the other members of the governance team. If my conscience forces me to stand alone, and to cast a dissenting vote, I will do so -- but that has almost never been necessary.

Instead, I have been impressed with the committment to educational excellence that I have found among my board colleagues and, of course, in our Superintendent and the other leaders of our District. I can say with confidence that this committment is shared at every level of the organization. A school board should foster a culture in which highly qualified teachers and other employees are given the tools and leadership to express that committment for the benefit of students and families. If there is anything in which our board can take pride, it is that we have given our Superintendent the opportunity to promote such a culture within our District.