Candidate for
Trustee; Orange Unified School District; Trustee Area 4

Philosophy

The role of a school board member is to provide an excellent education for its community's children. School board members must informed, involved in their communities and always act ethically in the best interests of the students. These are the guide posts of my board service.

I am a firm believer in the power of education to create opportunity for our children's future, to make their lives more meaningful, to help our communities prosper, and to strengthen society, our nation, and our world.

Children are natural learners, and schools have an obligation to help each child reach his or her highest potential. Parents are a child's first teacher, and their involvement is crucial. Orange Unified School District has great, award winning students and schools. OUSD has quality families, good kids, dedicated teachers and employees. High expectations produce high achievement, and California's curriculum is among the best in the nation. Schools can and will succeed when excellent teachers, principals, support staff, and students work together, in modern and adequate classrooms with parents and the community as a team. Because we have seen this in our school district, OUSD students are improving year after year. Our test scores show that.

Investment in education is the best one we can make for our future. Tax dollars must be used wisely. This means adhering to impeccable fiscal practices, budgeting responsibly, prioritizing and scrutinizing every expenditure, maximizing budgets by seeking grants and other sources of funding to help achieve our mission, and implementing savings in every possible way.

The school board holds in trust the assets of the school district on behalf of the community. These assets must be protected and preserved for the benefit of this generation of students, as well as for future generations of students. Schools and classrooms must be safe, up to date, and well-maintained to ensure a quality learning environment for our students and teachers. Now is the time for OUSD to modernize our schools so that our students can receive the best 21st century education possible, including adequate technology and science lab resources

School board members have a responsibility to be informed, open minded, and accessible to the community. This takes time and commitment, and I welcome it.

These beliefs have guided me over the past nine years that I have served on the school board, and will continue to guide me, in all decisions and actions on behalf of our children. It has been an honor to serve our community and its children.