Candidate for
Member, Governing Board; Ontario-Montclair School District; Full Term

Elected representatives should come from the community they serve. I am part of a proud family which has lived in Ontario for over five generations. Traditions and memory are great barometers to the character of the person whom serves his community. This career educator knows what to do, and how to do what needs to be done.

EDUCATION: Public education is an integral part of being American. Public school educators have a mandate to teach everyone who attends their schools, regardless of any ability, condition, or situation. Our school district has made great strides to do so, over the years since I was a student in these schools. As many changes occur in the educational fields and school climates, we all must remember that our students are children: human beings with emotions, intelligence, and above all, life, and that they are not widgets which must made to conform to standards which may have no basis in reality, let alone our community. I strongly question the need for stuffing our children into statistical compartments. Our students are humans, not automatons, and scripted curriculum appears to be seriously inhumane.

DIVERSITY: Diversity abounds in our communities, and our schools should reflect it. Our teachers and support staff reflect this, as much as the student population does. The board and the senior district administration should, as well.

LOCALITY: Our elected leadership should also reflect the traditions of the communities in which they serve. The board and the senior district officials should be drawn from the community, reflecting the communities served. I am very proud to have attended, matriculated, and graduated from schools in the Ontario-Montclair School District, as my parents and family members did before me.

BUSINESS: Education is not a business. No publicly-funded governmental agency should ever be viewed as a for-profit enterprise. Our tax dollars should never be spent in a public agency to make any individual wealthy, regardless of their ability or position. On outside contracts: it is a reality of today's educational institutions that some services need to be contracted out to outside vendors. What should be kept in context is that contractors seeking awards should be also part of the community, not representing business interests far from here. This process must have greater regulation on the part of the senior district staff, and the board of trustees.