My interest in serving on the high school board

By Carol Karamitsos

As a parent, physician, and community member, I am committed to a healthy community which includes "exceptional" high school education for our young people.

My father served on the Orcutt Union School District Board for many years in the 1970's. My mother dedicated herself to many volunteer positions in Santa Maria throughout my childhood. My parents were committed to public education and instilled this ideal in their children. Education, like healthcare, is not a privilege; it is a right. Our community's well-being rests in part on an educated populace, and school systems need strong leadership to ensure that educational process remains productive and functional at all levels from the classroom to the Board. I believe that I can provide that kind of leadership. I have had experience in leadership roles, most recently as Chief of Staff at Marian Medical Center in 2003 through 2004, and as a Marian Community Board member from 2002 to present. I also served on the Marian Foundation Board from 1999 to 2006. Strong leadership requires the ability to listen, to digest, to explore, to question, and then to decide. I understand and accept the most important condition as a board member would be the fiduciary responsibility entrusted to me in a publicly-elected position.