Candidate for
Board Member; Placer Union High School District; Trustee Area 1

My wife and I have lived in the Auburn/Foresthill area since 1985. We have four children who all attended local public schools and each graduated from Placer High School. I recently retired from my position as a full-time science teacher at Placer High School in June 2011. I continue to teach courses in Earth Science and Geology at Sierra College (the end of this semester marks the completion of my 26th year).

I have been very fortunate in my life only because of the educational opportunities afforded to me by selfless, forward thinking individuals. Having grown-up in a divorced household and raised by a single parent, statistically, I was less likely to lead a happy and productive life than others without such handicaps, let alone pursue a fulfilling career. However, the education that I received by means of the public school system of California enabled me to have a satisfying career as a High School and Community College teacher and to raise my own family with advantages that I only dreamed about when I was young. That is the power of education and what results when you give someone the opportunity to reach their potential.

I am proud to say that I have had the privilege of playing a part in the education of many engineers, doctors, lawyers, accountants, carpenters, scientists, mechanics, teachers, principals, mothers and fathers over my 35-year teaching career. Now that I am retired and have the luxury of time, I feel that I can give something back to the community that has been so good to me. Thus I have chosen to run for the Placer Union High School Board. My initial motivation for making this choice was my unhappiness with several decisions made by the present school board. However, upon reflection, I realized that my true motivation runs much deeper. I am alarmed by the downward spiral of the state of public education in California. The educational opportunities that were afforded me when I was a student are disappearing rapidly. I am deeply concerned that my own grandchildren will not have the same opportunities to reach their potential as I or even their parents had.

I am not naïve enough to think that I might possess magic solutions to all the problems that confront our schools. These are difficult times for all schools and many of the problems that our local schools face are not of their own doing. The last few years of my teaching career have given me a firsthand understanding of some of the problems that the current staff face such as classroom overcrowding, diminishing budgets, and the never ending request to do more with less. No view from above, no unscheduled visitation, no official report can act as a substitute for the knowledge obtained from having lived it and having been forced to deal with it firsthand.

My decision to seek a position on the school board was not made in haste. It was only after thoughtful deliberation that I decided that my recent teaching experience at both the High School level and the Community College level had given me a unique perspective that might be of value to the district that I wish to serve. If elected I promise to work hard on your behalf to ensure that students not just receive a quality education but also retain access to as many educational opportunities as possible. Thank you for your consideration.