Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Las Virgenes Unified School District

STATEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

From my work as an attorney to my role as a mother, I have a passion for excellence. Over the past four years, my commitment to the Las Virgenes Unified School District has been to use this passion helping to improve our schools, so all students have the opportunities they deserve to learn, grow and become productive members of society.

Let's face it--public education is under the microscope, the pressure is on and the heat is up. From the federal push for No Child Left Behind to state standards and billion-dollar budget cuts, public education faces converging demands while underscored by extraordinary, and justified, expectations of excellence.

My four years on the Board of Education have indeed been a learning experience. From studying national and state issues to local and site-specific challenges, I know firsthand that effective governance demands a tenacious commitment to study complex and multi-layered issues. And a willingness, and promise, to ask difficult questions.

Our District and its 14 schools, which serve over 12,000 students pre-K through to 12th grade, strive for excellence. This is no small feat given that California's academic standards are among the highest in the nation while the funding we receive per pupil is among the lowest. These diverging points illustrate just one of the difficulties our public schools face.

To address these challenges and meet the community's expectations requires a strong Board of Education. It is the Board that sets the broad direction and goals for the District.

Ideally, a Board of Education is a blend of community members who bring different backgrounds, professional experiences and skills to the table. My decades of experience in business and real estate law qualify me to govern the District through complicated land use, construction, renovation and bond topics. My corporate law and management experience lends the expertise to provide strong leadership, oversee multi-million-dollar budgets and navigate turbulent times. And my experience as a parent and close connections to the community allow me to effectively serve this District with compassion and a focus on kids.

If re-elected to the Board of Education, I will continue to work hard and study all issues, ask tough questions, and bring new ideas, ever mindful that the guiding questions should be: What is best for students, and what must be done to help all students fulfill their individual potential?

Las Virgenes is a great school system, but like we tell our children, there is always room to improve. Please let me continue to use all that I have learned to work for the children. I pledge to focus my energy and skills on increasing the academic achievement of all students, strengthening relationships with the community-parents, teachers, taxpayers, local city leaders and businesses-and promoting campus environments and student programs from which students learn respect and good citizenship.

Cindy Iser