Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Rowland Unified School District

Top Priorities if Elected

A.Improve Rowland Unified School District Test scores to meet beyond expected State standards

=Improving State Standardized Test scores in our district to go beyond expected State Standards. One issue is the education of those who come from underprivileged families who continually struggle to acquire even the most basic food and household needs. Because of these and similar reasons, many of our students fall through the cracks. They are not given individual attention or any real guidance, either at school or at home, that many of them need, and they end up coasting through school without developing any idea what they want to do with their lives. They often have low self-esteem, little or no respect for others and they don't care how well they do in school and on the State Test. Our job is to change this situation. Those from all walks of life need to be reminded that today they are students, but they will become tomorrow's leaders.

B.Improve Rowland Unified School District Police Department to ensure our schools are the safest in the state

=Ensuring that our schools are the safest in the state. Our current board has cut this department budget drastically and I oppose that. Many of the schools within the district are in areas of economic disadvantage, and there are no campus police officers watching the main entrances to those schools. This endangers our teachers, students, our classified staff, and poses a threat to district property. Our district police department is usually the first response to outside crime that surrounds our schools. Yet, if a district police officer needs help from local law enforcement, the officers have nothing but their personal cell phones to dial 911, as if private citizens were calling for help. Our school district police do not have the material they need to do their job, not even P25 radios used by local law enforcement. At the same time, local law enforcement officials have no direct means of contacting district police. If local law enforcement needs to communicate with a specific district police officer, the district office would be called, and from there, the officer is contacted via the district radio. State and Federal law grants district police officers the same authority and rights as local law enforcement. But our current district board not only fails to assist in this important matter, they continue to shrink this department. I applaud our district police chief for working tirelessly, applying for grants for our school district police officers. If am elected, I will raise the funds for our hard working district police officers and to get them P25 radios they need to communicate with local law enforcement. My concern is what could happen in the event of a life threatening situation, and our district police officers don't have adequate means of communication. If am elected, this is a policy that will be implemented to ensure our R.U.S.D. police officers have the necessary equipment they need to do their job, and to ensure the safety our children and all staff of Rowland Unified are protected. As of September 2009, the R.U.S.D. Police Department consists of nine officers. That includes eight full-time officers and one half-time officer. With my efforts and determination, I will strive to expand our district police department to ensure the safety of all Rowland Unified.

C.Make after School Activities, such as sports and band more affordable for Rowland Families

=Making a policy that makes after school activities such as sports and band more affordable for Rowland families. As I said, many of our students come from underprivileged households, including but not limited to, poverty and foster homes. These conditions make it financially very difficult if not impossible, for many of those students to join a sports team or the school band. This situation has led many to pursue a different lifestyle, often with tragic consequences. If am elected, I will work closely with all of our local businesses and I will make the impossible always possible in the Rowland Unified School District. By getting donations and working closely with our booster parents and families, we will ensure that we are providing equal opportunities to all of our students, no matter what their financial situation may be. Every child deserves to play a sport or to play in the school band without any worries about paying for anything. I will make our district prosper and remind all that we are one family that has a vision and a mission that as a district, I will be held accountable for statements that hang over our Governing Board room.

D.Make a policy that requires elected Rowland Unified Governing board members to visit every School in our District at least once every two months

=While a student at Nogales High, I only saw the Governing Board visit my high school once, which was to take photos of my high school's completed football field in order to post them on the district Web site. If elected, I will create a policy that requires our Governing Board members to visit every school in our district at least once every two months during economic downturns within our district, such as budget cuts, and low scoring schools of the California State Test within our district. During interviews, I learned that many school administrators would welcome visits by Board members. Many people have asked me how I will keep my colleagues' accountability in following this policy. The answer to that is simple: Our Governing Board members will have to sign in at our schools. In the end, that list will be posted on the R.U.S.D. Web site for all to see because our current board and future board must remember they have only one boss. And that boss is the people who elected them into office.

E.Make Parents, Students,Teachers,and all Classified Staff of Rowland Unified and community be number one in decision making of our Rowland Unified Schools

=Supporting and/ or creating any policy that makes parents, teachers and all classified staff of Rowland Unified the decision makers in our district. Parents and teachers are what make our district run. Our teachers teach our students to become the leaders of tomorrow. And our classified staff or as I call them, classified mentors, are those who keep our schools operating. And because of all those reasons, parents, students, teachers and classified staff deserve much more appreciation from within our district.

F.Make a Policy that requires Rowland Unified School district to provide materials needed at all times for Rowland Educators to teach, material needed for our students to learn because our students today are leaders tomorrow

=Being a graduate of Rowland Unified gave me firsthand knowledge of what needs to be changed. I will create a policy that requires our district to supply all materials needed at all times for Rowland educators to teach, and material needed for our students to learn. I saw how my teachers had to use their own money for supplies to teach me and my peers to be successful. Rest assured this will become a reality if I am elected, because by working with our community, these funds will become accessible.

G.Make a Policy that requires Rowland Unified Governing Board Members to be more Accountable when a Bond Measure or Parcel Tax passes for the Community could be aware on what the funds were use for

=Introduce a policy that requires our Governing Board to be more accountable when a Bond Measure or Parcel Tax passes. This way, the community could be aware of how the funds were used. As of August 30th 2008, our district still maintains a $43,679,275 Measure `R' Bond passed in 2006 by "The People of Rowland Unified". Our district has unnecessarily spent millions of dollar funds from the Measure `R' bond. While a student, I experienced firsthand how the district misspent tax-dollar money with one construction company. It was very clear to all that things weren't right. That company provided substandard service and our district ultimately spent triple the original estimated cost + tax-dollar money that could have been better allocated elsewhere. Incidents like this require what is known as "Change Orders", an order form acknowledging error to request more of hard working Rowland Unified Community tax-dollar money.

H.Ensure Rowland Unified School District Policies, Rules, and State and Federal laws are being enforce and maintain at all times

=Last, but not least, I will ensure Rowland Unified School District policies, rules, and state and federal laws are being enforced and maintained at all times by making you, the voter in our district, the ultimate decision makers that will keep our Governing Board accountable for their actions. And this is my promise to you for the next four years if am elected by the people of Rowland Unified School District.

These promises will be presented to the rest of the governing board, with in being elected into office, and with a majority approval from the rest of the board these polices were be implemented by the fullest extent.

Feel free to contact me; your comments are a prominent part of my campaign for Governing Board. With your support I will be Elected to serve the People and my "Promises will be kept".