Candidate for
Member; Ventura County Board of Education; Trustee Area 1

ELECT "Chuck" Charles T Watson for County Board of Education- Area 1

My unique blend of EXPERIENCE has prepared me to represent you on the Ventura County Board of Education. During the past 23 years I have served as President - Interface Children Family Services, Chairperson -First Five of Ventura County, Chairperson - California Association of Nonprofits and on the Ventura County Workforce Investment Board.

It is my firm belief that strengthening the working relationships between local school districts and the County Board through better communication, increased cooperation, and focused collaboration will result in a higher quality education for our children. I can help people to work better together. Throughout my life I have helped to forge and strengthen relationships that have resulted in life changing and in some cases life saving results.

I know and appreciate the challenges faced by our families and our children + especially children with SPECIAL NEEDS. During the past 15 years as President of Interface Children Family Services I have been responsible for ensuring that foster children gain independence, that victims of violence achieve safety and that children facing mental illness find hope.

We all want our children to grow up to be happy, successful and self-sufficient. As a member of the Ventura County Workforce Investment Board one of my key efforts was to develop strong WORK READINESS programs for our young people.

Successful students start early and have strong family support. As Chairperson for First Five Ventura County I helped shape EARLY LEARNING programs for our children and built better support systems for our families.

The students and families of Ventura County deserve a visibly ACCOUNTABLE Board of Education that treats everyone with FAIRNESS and conducts it responsibilities with OPENESS.

A recurring theme in all of my work is COMMUNICATE + COORDINATE + COLLABORATE. The most successful outcomes are the result of partnerships with hard-working people coming together and joining forces to make a difference.

My wife Sara and I along with our two children, Daniel and Rachel live in the City of Ventura, own a home and participate in our local school district. I appreciate and comprehend the challenges faced by our schools and our dedicated teachers. In fact, we helped to spearhead the initial HEALTHY SCHOOLS project at Juanamaria Elementary School.

I have an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). I am a member of Rotary having been recognized as a "Paul Harris Fellow", the volunteer Coach Administrator for AYSO Region 39 and was a Foster Parent for 10 years.

I'm an accountable LEADER with a proven record of effective governance that will promote fairness and openness.