Candidate for
Board Member; San Marcos Unified School District

Sharon believes leaders in education should have the vision and courage to do what's best for the district they serve in both the short and long term. She considers it her responsibility to examine how her decisions will impact a district with more than 16,000 students and 1,800 staff members.

Sharon's passion is to make the San Marcos Unified School District the very best it can be. She takes her role as a Board Member very seriously and visits each school at least once a year--often more than that--on regularly scheduled board tours, personal visits, or as an attendee at specfic site events. She believes if staff commits time, energy, and dedication, then she, as a Governing Board Member, should do the same.

Sharon believes the Governing Board greatly influences the culture of the district. She is extremely proud of the staff at both the site and district office level and points out that every staff member, whether classified or certificated, full- or part-time, plays an important role in educating students. She sees teamwork and collaboration as vital elements in the district's ability to keep the spotlight on student achievement. She is often commended for keeping the focus on students and not allowing personal beliefs or politics to enter into a decision.

For the next four years, she is comitted to the following:

• Continuing to focus on teaching for learning with emphasis on the secondary level
• Closing the achievement gap and striving to ensure that all subgroups achieve success at the same rate
• Ensuring that students graduate with the skills required to succeed in higher education or in the work place
• Building schools to accommodate anticipated growth while monitoring to ensure against overbuilding in case the district moves into a period of declining enrollment
• Ensuring that an up-to-date technology plan is in place to serve the district's needs
• Making fiscal decisions that are in the best interest of the district in both the short and long term and that allot the maximum resources possible to directly benefit students in the classroom