Why I'm Running

By Jo-Ann "Sockolov" Byrne

I wanted to take a moment and thank you for all that you have done for me and will continue to do. And I also wanted to stop a moment and share a little more about me because, on the campaign trail and at various events, I'm asked by many why I'm running.

In short, I'm running because it's in my blood. My family history is filled with leaders who fought for civil rights, dedicated their lives to their country, and gave of themselves to improve the lives of others. I can trace this dedication back to my great grandfather in Ireland who, as a town council member, fought tirelessly for the poor and helped establish the first public housing project in Ireland. Unfortunately, the bitter irony was that our family lineage would fall upon its own hard times where even my father had to drop out of school at age 14 to help support his family. Fortunately, my father was able to turn the tide when he left for America.

Though it was very tough at first, my father succeeded through hard work and determination by becoming a U.S. citizen, joining the U.S. Air Force and receiving a high school GED and college GED, and going on to become an Education and Training Specialist with the Air Force. Following his honorable discharge, he continued his education with the help of the GI Education Bill. Later my mom would join him. They had nothing more than the aspiration to raise a family and be able to provide for a happy, healthy home and a quality education for my three brothers and me. However, they instilled within us a deep commitment to continue their legacy by achieving greater things through hard work, determination and education. Our success was their success and our great reward to them was four college graduates who have gone on to achieve great things for not only ourselves and our families but also our communities and our nation.

Just a couple of weeks ago my brother came to town during Fleet Week to pay a visit to my folks with me. He is a 25-year career officer and Captain of the United States Navy who serves as Chief of Staff to the Commander of the U.S. 3rd Fleet. He will be leaving to Annapolis, Maryland soon to accept duty as Commandant of Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy. He will be responsible for the day-to-day activities of 4,500 Midshipmen in the Brigade. His title equates to the Dean of Students at a civilian university.

I couldn't have asked for a better visit or a better time to see my brother again with my folks in Pacifica to remind me why quality public education is vital to sustaining a strong democracy. As Trustee, I will work to:

Address funding inadequacies through expense reduction, shared services, economies of scale, and third party investment.
Close the Achievement Gap.
Improve Kindergarten readiness and high school graduation rates.
Leverage the use of technology to enhance and improve teaching and learning.
Improve pathways to career technical education and assure that more students have the opportunity to go on to college.
Ensure a world-class K-12 public school system and continuous improvement in education outcomes in our County.

When people ask why I'm running, I hope they understand what education has done for me and that it's in my blood to take the lead and help our students, our teachers, our schools and, in turn, our whole community achieve greater success.

Best,

Jo-Ann