Candidate for
Board Member; West Contra Costa Unified School District

Charles Ramsey WEST CONTRA COSTA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES

"I won't be satisfied until every child in every school is getting a top quality education."

-- Charles Ramsey

Charles' mother, an active community leader and U.C. Berkeley graduate, and his father, a retired Alameda County Superior Court Judge, taught Charles and his three brothers and three sisters that education is the path to success and that real success is measured by what you give back to the community.

A lifelong East Bay native, Charles graduated from Berkeley public schools and went on to earn degrees from U.C.L.A. and Hastings School of Law. Today he is a family law and housing attorney who practices law in the Bay Area. Charles and his wife, Donna, have two children, Adrianne, 11, and Monica, 9, and live in El Cerrito.

Charles was first elected to the West Contra Costa Unified School Board in 1993 and re-elected in 1997 and
2002.

While there is still much more to be done, Charles has helped move our schools in the right direction by:

• Adopting tougher academic standards and making student achievement our #1 priority + the

result is improved test scores at all elementary schools

• Balancing the District's budget + with no program cuts and no teacher layoffs
• Tackling the issue of school safety head-on, restructuring programs and putting more officers on

campus

• Reducing class sizes
• Helping to pass $400 million in bond measures, allowing us to rebuild 17 elementary schools and

start work on two high schools and two middle schools

• Initiating the "Ivy League Connection" program, allowing district high school students to experience

life on campus at some of the country's top universities

A long time community leader and volunteer, Charles has been active in a wide variety of groups and organizations, including:

• Board of Directors, Planned Parenthood + Shasta-Diablo Chapter (1994-2000)
• Board of Directors, Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (B.O.S.S.) (1999-2001)
• Richmond Planning Commission (1992-93)
• Founder and President, Teenage Opportunity Program (1993-2000)
• Volunteer, El Cerrito High School Archiving Project
• Former Member, Richmond Rotary Club
• Former political education chair, NIAGARA Movement Democratic Club + Oakland Chapter
• Board of Directors, NAACP + Richmond branch, (1993-94)
• Board of Directors, Masquer's Playhouse, Richmond, (1991)

Charles Ramsey... Fighting for Our Kids