Safely Reopen our Schools: In this current climate it’s more important than ever to have leaders with public health knowledge to help our schools move forward with a plan that will be safe and effective for our students. I hold my Master’s Degree in Public Health from SDSU and as a health educator with 25 years of experience in San Diego I will strongly support health initiatives in our schools including enhanced resources for nurses, counselors, adequate PPE supplies as well as increased custodial staff to ensure daily cleaning of classrooms. I am the only candidate in this race with the extensive background in the public health field.

Achieve Quality Schools in EVERY Neighborhood: I believe that ALL kids deserve a quality education from their neighborhood school regardless of where they live in our district. The Board’s Vision 2020 calls for strong schools in every neighborhood. While they have made some progress, we still have a long way to go to reach their stated goal of “zip code doesn’t matter” for student achievement. It shouldn’t, but it still does. My daughters had a great experience in Mira Mesa schools and I want all students across the city to have an equally great education opportunity. We need to hold ALL of our schools accountable.  Many families are still choosing to send their children to schools that are not in their communities. Our schools are not just learning institutions, they are the center of our local community and students shouldn’t have to go elsewhere to receive a quality education.

Completely Reform our Public School Funding System: We need to completely reform the funding system for public education in California so that we have stability in our schools and are not constantly in a financial crisis mode. While billionaires in California have avoided paying their fair share of taxes, our schools have some of the most crowded classrooms in the country. At this same time, our local communities, particularly those of black and brown students, are struggling to respond to the COVID-19 epidemic. Having more money does not guarantee success. But being in the Bottom Ten of states for per pupil funding of public schools when our constitution calls for us to be in the Top Ten is not okay. We have seen many pockets of success, but the district cannot take these programs to scale without full and fair funding. I strongly support the Schools and Communities First Initiative on the November 2020 ballot that will help towards this issue but it is not a complete answer. I plan to be a strong parent voice in this movement by working with a coalition of the 10 largest California urban school districts to include school board, community stakeholders, administrative staff, unions and PTA/parent volunteers to take our message to the state.