Candidate for
Governing Board Member; Culver City Unified School District

My name is Robert Zirgulis but when I'm teaching at the Culver City Schools the kids call me "MR. Z"!

I'd like to tell you a little bit about myself and family history so you can understand why I'm running for school board.

My parents were both refugees from Lithuania during the holocaust of World War II.

Our family settled in Chicago where my mother had to start all over to become a doctor and my father became the National Lithuanian Chairman of the Democratic Party. I remember campaigning for Kennedy when I was 8 years old.

I got a lot of core values from living in the Mid-West. It's a place where people worked hard and you often made business agreements with a handshake instead of using a lawyer.

We came to California in 1965 where I adopted to the California spirit of freedom and creativity. I often say that I have a combination of the Mid-West work ethic along with the creativity and open mindness of a Californian.

I went to Samohi and organized the first ecology club in the school's history in 1969. After graduating from high school I took to the road setting up environmental information tables in every major city from here to Canada. I even lobbied at the state capitol for environmental issues.

I went to UCLA and graduated with a BA in Public Service in 1974. I had served as an intern for Assemblywoman March Fong's environmental committee and interned in Washington D.C. for the Metropolitan Washington Coalition for Clean Air. I investigated the EPA and airpollution in the inner city.

After graduating college, I back packed around the world experiencing the diversity of peoples and cultures of the world. It was one of the best educational experiences of my life.

I continued my education after my trip around the world by attending Business Graduate school at CSUN during the night, while starting a business and working as a teamster for the airlines during the day.

I moved to Culver City in 1984 and all my three boys attended Culver City Schools. I watched my twin boys play on the LaCrosse team and my eldest son was a substitute teacher.

Over the years I have done volunteer work for International Human Rights Watch groups and have traveled extensively in addition to two more around the world trips.

I guess you can say I collected a lot of experiences in my time. One day, my son who was a substitute teacher in Culver City questioned me and asked me what I was going to do with my experiences.

It was at that point that I decided that I wanted to share my experiences and what better way to do that than become a substitute teacher.

I loved being a substitute teacher. As a substitute teacher I have developed a wider perspective in the fact that I have taught K-12.

I have seen the problems that the school is facing over the past two years and I think that with my experiences I can solve them.

As a School Board member, I will bring innovative problem solving solutions to the budget crisis that threatens the viability of our school system.

I will initiate programs and policies that will make Culver City the best school district in the state. It is a fact that a superior school system increases property values.