Candidate for
Board Member; Rancho Santa Fe School District

Family - I have been married to my wife, Aileen, for 18 years. My son Alan attended Roger Rowe School from Kindergarten through 8th grade and now attends Canyon Crest Academy. My other three children, Shea, 8th grade, Kate, 7th grade, and Jamie, 4th grade, have attended our school since Kindergarten.

My family has had a history of commitment to public education. My paternal grandmother taught first grade for 41 years and my maternal grandmother taught high school for over 20 years. My father, Dr. Robert T Cheatham, spent 43 years as a teacher and administrator in the LA Unified School District. My mother, Jane Cheatham, taught music at North Hollywood High for many years. My wife taught French and Spanish at the San Dieguito Unified High School District. My mother-in-law, Riti DiAngeli is a School Psychologist with the San Diego Unified School District. This family commitment to Public Education has been deeply ingrained into me and I feel a sincere obligation to public education and the Rancho Santa Fe School District.

Business - I am currently President of EOS International, a Carlsbad software company that develops information management software. We help organizations, many of them school districts, manage their school libraries. For over ten years, I served as its Chief Financial Officer, so I have a strong financial background with which to help the School District. Having an entrepreneurial spirit, one of my core beliefs is that success comes from loving what you do. Let's teach our kids that loving to learn will make them successful in life.

Home - I have lived in the Rancho Santa Fe School District since 1994. The reason we moved into the school district was because of its fine reputation for quality education. I have always believed that our school district was the foundation that unified our community. Despite recent friction brought on by the two failed school bonds, I believe that we can again find that unity. Our School Board must lead the way toward that reunification.

Community Service - Between 1997 and 2003 I served on San Diego County's Regional Economic Task Force (RETF), which was formed to assist the county in understanding the needs and requirements of different business sectors within the county. Additionally, I served as regular organist at the Rancho Santa Fe Christian Science Church for a number of years, as well as substitute organist in other churches in San Diego County, San Francisco and Los Angeles. I have been an annual member of the Rancho Santa Fe School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), as well as a contributor to the school's Endowment. During the summer of 2006, I served as a volunteer on the Superintendent's Advisory Forum (SAF), a group of concerned citizens providing community feedback to the district on issues such as overcrowding and safety.