Candidate for
Board Member; Fremont Unified School District

Lara York - Fremont Unified School District Board of Education

Lara York has lived in Fremont since 1992 with her husband, Steve. Her two sons attend Fremont Unified schools. She is a California native, grew up in San Jose, and attended public schools from kindergarten through college, earning a bachelor's degree in business administration with a minor in sociology from California State University, Chico.

Lara first became active in the Fremont community through the FUN (Fremont-Union City-Newark) Mothers' Club; she served as its president from 1999 to 2000. After the failure of a Fremont Unified School District bond in 1998, Lara became concerned about the district's troubles, joined the Community Facilities Committee and began regularly attending school board meetings. She served on an impressive array of district and other school-related committees: Financial Advisory Committee, Health & Safety Bond Committee, Parent Representative Advisory Assembly, GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) Committee, School Site Council, and the PTA.

Lara is perhaps best known in Fremont for her work since 2000 as a dedicated board member of the Fremont Education Foundation, a public non-profit organization which raises money to provide educational enrichment for all Fremont's children and teachers. She has been especially active with the After School Band Program and for several years produced and hosted the program's major fundraiser, the annual Music Telethon. In her role as a Fremont Unified Board Trustee, Lara has is a Delegate to the California School Boards Association (2007-present), as well as currently serving as the President of the Alameda County School Boards Association.

Lara also remains an active member of, League of Women Voters, Fremont Chamber of Commerce's Dollars for Scholars, Tri-City Democratic Forum, Citizens for Better Community, and American Association of University Women.

Lara has received awards from the Fremont Schools Management Association: Friend of Education award (2003) and the Federation of Indo Americans of Northern California: Celebration of Democracy award (2010).