Candidate for
Board Member; East Side Union High School District

My business experience has taught me that success comes when you listen to your customers. I would like to bring this philosophy to the East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD) where the customers are the taxpayers who invest in education. Our products are the students who graduate with the skills needed for success.

My experience and the stories I have heard from parents has convinced me that this district is often disconnected from the communities it serves. The ESUHSD is the third largest stand-alone high school district in the state with a population of over 435,000. That's half the population of the City of San Jose. Board members are elected at large. It costs almost $5000.00 to file a ballot statement. This fee discourages experienced parent school volunteers from even considering running. This is unfortunate, as these individuals, who have volunteered their time to improve the education of our children, understand how successful school administrators' work with parents and the community they serve.

I believe that the district would be better connected to the community if our school board trustees were elected by neighborhood areas rather than at-large. This procedure, which is followed in many other large school districts, would guarantee equal representation across our district. It forces board members to live in the communities they represent and permits them to become experts on the educational issues in their neighborhoods.

Such a system is better at holding board members accountable for their actions because it is easier for new local candidates to run and challenge incumbents. Democracy works best when there is a healthy exchange of ideas at the ballot box.

In general, I believe in local control of neighborhood schools where teachers, parents, administrators, school staff and students work cooperatively together to create innovation and academic excellence.