Candidate for
Member, Board of Trustees; Cabrillo Unified School District

I have lived on the Coastside for over 30 years now, having graduated from Half Moon Bay High School in 1981. I attended three different Cabrillo schools while growing up here and now have my own three children enrolled in Cabrillo schools. My son,13, and daughter,11, both attend Cunha Intermediate School and my other daughter,9, attends El Granada Elementary.

I have worked closely within the school district on various projects, in classrooms and on committees. I participated in two District Task Force committees, one of which performed a re-assessment of Cabrillo school enrollment boundaries and the other which evaluated the need and amounts of homework assigned within the District. I served five years on the El Granada School Site Council where I helped facilitate the implementation of the Dual Language Program and Teacher Support Days. Also, at El Granada School, I wrote a grant for the library which received $500 for the purchase of new books and materials. I participated in the Program Quality Review Evaluation with the Principal and several teachers from El Granada School and attended a special Leadership Training with other parents and teachers from the School Site Council. Both of these programs were offered and held at the San Mateo County Office of Education.

Above all though, my most important contributions have been in the classrooms with more than 10 years aiding teachers, going on fieldtrips, donating classroom supplies and being the publisher and editor of the El Granada School Yearbook.

Before my own children were in school, I ran a licensed, family-daycare home so that I could work while continuing to stay at home with my own children. As soon as my children were of school age, I went back to college part-time and earned my BA in Political Science from Cal State Hayward with an option in Public Administration and a minor in Business. I am currently working on my Master's Degree in Public Administration and have only 3 courses left to complete. I am now working part-time for the former Lt. Governor of the State of California, the Honorable Leo T. McCarthy. He has encouraged and endorsed my candidacy for the Cabrillo Unified School District and has been a kind and knowledgeable advisor.

My motivation for running for a seat on the Cabrillo Unified School District comes out of my past experiences with, and observations of, several of the current Board members and their lack of genuine concern and response to the people they were elected to represent. I believe that school board members should be directly accountable to the people who elected them by making themselves accessible to and providing a voice for all the members of the community. This must include even those residents without children in the District as they are still taxpaying citizens who deserve fair and equitable representation. In addition,I beleive the Hispanic population has historically been excluded from the political process in this district and deserve to also have a fair and equitable voice in order to express the needs of their children. I will not only inquire, but solicite input, listen attentively and then establish policy that will improve the educational opportunities for ALL the children of this district. Please vote for me on November 7th!