Candidate for
Board Member; Cotati/Rohnert Park Unified School District

I am running for a seat on the school board because I care about the students of our district and want to ensure we provide the best education possible. I also want to continue to be a strong advocate for Career Technical Education in the schools. To accomplish this I have participated on a career technical education committee sponsored by the Sonoma County Office of Education ROP. The focus of this committee was to develop a K-12 roadmap for career technical education. In addition, I have supported the auto body shop improvements so that we can have a state-of-the-art auto body program at the high school. I served on this board during the "good times" when we had money to fund programs like 3-1-3, Becel, IB, and class size reductions. I have had to make the difficult decisions over the years to cut each program and it wasn't easy, but it had to be done to keep the district solvent. I now feel I have a responsibility to do what I can to protect the remaining programs and to bring back those programs when the State provides us the money to do so. The strengths I bring to the school board are my knowledge of the district and my willingness to listen and move ideas forward. I bring a unique perspective to the Board decision making. As a union member, I am able to see both the labor and administration side of each issue in addition to the perspective of a parent.