Candidate for
Board Member; Ramona Unified School District

During my tenure of office, Ramona schools have earned County, State and National recognition for safety, excellence and financial stability. I will continue to ensure that Ramona Unified School District provides a choice of many programs and school options for all students and families and maintains academic excellence."

Issues and Goals:

Choice: I will ensure that Ramona Unified continues to provide a choice of many programs and school options for all students and families. I was instrumental in the development of Ramona Community School and a teacher at that site at one time. Ramona Community is composed of two unique programs, the Montessori Academy (K-9) and Mountain Valley Academy, home study program (K-12). This year we expanded the Montessori program to 9th grade and moved Ramona Community to a beautiful new campus to provide expanded learning opportunities for Ramona students.

Student Achievement: I will ensure that we maintain our rigorous standards, ongoing student assessment, staff accountability and continuous staff training in order to maximize student learning. Recently, we adopted a full-day Kindergarten program, a new student assessment program (MAP) and embarked on a partnership with San Diego State University to provide training in math instructional techniques to 4th, 5th and 6th grade teachers in order to improve instruction and increase student learning. We will continue to seek out new programs and methods to enhance learning in our schools and prepare our students to be successful adults and productive citizens.

Facilities: Through careful planning, we have built two new schools, replaced aging portables and modernized older facilities at a cost far below the going rate without touching the general fund. I will continue to ensure that we use tax dollars wisely and that all students are provided with a safe, clean, modern learning environment.

Fiscal stability: During my three terms in office, we have developed strong fiscal policies and streamlined administrative costs to provide more money for direct student services. We maintained programs for students throughout a state budget crisis. Experienced School Board leadership and careful monitoring of expenditures will always be needed to ensure financial stability.