Note: this post will be periodically updated! (10/14/2024). New endorsements and interesting bits of information are being added all the time!

VOTER GUIDE QUICK LINKS: Home page
- PRESIDENT: Here
- FEDERAL: Senators, Representatives,
- STATE: Senators, Assemblymembers
- LOCAL: City Officials, School Boards, Conejo School Board, Special Districts
- PROPOSITIONS: School Bonds, Local Measures, State Propositions
- ONE ISSUE VOTING: Health care
- PROJECT 2025 CHAPTERS: Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Housing, Immigrants, Media Agencies, Dept. of State, Resources

V.C. Board of Education: Area 3, Area 5, V.C. Community College District: Area 3, Area 4 Local Schools: Conejo Valley, El Tejon, Fillmore, Hueneme, Las Virgenes, Mesa, Moorpark, Mupu, Oak Park, Ocean View, Ojai, Oxnard, Pleasant Valley, Rio, Santa Paula, Simi Valley: Area A, Area B, Area C, Somis, Ventura, Resources.

WARNING! DON’T SKIP OVER THIS “DOWN-BALLOT” SECTION ON SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS! THIS IS WHERE BOOK BANNING, ENFORCED PRAYER, LGBTQ SHAMING, AND THE WHITE SUPREMACIST REVISIONISM OF OUR HISTORY – THE MARKS OF THE GOP’S SLIDE INTO FASCISM, IS SEEPING INTO AMERICA’S SECULAR PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM AND HARMING KIDS!

What is the point of public schools and why you should elect people who will defend them?

“Public schools are more than physical structures. They are the manifestation of our civic values and ideals: the ideal that education is so important for individuals and for society that a free education must be available to all. That all young people should have opportunities to prepare for life, college, career, and citizenship. That, in a pluralistic society such as the United States, people with different beliefs and backgrounds must learn to bridge differences. And that, as the founders believed, an educated citizenry is essential to protect our democracy from demagogues.

Thomas Jefferson argued that general education was necessary to “enable every man to judge for himself what will secure or endanger his freedom.” Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The real safeguard of democracy … is education.”And Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in accepting the United Federation of Teachers’ John Dewey Award, made clear: ‘Education is the road to equality and citizenship.'”

“Choosing education is a very good decision, not only good for the student, but also for our country. The United States was the first nation in history to recognize that public education for every citizen, regardless of class or station, was vital to its future.” – Mitt Romney

(networkforpubliceducation.org) “If you allow parents to start to opt out, particularly parents of means, then you’re going to end up with pauper schools. You’re going to end up with schools where the public option becomes a charity model. And if you look around at certain parts of the world, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere, you’ll find that families that are middle-class or above basically opt out of the public system. As a result, the public system cannot rival these private schools. And it seems weird to me that people want to import that model to the US, where we have such a robust public system.“

How our school board guide works – CHECK THE ENDORSEMENTS!

Along with our normal attention to the endorsements of those we respect, we will note candidates who appear to be part of the eco-system of Project 2025 or who are endorsed by extremist groups such as Move the Needle and Free Ventura who support various parts of this manifesto, which includes public-school-killing voucher systems, the removal of sex education, the shoehorning of religion into schools, book banning and educational censorship, bigotry, xenophobia, anti-science, and virulent anti-LGBTQ viewpoints.

School District Races – Community College/County/Local

Ventura County Board of Education

Ventura County Board of Education – Area 3

RICHARD C. LUCAS III

WINNER

Age:
City of residence: Camarillo
Occupation: Father/Operating Engineer
Education: Ventura County (AA)
Funding:
Endorsements: here
Website: richard4vcoe.com

BRANDON TRUSCOTT

Age:
City of residence:
Occupation: Father
Education:
Funding:
Endorsements:
Website:

Ventura County Board of Education – Area 5

WINNER

Ventura County Community College District

Ugh! These two races!

Community College Board of Trustees – Area 3

Area 3: He said, She said, He said
This race is between two Democrats. The incumbent, Stan Mantooth, is a much respected and heavily-endorsed elder of the community. His competitor, Justin Marshall, is a young man with what looks like zero backing and experience.

The wrench is that Stan had a spot of trouble last year and Justin has put a spotlight on it in his own Medium article, in which he references local coverage. (VCStar) “Stan Mantooth was named alongside Luis Sanchez in a complaint alleging sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation. Trustees voted Tuesday to approve a pair of $50,000 settlements between the Ventura County Community College District and two former employees.”

(VC Star) Community college trustee, fired Oxnard College president named in state complaint
(VC Star) Ventura County community colleges settle misconduct claims against trustee, former president

Stan, a former county superintendent of schools, was recused from the case and he has not been sanctioned or disciplined as a result of the complaint.

With this slight bit of information, it’s up to us to make up our minds. He is endorsed by people we very much respect, including our county’s district attorney, Eric Nasarenko, and by both men and women well-placed in the school eco-system to have a clearer vision of what occurred in 2023.

JUSTIN MARSHALL

Age: 36
City of residence: Ventura
Occupation: Graphics Programmer
Education: Community College student
Funding:
Endorsements:
Website: votejustinmarshall.com

(V.C. Voter Guide) “Hi, I’m Justin Marshall, a 36 year-old, born in Ventura County. In my fifteen-year career, I have developed advanced Al, neural networks, and advanced computer graphics techniques. I specialize in next-generation technology and next-generation pipeline development. My experience working on numerous high-budget technology projects, has provided me with the skills necessary to make a positive impact on our community colleges.

As a technical leader I have hired and managed teams on numerous high-profile projects, giving me deep insight into what employers seek in college graduates. My goal is to bring cutting-edge technological advancements to our community colleges, ensuring students have access to the tools and knowledge needed to succeed in a rapidly evolving job market or to transfer to a four-year institution with the skills required to excel. With my expertise in developing innovative technologies, I am equipped to bring our education system into the future.

I understand the evolving demands of today’s job market. I am committed to fostering an inclusive, forward-thinking environment where everyone thrives and reaches their full potential. I will work tirelessly to enhance education for everyone, integrating Al and maintaining an open-door policy to ensure all can join the workforce of tomorrow.”

STAN MANTOOTH

WINNER

Age: 73
City of residence: Camarillo
Occupation: Community College Trustee
Education: California State University Northridge (BA), Pepperdine (MA)
Funding:
Endorsements: https://www.stanmantooth.com/endorsements
Website: https://www.stanmantooth.com

(V.C. Voter Guide) “Occupation: Ventura County Community College District Trustee (Area3)

As your Community College Trustee for the past 4 years, I am ASKING FOR YOUR SUPPORT to continue addressing these goals:

Empowering high school students to “dual enroll” and succeed in college
Providing enhanced services to military veterans returning to school – Supporting our Teachers and Staff
Eliminating barriers holding back students, particularly those first in their families
Ensuring the financial stability of the District and safeguard taxpayer dollars
Partnering with Community groups to make students more successful EXPERIENCE / COMMUNITY SERVICE: – Associates, Bachelors and Masters degrees
California Teaching and Administrative credentials – Adjunct professor at CSU Northridge and Channel Islands – Past Ventura County Superintendent of Schools (12 years)
First 5 Ventura County board member
Ventura County Community Foundation board member
California Veterans Caucus board member

ENDORSEMENTS (partial list): Cesar Morales, Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Christine Schieferle, Fillmore Unified School District Superintendent Richard Rush, California State University Channel Islands President Emeritus Mark Lisagor, Ventura County Board of Education

Our Community Colleges are vital to Ventura County’s future. I have devoted my entire career to public education and I have the EXPERIENCE and INTEGRITY to build a better system.

I respectfully ask for your vote!”

Community College Board of Trustees – Area 4

Area 4: This is a race where we must face the harsh realities of politics!
The incumbent, Bernard Perez, is also a much respected and heavily-endorsed elder of the community with the reputation of being able to work across the aisles, according to the Anonymous Mommy endorsement, which we have included below.

His Democratic competitor, Ruth Luevanos, is younger, with more progressive backing. “A mother, a wife, a teacher, a union leader, an activist, a law school graduate, a scout troop leader, and the first Latina ever elected to the Simi Valley City Council,” and she served on that board from 2018-2022.

However, this race is not just between two Democrats. It also includes a truly awful GOP candidate, Joe Piechowski. Joe went to war against Luevanos over her recording a video in her City Hall office advising immigrants of their LEGAL RIGHTS prior to recent ICE raids. He even created a recall campaign that inspired death threats against her, because the KKK is always with us. It was finally suspended for lack of ~~interest~~ signatures. She, in turn, accused him of being a White supremacist, which made him and his ultra-conservative friends very sad.

Anyway, now we have a conundrum. We love both the Democrats, but Piechowski must be thrilled that he’s going to take over this seat over a split vote. We need to stick together.

We respect Anonymous Mommy’s endorsement. Check out the endorsements and make your own peace with this.

2024 LWV V.C. Candidate Forum: V.C. Community College District Area 4

Watch video here: https://youtu.be/b95I3g7GmvI?si=fS7eIj9rlgInI4NA
Read: (Moorpark Acorn) College district board hopefuls share views – Perez fending off two challengers in District 4 race

RUTH LUEVANOS

Age: 50
City of residence: Simi Valley
Occupation: Teacher
Education: George Washington (BS), Loyola Law (JD)
Funding:
Endorsements: here (scroll down)
Website: ruth4vcccdtrustee.com

BERNARDO PEREZ

Age: 72
City of residence: Moorpark
Occupation: Community College Trustee, Former Moorpark Mayor
Education:
Funding:
Endorsements: VC Dems
Website: https://votebernardoperez.com

“Moorpark College was judged to be #4 out of 1200+ community colleges nationwide by the Aspen Institute’s most recent College Excellence Program.

Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura Colleges are now judged to be in the Top 20 while Moorpark College is the only California community college rated in the Top 10, advancing to the final competition once again.

All three colleges offer four-year applied baccalaureate degree programs.

Oxnard College Fire Academy is a Bellwether Award Winner. Its Dental Hygiene Program is a Bellwether Award Finalist. Its students have a 99.99% pass rate on national and board exams.

Oxnard College is one of only four California colleges chosen for the Ford Automotive Career Exploration Program. Ventura and Moorpark College Nursing Program students have a greater than 95% pass rate on their NCLEX Certification exam.

Moorpark College Radiologic Technology students have over 97% pass rate on their JRCERT Certification Exam.

Our colleges transform lives by creating hope and opportunity. I am proud of my local and statewide leadership role in supporting our community colleges meet the educational and career pathways of our students. With your support and your vote, I would like to continue serving our students. Thank you for your consideration.“

JOE PIECHOWSKI

WINNER

Age: 52
City of residence: Simi Valley
Occupation: Business Owner/Editor, Executive Director – Ventura County Republican Party
Education: UCLA (BA), Cal State U Channel Islands (MBA)
Funding:
Endorsements: here
Website: voteforjoep.com

Joe had a problem with Ruth telling people what their legal rights were.

Joe vehemently objected to a video that Simi Valley Councilwoman Ruth Luevanos made in her City Hall office in 2019 advising immigrants of their legal rights prior to raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He even started an unsuccessful recall campaign over her audacity to help immigrants.

She is calling him out as a white supremacist. “He promotes white supremacy by using coded language on a number of social media platforms,” Luevanos said. “Every time he disparages the San Fernando Valley, it is coded language for saying that he does not like brown people.

“If we really care about eradicating white supremacy in this city … then we cannot appoint someone who is as divisive as Mr. Piechowski,” said Luevanos, the first Latina elected to the Simi Valley City Council…

…Luevanos said another reason Piechowski shouldn’t be appointed is that on social media he’s “constantly attacking anyone who’s not on his end of the political spectrum.”

And thus, he’s demonstrated he has an “inability to listen respectfully to anyone” with different political views, she said. Yet the executive board position requires “you to represent everyone,” she said.“

What Joe believes:

JOE: Our Community College District should be preparing students for the jobs which will be available in our county, not awarding nonsense degrees which leave them unemployable, like you see at the most colleges and universities nationwide.
- US: Joe got his degree in “Political Science” from UCLA. Maybe no one told him that Poli Sci, like other non-STEM majors, is considered by many to be a”nonsense degree.” According to his bio though, he still did OK!
JOE: Our Community College District should be offering as many dual enrollment classes to Ventura County high school students as possible to help them get a head start on college.
- US: This is already happening without his kind assistance!
JOE: Our Community College District should be putting more money into the classroom, not into a bloated educational bureaucracy that already has 42 administrators for just three college campuses.
- US: We particularly love the right-wing’s tendency that focus on EXACT numbers, (like all the election deniers make). Here, Joe fails to point out EXACTLY which of those 42 jobs he feel are superfluous, and why.
  - BTW, the district’s 2023 enrollment of 30,000 students is served by approximately 1,200 full- and part-time faculty, 450 full- and part-time classified staff and 90 manager/supervisors working across their three college campuses and the District Administrative Center (DAC).
JOE: Our Community Colleges campuses should be places where our students are safe from criminals, predators and other campus violence.
- US: Way to dog whistle and fearmonger, Joe!!! Here are some crime statistics for our community colleges: Ventura College had one criminal offense in 2022, Oxnard College had five, and Moorpark College had zero. Each campus ALREADY HAS A POLICE STATION, staffed with sworn and non-sworn employees. EXACTLY what measures is JOE proposing to stop this obvious crimewave?

Local School Boards, alphabetical by city name.

Conejo Valley School Board Races!!!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THESE DRAMA-FILLED RACES! This is not our circus and not our monkeys, but these two races with hard-right candidates are so interesting, we had to give them their own page.

El Tejon

El Tejon Unified School District – Area 1

WINNER

Fillmore

Fillmore Unified School District – Trustee, Area 3

OLIVIA PALACIO

WINNER

Age:
City of residence: Fillmore
Occupation: Governing Board Member, Fillmore USD
Education: U of Laverne (MA)
Funding:
Endorsements:
Website:

Olivia Palacio and Tricia Gradias (Area 4 below) were both both recognized for their service as trustees for the Fillmore Unified School District. We see no over-riding need to replace members who are doing their job well.

BRANDY HOLLIS

Age:
City of residence: Fillmore
Occupation: Parent/Program Director
Education:
Funding:
Endorsements: here
Website: instagram.com/hollis_4_fusd3/

Fillmore Unified School District – Trustee, Area 4

TRICIA GRADIAS

WINNER

Age:
City of residence: Fillmore
Occupation: Trustee, Fillmore USD
Education: Cal State Northridge (M.A. ED)
Funding:
Endorsements: here (scroll down)
Website: triciagradias4schoolboard.org

From what we can see, Tricia is an experienced incumbent, along with kick-ass credentials, and solid endorsements to continue as Trustee 4. Plus, her competitor, Andy, was endorsed by Free Ventura, a group strongly associated with Rob McCoy’s Godspeak Church.

ANDY KLITTICH

Age:
City of residence: Fillmore
Occupation: Parent/Nurseryman
Education: Cal Poly (degree?)
Funding:
Endorsements: VC GOP,
Website: instagram.com/andyklittich_4fusd_area_4

Hueneme

Hueneme School District – Area 2

WINNER

Hueneme School District – Area 4

WINNER

Las Virgenes

Las Virgenes Unified School District (Vote for 2)

ALAN LAZAR

WINNER

Business Owner/Parent
https://www.votealanlazarlvusd.com/

(V.C. Voter Guide) “Background – Music publishing executive, founded and sold business to Hollywood studio.

Currently manage a music catalog for a global company.
Fulbright scholar. – Author and award-winning composer.
USC graduate.
Active member of industry boards and Television and Recording Academies.

My children attend LVUSD schools (4th and 8th grade). I will bring fresh ideas for a new generation of parents to the Board. I serve on the Measure S Oversight and LCAP Committees and was an elementary Site Council chair for six years, understanding our schools’ strengths and challenges.

Goals

Educational Excellence: Support teachers and effective curriculum choices to improve test scores.
Address Smartphone and Social Media Addiction.
Safety: Focus on school safety, collaborating with Sheriff.
Fiscal Responsibility: Use business experience for careful budgeting and minimizing class sizes.
Expand STEM, Arts and Music programs.

I understand AI’s impact. I believe in kindness and community, ensuring every child feels safe and welcome. I ask for your vote to join the LVUSD Board of Education!“

LINDA MENGES

WINNER

Incumbent
Website: www.votelindamenges.com

(V.C. Voter Guide) “I am proud of the work I have done for the past nine years as an elected member of the Las Virgenes School Board. I want to continue the work of improving Las Virgenes Schools and I am excited to continue to support the initiatives of the board and district. I remain a fiscal conservative and this perspective is even more important now with the uncertain nature of the states funding for public schools. I am a great listener, and a levelheaded voice when representing LVUSD. Being able to collaborate with teachers and all stakeholders to find common ground where we can keep improving the educational opportunities for our students and the work environment for all LVUSD employees is especially important to me.

In my role on the board, I have tried to keep and expand good relations with our cities, agencies, and legislators. My knowledge of the district and its varied programs has grown immensely during my years on the board. I can remain objective and fair in my school board votes. I would be honored to have your support.”

LESLI KRAUT

Occupation: CFO/Business Owner
Endorsements: https://www.leslikrautforlvusd.com/view-endorsements
Website: https://www.leslikrautforlvusd.com

(V.C. Voter Guide) “My name is Lesli Kraut and I have volunteered with Las Virgenes Unified School District as a PFC President, Treasurer, measure oversight committee member and founder of a non-profit representing parents across California. I am now running for a position on the LVUSD Board.

In my current position, I am the V.P./CFO for an engineering firm specializing in building systems. Prior to that, I had a 15-year career in banking that led me to ultimately assume the role of Vice President where I specialized in Entertainment Contract lending.

I see a need for better communication between the school district and the cities it serves. I am uniquely qualified to bridge the gap between our schools, students, parents, and community. I will work with our cities to build and maintain support for school programs, including PFC/PFA grants, crossing guards and libraries.

The effect of the pandemic created a real societal shift in education. We need openminded and thoughtful leaders willing to listen to students, teachers and parents. Please vote for me and allow me to serve you as your informed and experienced voice at LVUSD.”

Franny Baldwin	Marty Fadaei Mortgage Marketing consultant	Liz Cangelosi Past Co-President Agoura High School PFC	Shelly Hiskey Parent
Katie Wohn Sr. Appellate Attorney (ret.); owner & lead designer: Untamed Floral Design, llc	Brad Cohan Parent, Agoura Hills	Laurel Bernt Past Co-President Lindero Canyon MS and Willow Elementary PFC	Tien Campion Past AHS PFC Fundraising Co-Chair
Carolyn Coradeschi Past Lupin Hill PFC Green Team Committee	Robin Felton Past Lupin Hill PFC Fundraising Committee	Michelle Finkelstein Past Agoura High Theatre Arts Booster V.P.	Jenn Kurtz President Elect Agoura High PFC, Past President Sumac PFC
Bonnie Lathom-Lyon Past Communications V.P. Agoura High PFC, Green Team Chair Lupin Hill PFC	Janet Lietsch Past Depositing Treasurer Agoura High PFC	Erin Mayer Past Co-President AE Wright PFC, Music Booster Chair Agoura High PFC	Debby Pattiz Past President Sumac PFC, Past Recording Secretary Agoura High PFC
Karin Pofsky Past Carnival and Golf Tournament Chair, Lupin Hill PFC	Martha Fritz Past Chairs Lupin Hill Green Team and Calabasas Planning Commission	Julee Gould Past PFC President: Calabasas HS, AC Stelle MS and Round Meadow Elementary	Kim Hamilton Past President Lupin Hill PFC and Agoura High PFC, Past School Site Council Lupin Hill and Agoura High, Past LVUSD Measure G Oversight Committee and Environmental Stewardship Committee
Tami Hathaway Past Co-President AE Wright PFC and Depositing Treasurer Agoura High PFC	Susan Kindelt Past Treasurer Agoura High PFC	Julie King Past Board Member, Agoura High Music Boosters and Para Educator, YB Elementary	Melinda Portaro Past Environmental Stewardship Committee LVUSD, Dance Committee ChairLupin Hill PFC
Tracy Steinhauer Past Committee Member Bay Laurel, A.C Stelle & Calabasas High PFC, Library Volunteer AC Stelle & Calabasas High	Melanie Turquand Past Volunteer Coordinator, Communication V P Lupin Hill PFC, School Site Council Lupin Hill	Rachel Werner Past Chair Measure K and Measure E Campaign – LVUSD

Mesa

Mesa Union School District – Trustee Area 4

WINNER

Mesa Union School District – Trustee Area 5

WINNER

Moorpark

Moorpark Unified School District – Area 2

2024 LWV V.C. Candidate Forum: Moorpark Unified School District Area 2

**Watch:** https://youtu.be/WyAZ39afkV4?si=h0t9EEeu3_zHAoJw

~~CALVIN ABBASI~~ (He is still on the ballot, but he has dropped out and endorsed Dan Burchfield)

Occupation: Father/Coach/Educator
Website: no longer functional

SCOTT DETTORRE

Occupation: Incumbent
Website: https://scottdettorremusd.com

DAN BURCHFIELD

WINNER

Occupation: Retired Teacher
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/people/Elect-Dan-Burchfield-Moorpark-School-Board-Area-2-2024/61556660695835/
Website: https://burchfieldforschoolboard.com

Moorpark Unified School District – Area 4

WINNER

Moorpark Unified School District – Area 5

WINNER

Mupu

Mupu School District – Trustee Area 1

WINNER

Oak Park

Oak Park Unified School District – (Vote for 2)

Three candidates with solid endorsements, along with one incumbent.

MARY PALLANT

WINNER

Business Owner/Parent

APRYLLE BECK

Mother/Staffing Manager

DENISE HELFSTEIN

WINNER

Incumbent

Ocean View

Ocean View School District

WINNER

Ocean View School District, Short Term

WINNER

Ojai

Ojai Unified School District – Area 2

WINNER

Ojai Unified School District – Area 4

WINNER

Oxnard

WINNER

Oxnard Union High School District – Trustee Area 1

Oxnard Union High School District – Trustee Area 5

WINNER

MARI ESTRADA

Occupation: Educator
Website: https://www.mariestrada4ouhsd.com/home.html

(V.C. Voter Guide) “Hello, I am Dr. Mari Estrada, I am running for Oxnard Union High School District (OUHSD) Board of Trustees for District 5. This district encompasses Adolfo Camarillo High School and Rancho Campana in Camarillo. My husband is a community college administrator and we are dedicated to public education. Our two children are Camarillo High School graduates.

With over a decade of experience as faculty and overseeing multiple projects for the California State University and California Community Colleges, I bring a comprehensive understanding of the educational pathway from preschool through college. I believe our district should provide competitive wages, professional development, and tools for providing high-quality and engaging instruction to prepare students for jobs, college readiness and overall success in life. We must provide safe and supportive spaces on campuses by partnering with families and our community.

I am proud to have received endorsements from the Oxnard Federation of Teachers and School Employees and the Central Labor Council. I hope I can count on your support and look forward to the opportunity to represent our common goals and values.“

DIRK Z. LAY

Age: 65
Occupation: Retired Naval Aviator/Sales and account manager (2022)
Education:
Endorsements: https://www.dirk4school.com/view-endorsements
Website: https://www.dirk4school.com

This guy is a far-right agitator who has no business on a school board where he can cause harm to students.

In the fight for control of the Ventura County Republican Central Committee, Dirk Lay wanted people to know that he’s in with the far-right. “Donald Trump is part of the dividing line,” Lay said from his home in Camarillo. “I would say that the reform candidates, by and large, we are much more supportive of Donald Trump than the incumbent establishment.”

What does his support for Trump mean if he were to become a school board member?

This means that Dirk is onboard with Trump’s plans to dismantle the Department of Education and pull funding from public schools that teach certain subjects.

(abc7news.com) Interviewer Brian Kilmeade asked Trump “Let’s say you have a liberal city, like Los Angeles or San Diego, and they just decide that ‘we’re going to get rid of that history. We have new history. This is America, built off the backs of slaves and on stolen land.’ And that curriculum comes in.”

“Then we don’t send them money,” Trump responded.

Trump went on to say states like California would have to be watched and “if they want to get cute, you don’t send them the money.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom responded in a post on X, saying Trump is unhinged and unfit to be president if he wants to take away nearly $8 billion in school funding for California kids.

If Trump wins, Dirk will support Project 2025’s oppressive education goals, including voucher-izing our public schools out of existence, and erasing any recognition of LGBTQ students. In the meantime, these types of school board members will try to gut the comprehensive sex education programs that keeps our kids safe. (See pgs. 62 and 477 of Project 2025). Here’s a preview of the GOP’s proposed already-proven-to-be-ineffective abstinance-only model being road-tested in Florida.

Even if Trump doesn’t win, Dirk will still be a toxic force on the board. His offensive opinions about social issues have been grafted to posts from the parody news site, the Babylon Bee – the right-wing’s answer to the Onion, which features fake or irrelevant images and absurd headlines. Here’s a little dose of Dirk’s misogyny. Hilarious, Dirk!

Here’s him clearly demonstrating both his democacy-killing Christian nationalism and lack of research skills with a FAKE quote from Patrick Henry.

And here he is demonstrating his toxic homophobia – minimizing the lives of the gay kids he’s supposed to be serving – WITHOUT the crutch of the Babylon Bee to confuse his meaning.

This guy is such an inappropriate choice for any school board, that we have removed our tentative approval from his endorser Rosemary Allison in her race for Santa Rosa Valley MAC.

Oxnard School District – Area 1

CYNTHIA SALAS

WINNER

Occupation: Community Schools Coordinator
Website: https://cynthia4schools.com

MARYANN RODRIGUEZ

Appointed Incumbent

Oxnard School District – Area 4

WINNER

Pleasant Valley

Pleasant Valley School District – Trustee Area 4

WINNER

Pleasant Valley School District – Trustee Area 5

WINNER

Rio

Rio School District – Trustee Area 2

WINNER

EMMANUEL MEJIA

Father/School Counselor

LORANE BAILON

Law Clerk

Rio School District – Trustee Area 5

WINNER

KRISTINE ANDERSON

Occupation: Governing Board Member, Rio School District
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristine-anderson-152271272/

JOSE “JOE” GARCIA

Business Manager/Coach

Santa Paula

Santa Paula School District – Area 2

Watch video here: https://youtu.be/JEGwavcT2HY?si=_EhtFmZtDMliy0VU

DANIEL SANDOVAL

WINNER

Occupation: University Instructor
Endorsements: https://www.sandoval4schoolboard.com/endorsements
Website: https://www.sandoval4schoolboard.com

ROBIN SIMON

Retired Educator

Santa Paula Unified School District – Area 4

WINNER

(CAUSE) “Nathan Ramos, a long-time Santa Paula resident and graduate of Santa Paula High School and CSUCI, is running for school board to enhance the SPUSD student experience. He aims to improve classroom infrastructure, implement ethnic studies, and boost bilingual and culturally relevant counseling. He also plans to address student burnout with more social and service programs. In interviews on August 27th, CAUSE Action adult and youth leaders praised Nathan for his well-prepared plans to improve mental health, climate resilience, parent engagement, and educational opportunities.”

Santa Paula Unified School District – Area 5

WINNER

Simi Valley

First – A word from Anonymous Mommy!

“Simi Valley Unified School District: with three seats up for election this year, it’s critical that voters vote informed for the Simi Valley School Board. In 2022, we were fortunate enough to have Kristina Pine step up and run in order to prevent a far-right backed candidate Dan Brodt from walking into the seat. But the work isn’t done … and this election could lead to board flip to a Republican-controlled school board (whose candidates boast endorsements from Rob McCoy, Kevin McNamee and Move the Needle (Tim McCarthy/freeway overpass protester dude)), soooooo:

TLDR: Please support —

Area A: Mike James
Area B: Kareem Jubran
Area C: Dr. Sofya Bagdasaryan

The above three are all backed by the entire current board as well as the Simi Educators Association.

THE FULLER BREAKDOWN.

Here’s the current board makeup:
- AREA A: Bob LaBelle
- AREA B: Kareem Jubran
- AREA C: Dr. Sofya Bagdasaryan
- AREA D: Kristina Pine
- AREA E: Dawn Smollen

AREAS A, B, and C are up this year for the election.

AREA A (Atherwood Elementary School, Big Springs Elementary School, Township Elementary School, Valley View Middle School)
- Bob LaBelle (Area A) is not re-running (he has termed out) … so this is an “open seat.” There are two folks running for this seat. Dorina Timbal and Mike James.
- Mike James is a current parent, very involved in his kids’ current and past schools, 3-time president of the Simi Education Foundation, etc. He is backed by Trustee Kristina Pine and every other current trustee of the SVUSD board.
- Dorina Timbol is the far-right Move the Needle (Tim McCarthy) backed candidate who is also endorsed by Kevin McNamee, among other Republicans and comes heavily funded. You can read between the lines with statements like: “As your advocate, I will ensure that the voices of parents are central in shaping educational policies that benefit every family.” There are several who have reached out to me expressing concern about this seat and the impact of facing a flip to a Republican-controlled board. I don’t know much about Dorina, but anyone backed by Kevin McNamee for a school board run has me running in the opposite direction. Plus, I heard she’s been pulling out of forums, which then renders Mike unable to participate as well.

Let’s get Mike James elected for Area A SVUSD: https://electmikejames.com/

AREA B (Arroyo Elementary School, Madera Elementary School, Monte Vista School*, Park View Elementary School, Royal High School, Sinaloa Middle School)
- Kareem Jubran (Area B) is re-running …
- and the challenger is the far-right Move the Needle (Tim McCarthy) backed candidate Sara Bjork Rosario. Sara lists Rob McCoy of Godspeak Calvary as one of her top endorsers … and interesting decision.

Let’s get Kareem Jubran re-elected to Area B SVUSD.

AREA C (Crestview Elementary School, Hillside Middle School, Hollow Hills Elementary School*, Mountain View Elementary School, Wood Ranch Elementary School)
- Dr. Sofya Bagdasaryan (Area C) is re-running.
- …and the challenger is far-right Move the Needle (Tim McCarthy) backed candidate Ron Resnick.
- I don’t know much about Ron, but his platform breakdown reads almost identical to Dorina’s, which is interesting. He doesn’t list any endorsements. The Tim McCarthy backing is enough for me to know there’s more behind the scenes.

Dr. Sofya is backed by Trustee Kristina Pine and every other current trustee of the SVUSD board, as well as Tim Gallagher, among others.” https://www.sofya4simischools.com/endorsements

ENDORSEMENTS ARE KEY!!!

The right-wing candidates who’ve been placed in each race like cuckoo bird eggs have been very careful with what they put in their website, not to invite any suspicion.

In fact, a little TOO CAREFUL! We discovered a little cut-and-paste action – Area A’s right-wing candidate – Dorina Timbol – has, with the exception of a few verbal flourishes, the EXACT same bland, dog-whistle-free statement in her website as Area C’s right-wing candidate – Ron Resnick.

They are deliberately trying to trick you! ALWAYS check out their endorsements – you can see that their’s include the creme of the Ventura County’s most right-wing proponents of killing public schools.

What their preferred schools will teach? Well, religion, of course. Whatever flavor of Christianity they choose. But they can also teach cock-eyed versions of science, that nazis were cool, while numbing critical thinking skills so necessary in the disinformation-rich soup we live in. All this, funded with your taxpayer dollars.

Simi Valley School District – Area A

MIKE JAMES

WINNER

Occupation: Father/Businessman/Designer
Endorsements: https://electmikejames.com/endorsements/
Website: https://electmikejames.com/

When you were a kid, did you know who the school trustees were? We didn’t. It says a lot about this guy that students wrote letters on his behalf, along with parents and teachers.

DORINA TIMBOL (See note in yellow box from Anonymous Mommy above))

Occupation: Executive Director
Endorsements/website: https://dorinatimbol.com

HARD-RIGHT CANDIDATE: We’ve been around Ventura long enough to recognize a grouping of the most hard-right of the right. And they are circling their wagons around this woman. You can’t tell that she’s hard-right from her website, which has been carefully swept of recognizable dogwhistles, (see the note above about how she shares a deliberately the bland policy statement with Area C’s Ron Resnick) but this is why studying endorsements is so important. Hers should be a bright red flag! They know their own.

Dorina shares a deceptively benign policy statement with Area C’s Ron Resnick – See yellow note above.

Simi Valley School District – Area B

KAREEM JUBRAN

WINNER

Age: 39
City of residence: Simi Valley
Occupation: Governing Board Member, Simi Valley Unified School District B
Education: UCLA (BS), USC (MS)
Funding:
Endorsements: entire current board as well as the Simi Educators Association
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TrusteeKareemJubran/

(Simivalleyacorn) “Recently, the Ventura County Republican Party claimed that Jubran was not eligible because he has already served two consecutive terms. But as of Aug. 13, the school district said that its position on Jubran’s eligibility had not changed and he is allowed to seek another term. See the Acorn’s previous story at https://www.simivalleyacorn.com/articles/gop-questions-incumbents-eligibility/”

The League of Women Voters should make a new rule – you don’t show up – your competitor gets to answer their questions on his/her/their own.

SARA BJORK ROSARIO

Occupation: Mother
Endorsements: https://electsararosario.com/endorsements/
Website: https://electsararosario.com

As Anonymous Mommy stated in the yellow box above, she was endorsed by Rob McCoy, the Pastor of Godspeak, along with the extremists over at Move the Needle.

Who is Rob McCoy? He’s the minister that put on a school-bashing event at his church, which he publicized with “are [you]“feeling trapped and frustrated (by) a progressive anti-God, anti-American pagan agenda” in public schools that are “indoctrinating your child.”

He is also a member of an advisory board of “Public School Exit” – “The mission of Public School Exit is to facilitate an exodus of American children and families from government-controlled education by educating the public and helping families. We are more than an organization, we are a movement.” Here’s a whole list of the things they hate – like learning accurate history, social emotional learning, comprehensive sex education (hey, we heard Nancy Van Volinburg go full-cringe- saying sex education is something you should learn outside of school – No worries! Look at her – she had 6 kids!) and removing the wall against openly religious teaching and obeying the “Great Commission.” They hate public schools for teaching “pseudo-science calculated to have them reject God and His Word, and to embrace secularism, evolutionary beliefs, and the man-made global-warming hypothesis.”

Hard pass on these forces that would destroy public schools!

Simi Valley School District – Area C

SOFYA BAGDASARYAN

Occupation: Incumbent, Mother and Educator
Endorsements: https://www.sofya4simischools.com/endorsements
Website: www.sofya4simischools.com/

RON “Simi’s-own-My-Pillow-conspiracist” RESNICK

WINNER

Occupation: Parent/Veterinarian/Businessman
Endorsements: here
Website: https://electdrron.com

Ron shares a deceptively benign policy statement with Area A’s Dorina Timbol – See yellow note above.

Time to get a new vet!

It is profoundly sad when a person who has had scientific training, a man who has dedicated his life to the service of caring for animals, has allowed fear to advance to paranoia. Clients who received this incoherent, rambling and fact-free letter in 2022 must have been both alarmed and concerned for his mental state.

That we are now in 2024, and he stands by this letter, proves that he is not fit to stand for public office, especially one involved in the instruction of schoolchildren. In this time of rampant internet disinformation, they need to be taught the critical thinking and media literacy skills necessary to discern fact from fiction. They deserve more than a leader who can’t do that himself.

We’ve included a link on common mail-in ballot myths. Ventura County runs a 100% PAPER-BALLOT election and that ALL ballots, mail-in ones and those you’d receive in a voting center, are exactly the same size. This is all easily provable.

We aren’t the only ones who’ve noticed Dr. Ron’s conspiracy theories

Published online

Somis

Somis Union School District – Trustee Area 2

WINNER

Ventura

Ventura Unified School District – Area 2

Watch here: https://youtu.be/LJwD_PRErh4?si=DeYWQMW-qDP267OK

SABRENA RODRIGUEZ

WINNER

Age: 54
City of residence: Ventura
Occupation: Ventura School Board President and Trustee – Area 2
Education: UC Irvine (BS), University of Kent (MA)
Funding:
Endorsements: here
Website: sabrena-rodriguez.com

(CAUSE) “Sabrena Rodriguez, currently serving on the Ventura Unified School District Board of Trustees, has enhanced student resources by expanding mental health services, introducing Art & Music programs, and creating two TK-8 schools. Her dedication to improving education aligns with CAUSE Action’s values, making her a strong candidate for VUSD Board of Trustee Area 2.”

JAMES MARKAS

Age: 37
City of residence: Ventura
Occupation: Cafe Owner/Father
Education:
Funding:
Endorsements: no endorsement page
Website: jamesmarkasforvusdboard.com

DAVID L. NORRDIN

Age: 65
City of residence: Ventura
Occupation: Retired Sales Clerk/Homophobe (see notes below)
Education: CSU Northridge (BA)
Funding:
Endorsements:
Website: no website?

VC Star: (Norrdin) is running on a campaign that opposes LGBTQ efforts, describing supporters as a “hate group.” They “are destroying our families,” he said.
- Norrdin did express support for Dreamers, undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. He said he opposes gun control.
KABY: I’m running on banning transgender from the girl’s locker room,” Norrdin said. “Transgender are mentally deranged. I will legally do everything possible to strip the LGBT of their rights, no gay marriage, no gay adoptions, nothing. I’m going to introduce the public health safety act of 2019, banning gay marriage and dissolving all gay marriages. I believe in amnesty for the DREAMers. I believe in automatic citizenship, no requirement.”

Ventura Unified School District – Area 3

SHANNON TRANI FREDERICKS

WINNER

Teacher/Mother

(CAUSE) “Shannon Fredericks, a teacher at Oxnard Elementary School District for 23 years and a parent of two, is running for School Board Trustee. She aims to enhance parent engagement, support struggling students, and expand on-site mental health resources. Shannon is also open to providing mental health services to parents. Her priorities include improving parent engagement, addressing housing insecurity, and supporting underserved youth to ensure student success and retention.“

VOTER GUIDE QUICK LINKS: Home page
- PRESIDENT: Here
- FEDERAL: Senators, Representatives,
- STATE: Senators, Assemblymembers
- LOCAL: City Officials, School Boards, Conejo School Board, Special Districts
- PROPOSITIONS: School Bonds, Local Measures, State Propositions
- ONE ISSUE VOTING: Health care

DISCLAIMER: ALTHOUGH THE DATA FOUND IN THIS BLOG/POST HAS BEEN PRODUCED AND PROCESSED FROM SOURCES BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE, NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED CAN BE MADE REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, LEGALITY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY SUCH INFORMATION. THIS DISCLAIMER APPLIES TO ANY USES OF THE INFORMATION WHETHER ISOLATED OR AGGREGATE USES THEREOF.

More fun resources! Articles, videos, even a cartoon!

Our point-by-point breakdown of Project 2025’s chapter on the Dept. of Education.

(indivisibleventura) Are you ready for a point-by-point breakdown of Project 2025’s chapter on the destruction of the Department of Education and our public school system? Wanna know who will be the winners raking in profits under a GOP regime, and who will be the losers? Gotta a cup of coffee? Click on the link!

Project 2025 vs. Public Schools

Here’s a short version of what the GOP’s Project 2025 will do to schools.

Want a more detailed version? Who really has the power of choice?

“Parental Rights/Family Core Values” or “Civic Values?”

…imagine an elementary school of 450 students where 15 parents oppose the teaching of evolution, 19 parents believe the earth is flat, 28 are Holocaust deniers, 22 oppose white children learning about slavery, 7 believe in racial segregation, 21 believe in the concept of a school without walls, 49 demand the use of corporal punishment, 18 want to ban Harry Potter books from the school library, 26 want to ban any books that mention the Trail of Tears, 62 believe that parents should be allowed to overrule a physician’s decision that a child with a concussion should refrain from participating in sports, 87 oppose keeping their kids out of school when they have the flu, 9 believe that a child with cancer might be contagious, 29 believe that kids who are vaccinated should be the ones who quarantine, 72 support “tracking” in all subject areas, 32 believe students should not be taught how to spell the word “isolation” and “quarantine” because they are too “scary of words,” 104 don’t like the school neighborhood boundaries, 38 don’t like the bus routes, 71 parents want a vegan-only lunchroom, 4 demand same-sex classrooms, 5 oppose textbooks and want their children only reading from the Bible, and it can go on and on. The vast majority of parents do not agree with any of these things, and yet, parental rights extremists would insist schools must accommodate them, even if they are completely false, undermine the purpose of education, threaten the safety of children, or promote discrimination.“

The Washington Post editorial board correctly argues: No question that parents should have a say in the education of their children, but individual parents can’t dictate that schools teach what they want. Allowing one parent — or a group of parents — to bully, threaten and intimidate school officials into their way of thinking is not what our democracy is about. And it is not what learning should be about.

Here is what the Republicans in Congress have already done.

House Appropriations Committee Republicans today released the draft fiscal year 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies funding bill, which will be considered in subcommittee tomorrow. The legislation is an assault on education and job training, abandons ongoing public health crises, and eliminates funding for reproductive health.

For 2025, the bill provides $198.4 billion, a cut of $24.6 billion – 11 percent – below 2024. The legislation:

Decimates support for children in K-12 elementary schools.
Harms women’s health by cutting programs that support maternal and child health, eliminating programs that provide access to health services and contraception, and adding numerous partisan and poison pill riders related to abortion and reproductive health.
Slashes funding for the Social Security Administration’s operating budget, which would close Social Security field offices, extend wait times for retirement claims and customer service, and delay disability claims decisions.
Abandons college students and low-income workers trying to improve their lives through higher education or job training.
Surrenders to ongoing health crises by cutting funding for State and local health departments, eliminating funding for the Ending HIV Epidemic initiative, and defunding programs that address health disparities.

(nea.org) What’s the Purpose of Education? Public Doesn’t Agree on the Answer

(aft.org) Defending Public Education – Reclaiming OUr Schools’ Promise and Purpose
- Proponents of vouchers used to argue that they were a way for low-income and minority families to transfer out of low-performing schools. No longer. Today, most vouchers go to families who already send their kids to private schools. And private schools are not required to follow most federal civil rights laws protecting students, so they can—and many do—discriminate, especially against LGBTQIA+ students and students with special needs.
- The universal voucher program signed by Florida Governor DeSantis in March will divert $4 billion from the state’s public schools. Florida ranks 44th in the nation in per-pupil spending and 48th in average teacher salaries. DeSantis is sending taxpayers’ dollars in the wrong direction.
- And then there are the culture wars. What started as fights over pandemic-era safety measures has morphed into fearmongering: False claims that elementary and secondary schools are teaching critical race theory; disgusting, unfounded claims that teachers are grooming and indoctrinating students; and pronouncements that public schools push a “woke” agenda, even though they can’t or won’t define what they mean. Banning books and bullying vulnerable children. School board meetings descending into screaming matches. This is an organized and dangerous effort to undermine public schools.
- Over the last three years, legislators in 45 states proposed hundreds of laws placing public schools at the center of culture wars: laws seeking to ban books⁶ from school libraries—even books about Ruby Bridges and Anne Frank and Roberto Clemente; laws restricting what teachers can teach and students can learn—particularly about race, gender, LGBTQ issues, current events, and American history; and laws attacking kids who are transgender. Students and staff should feel welcome, safe, and respected in school—but the culture wars are fueling hostility and fear.
- A torrent of enacted and proposed legislation targeting even the mention of “controversial” topics—sweeping and open-ended restrictions on what can be taught—has teachers teaching on eggshells. In Florida, their Department of Education has threatened teachers and librarians with felony prosecution if they provide students with books that the state later decides are inappropriate. Florida lawmakers have prohibited colleges from spending money on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and have undermined tenure and academic freedom. In K–12 schools, their goal seems to be to ban AP courses and the mere utterance of LGBTQ. And forget about facts. Many laws and introduced bills allow any individual to sue schools and teachers for perceived violations. The intent and effect are to create a climate of fear and intimidation.
- This takes a toll on the quality of education teachers can provide our students, and on the trust and connection that are so important. Shouldn’t teachers be free to talk with students who are withdrawn or in distress, and to answer students’ questions? Don’t we want students to learn both our nation’s achievements that make us proud and the failings that make us strive to do better? Isn’t that our job?
- Teachers should have the freedom to teach. And students should have the freedom to learn.
- The Betsy DeVos wing of the school privatization movement is methodically working its plan: Starve public schools of the funds they need to succeed. Criticize them for their shortcomings. Erode trust in public schools by stoking fear and division, including attempting to pit parents against teachers. Replace them with private, religious, online, and home schools. All toward their end goal of destroying public education as we know it, atomizing and balkanizing education in America, bullying the most vulnerable among us, and leaving the students with the greatest needs in public schools with the most meager resources.

(firstfocus.org) PROJECT 2025 WOULD DESTABILIZE PUBLIC EDUCATION
- “The education section of the Mandate reads as if it is designed to exacerbate inequities and make high-quality education and opportunity available exclusively to the wealthy. One of the agenda’s most alarming proposals advocates for giving all parents “the option to direct his or her child’s share of education funding through an education savings account (ESA).” Voucher schemes such as ESAs siphon money from public schools and funnel it to the private education industry. If Project 2025 is enacted, taxpayer dollars will be used to subsidize the private, oftentimes religious, education of wealthy students, at the expense of the nearly 90% of U.S. students who attend public schools.
- It’s hard to overstate the destruction that this plan would inflict on the U.S. public education system. Directing each child’s education funding share to an ESA would rob public schools across the country of the funding they need to operate and would force tens of thousands of them to shut down or drastically reduce education services to children. This scenario has already played out in many states that have enacted school voucher and privatization schemes. Executed at the national level, these schemes would radically exacerbate existing inequities, cause extreme teacher shortages and layoffs, and create huge disparities in access to a quality education.
- Imposing universal vouchers would also raise serious concerns about accountability. Private schools have no requirements for serving students with disabilities, are exempt from ensuring students meet grade-level academic requirements, and can reject students as they please, including for reasons such as their sexual orientation.
- The lack of enforcement of curriculum standards for private schools and homeschool environments has allowed the existence of groups such as the “Nazi homeschool group,” where nearly 2,500 subscribers were given home school lesson plans and writing assignments based on the teachings of Adolf Hitler. Project 2025 would expand this lack of accountability and drastically reduce oversight of public schools.”
(Reuters) Insight: ‘Critical race theory’ roils a Tennessee school district:
- “Critical race theory, is an advanced concept rarely encountered outside law schools. It holds that racial bias is ingrained in U.S. laws and institutions, negatively impacting people of color. Educators say the lessons about race in most U.S. primary and secondary schools involve basic American history about slavery, post-slavery segregation and the long struggle for racial equality.
  - Critics of the new teaching laws say Republicans are exaggerating the prevalence of critical race theory to use it as a wedge issue to court suburban women, in particular – a group that cares deeply about education and which has shifted Democratic.
  - Republican Governor Bill Lee, who signed the measure into law in late May, told reporters recently that critical race theory is “un-American.”
  - The law prohibits public schools from teaching that anyone is “privileged” due to their race – a reference to “white privilege,” a term derided in conservative circles. Lessons also cannot make students feel “discomfort, guilt [or] anguish” because of their race or sex”.
(Edsource.org) Conservatives are waging a war for control over California school boards.
- They are banning books, putting LGBTQ+ kids into the crosshairs of “parental rights” rants, and tearing down the wall between evangelical churches and secular education. They are fighting against public health initiatives, the comprehensive sex education proven to reduce rape, pregnancies and STDs, any history or social studies lessons they deem to be “Critical Race Theory,” and any educational policies on gender identity and racial equity.
  - They are determined to reinstate “traditional values”, which includes erasing the history of systemic racism and contributions of people of Color, homophobia, xenophobia, White Supremacy and Christian Nationalism. (The actions in this post are still “live.”)
(networkforpubliceducation.org) POLICY DIALOGUE: THE MEANING AND PURPOSE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
- If you ask one hundred Americans, “What is the purpose of public education?” you’re probably going to get at least ten different answers. There’ll be some similarities, but some answers will be quite different. In the beginning, the purpose was to create a literate American citizenry to be able to participate in democracy. Our founders realized that if they were going to give citizens the ability to actually shape government through elections, they had to have some knowledge base on which to make decisions. Academic achievement has also always been a big part of the purpose of public education. There have been other purposes as well, such as job training, which is once again becoming very popular. And there has even been the custodial function of schools, which we saw very clearly during COVID-19. When schools closed, education did not stop, but lots of parents were quite upset because they were dependent on the public education system to take care of their kids while they worked.
- How has public schooling changed over the years? At its beginning, formal education was reserved for the elite. In 1892, the Committee of Ten decreed that education was for college preparation, mostly for white, male Protestant citizens. When the influx of European immigrants began, schools started to take on different functions: training in language, training in Americanism—learning what it is to be an American—and job training, from which emerged systems of tracking and ability grouping. Around the 1950s, the comprehensive high school predominated and we tried to create schools that were all things for all people. Then, in the early 2000s, there was a serious move to make schools more rigorous, focusing on college for all. And now the pendulum is swinging back to job training. So, there’s never been one purpose. And I don’t think there ever will be.
- One of the things I found interesting about the nineteenth century is that, from the very beginning, the public schools took off, not because everybody wanted to create educated citizens, or everybody wanted to create a common American nation, but because there was a kind of overlapping consensus among a diverse set of stakeholders. There was an overlapping consensus that everybody benefits from these schools in different ways. Parents may have one set of goals. Students may have another. Teachers and educators may have a set of goals. Policymakers may have a set of goals. But there was enough overlap to sustain new institutions and build a very large number of stakeholders. And I think that’s the secret to why public schools have been so successful. The overlapping consensus between all these different stakeholders is that schools really matter to helping us get what we want. We’re all invested in them.
- And that’s what’s being threatened. That’s what upsets me the most. And it’s by design. Take Neal McCluskey, the education freedom director of the libertarian Cato Institute—the argument he makes for school choice is that we need it because we are so diverse. He argues that we will have wars within our schools if we don’t allow people to choose schools that reflect their values and their values alone. And I find that incredibly frightening because what it creates is Balkanization. Look at all of the major conflicts that we see now in Israel and Palestine, Iraq, and in the past in Northern Ireland. They happen when one faction or religion declares, “Here is my group; this is my set of beliefs, and I want nothing to do with that group and their set of beliefs.”
- At the end of the day, the real outcome of “school choice” is that the parents really don’t have all that much choice. There are lotteries. There are themes. There are admission preferences. There’s screening and testing. It’s not as though they say, “Okay, this is your choice. And this is the choice of three hundred families who didn’t get the school. We’re going to open up three hundred new seats.” They don’t do that. The market system, whether it is public, charter, portfolio, voucher, just pushes kids around. The idea of a neighborhood high school where all kids of all interests, of all political backgrounds, of all religious backgrounds are welcome—it’s starting to disappear.
- But what are the long-term effects of choice systems? Now, we’ve created this system where people think of public schools as a large, leaky boat, and pundits are shouting, “Oh, the boat is sinking!” So we start throwing out these life rafts, be they online schools, charter schools, voucher schools, and the emphasis is no longer on trying to right the ship, but to escape it.
(Chalkbeat) I teach civics. My job is to help students understand that they belong here.
- “How do we foster a belief in this wounded American democracy that so desperately needs a new generation’s service and commitment? In an address to teachers in 1961, James Baldwin offered this advice: “I would try to make him know that just as American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it, so is the world larger, more daring, more beautiful and more terrible, but principally larger — and that it belongs to him.”
- In 2020, civic education must give each student the sense that they belong to this country and that the country belongs to them. It’s fundamental to democratic education in two respects: first, it gives students the feeling of self-worth that teaches them that they matter; second, it extends the experience of worthiness to a collective, letting the student know that just as they matter to their community the community must matter to them. To educate for belonging, teachers and counselors — and behind them, policymakers — first need to give students the experience of being valued in their classroom and in their community. This is not an impossible task.
- In all of these examples, a teacher begins the process of educating for belonging by recognizing a students’ essential worth, making them feel at home in their classroom, and then moving the student from the experience of being valued as an individual to an experience of being valuable to a larger group. Belonging is an experience that flows from the center to the periphery, from the individual to the community, and then to the nation. Belonging is not the only pillar of civic education, but it is an urgent part of civic recovery after rupture. If our students do not think they belong in this country, no amount of content will ever compensate.
- Even in this year, especially in this year, we must remind our students that each one of them is worthy of a good life. That as Americans, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” And that their political community needs them, that their government derives its “just powers from the consent of the governed.” This has been, and must continue to be, the building block for a civic education that ushers each student into a democracy that desperately needs their vitality and resolve.”
(PBS.org) A Citizen’s Guide to Preserving Democracy – Teach Civics: ‘Schools should be incubators for democracy’

con’t.
- “Often called “the father of American education,” Horace Mann argued that free, standardized schooling was key to self-governance, calling education the “great equalizer of the conditions of men.” A curriculum emphasizing the understanding of civics was core to that argument. Up until the 1960’s, American high schools required up to three courses in government and civics but in the last half century, civics education has been eroding.
- Since 2014, students at the eighth-grade level in the United States have been experiencing declines in civics and US history scores. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NAEP) the average score in history dropped five points between 2018 and 2022 and less than a quarter of eighth graders were at or above the proficient level in civics. A 2022 civics assessment known as the Nation’s Report Card recorded the lowest recorded score since 1998.
- Both politicians and educators are making efforts to strengthen civics education nationally. From Maine to Oklahoma and across the country, legislators are passing bills to increase the teaching of civics from elementary school into college.
- “I think students ought to learn the value of democracies, the strengths and the weaknesses…” says author and diplomat Richard Haass. He adds, “Students ought to understand the rights, but also the obligations of citizens.”
(Medium) Why Public Schools? They are Fundamental to Democracy

VOTER GUIDE QUICK LINKS: Home page
- PRESIDENT: Here
- FEDERAL: Senators, Representatives,
- STATE: Senators, Assemblymembers
- LOCAL: City Officials, School Boards, Conejo School Board, Special Districts
- PROPOSITIONS: School Bonds, Local Measures, State Propositions
- ONE ISSUE VOTING: Health care
- PROJECT 2025 CHAPTERS: Education, Labor, Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Housing, Immigrants, Media Agencies, Dept. of State, Resources



	Steve Sullivan — Board President Mesa Union School District
Chris Valenzano — Former President & Board member Ventura County Board of Education
Michael Koslow — Candidate for US Congress District 26	Ted Nordblum — Candidate for California State Assembly District 42	Patrice Wheeler — California State University Northridge Assistive Technology Specialist (retired)







Community Members	Larry Kennedy Former VC Community College District Trustee Area 3	Christine Schieferle, Superintendent, Fillmore Unified School District	Terri Lisagor, Community Leader
Richard Rush, CSUCI President Emeritus	Linda Dullam, Community Leader	Dr. Al & Kim Katouzian, Physician	Joyce Resnick, Owner, Somis Nut House
Hector Martin CEO, County Schools Credit Union	Mike Barber President Oxnard College Foundation






		Jamie Rodriquez – Parent, Grandparent, Community Member	Austin & Brian Peterson– Parents, Community Members
Estella Virgil – Community Member Piru	Joann Fore – Retired FUSD Classified Employee, Community Member Piru	Oralia & Jorge Herrera – Business Owners, Community Members	Luanna Barajas Klittich – Teacher on Special Assignment FUSD, Community Member
Tony Prado – Retired MUSD Educator, Former FUSD School Board Trustee, Community Member









Kathleen Sternbach Retired teacher – 35 years teaching experience	Anita Brkic Teacher, Parent and Community Member	Lauren Burgher Elementary School Teacher	Rachel Golds Teacher
Katie Greco Elementary school Media Center, School Site Council member	Emilio Kauderer Music Educator, Community Member	Elizabeth Cangelosi Box Office Manager, PAECs	Carlos Cojulun Chairman, LVUSD Measure G & Measure S Citizens’ Oversight Committee
Negin Ghaffari – Commissioner, Parks/Recreation & Education, City of Calabasas – Chair, Arts Council, City of Calabasas – Founder/Head of School, Montessori of Malibu Canyon	Sheri Gilreath Member of LVUSD Measure S oversight committee, retired teacher. Community member	Beth Jagtiani LVUSD Substitute Teacher, City of Calabasas Environmental Commissioner	Amanda Poulos Previous President and Board Member at Willow Elementary and Lindero Middle School
Terri Webb Board Member, Triunfo-Lobo Community Association	Tisha Banker City of Westlake Village, Public Safety Advisory Board Member, Parent	Brad Cohan Parent, Community Member	Sandra Cordero Chef & Owner of GASOLINA Cafe & Xuntos
Joice Corridori Resident, Agoura Hills	Alan and Diana Dabach Calabasas Park HOA Board Member and Parent	Mandana Basiratmand Parent	Craig and Sybil Berman Community Members
Daniella Brown Parent, Community Member	Andrea Chernin Educational Therapist, LVUSD Parent, Community Member	Linda French Parent and Community Member	Kristina Goldman LVUSD Parent, Local Real Estate Agent
Michael and Lisa Lang Community Members	Dalia Mitchell Parent, Community Member	Dr. Melissa Orkin and Mr. Josh Silverstein Parents and Community Members	Michelle and Erich Randolph Parents, Community Members
Matt Seigel LVUSD Parent	Season Skuro Parent, Community Member	Drs. Daniel and Dorianne Spivack Parents, Community Members	Dr. Kirk and Mrs. Fedra Tamaddon Parents, Community Members
Shawn Zanganeh Parent, Community Member









		Ron Kaiser former Principal Lindero Canyon Middle School	Rebeca Golden Former PFC President Lupin Hill, AE Wright & Agoura High School
Mark Madnick President The Foundation for Las Virgenes Schools	Amanda Poulos Past PFC President for Willow Elementary and Lindero Canyon Middle School	Tara Maynard Past PFC President Willow and Lindero Canyon Middle School	Brian Mercer Principal Conejo Valley High school, former Principal Agoura High School
Matt McKagan Retired LVUSD teacher	Rachel McKagan LVUSD teacher	Monica Parmar Vice President The Foundation for Las Virgenes Schools	Paul Artof Community Member Westlake Village
Joice Corridori President, Hillrise Open Space Association	JoAnne Suwara Founder Calabasas Coalition	San Fernando Valley Chapter of the National Organization for Women	Stephanie Williams Past PFC/A President Bay Laurel, AC Stelle, Calabasas; Chair of Calabasas Parks & Rec Commission, VP Calabasas Park HOA
Susan Artof Community Member Westlake Village	Pete Celi Community Member Westlake Village	Tammie Celi Community Member Westlake Village	Vickie Dyer
Mark Hiskey Community Member Westlake Village	Shelly Hiskey Community Member Westlake Village	Erin Mercer Parent in Las Virgenes Unified	Kristy Moorman Community Member Agoura Hills
Fred Moravec Community Member Agoura Hills	Nancy Moravec Community Member Agoura Hills	Christine Ryan Parent in Las Virgenes Unified School District	Noreen Sears Community Member Westlake Village
Karla Sluck Community Member Westlake Village	Steve Sluck Community Member Westlake Village	Ann Snyder Community Member Westlake Village	Barb Stone Community Member Agoura Hills
Russ Stone Community Member Agoura Hills	Pam Sutphen Resident Westlake Village	Tom Sutphen Resident Westlake Village	Cece Worrall-Rubin

		Calvin Abbasi	Jaden Henry-Brooks USMC MHS Class of 2020
Joyce Haas (retired) Chaparral Middle School

PARTIAL LIST: Jessica Jones Johnson Family Tyler Ziemkowski Robby Perez Ryan Huisenga Daman Wilkerson “Wilkdog” Aaron Garcia Claudia Mendez Kendall Childs Kellie Cramer Ryan Blanck Veronica Zabel Anna Merriman Alice Cantwell Julian Gomez Kaitlyn Keane Junior Sandoval Danielle Bowler Roy Garcia Kevin Lorch Kambria Groff Kim Lemons Donna Fulgham Connie Ceclarz Blake Sharpe Belen Villalobos	Dave “Chappy” Chapman Catherine Kidder Jennifer King Kevin Bodjanac Mindy Froelich Marisa Pflug-Smith Sunny Barton Allyson Day Jeannine Alexander Michaela Payan Will Sarkisian Amy Beattie Zosia Blair Yvonne Kramer Jenny Thrift Tony Geivet Norma Newell Ray Hebel Derek Sweeney Ryan Murry Madeline Knight Donna Whitelaw Eleanore Godfrey Jane Rouse Laura McMurry Jessica Martin Jeremy Wishengrad Sean Smith	Will Donley Dyan McIntosh Alan Penner Michelle Bloomgren Hannah Blitstein Kris Moore Julie Prigge Laura McMurry-Brooks Kim Yancy Judy Windle Andrew De La Torre Damian Wilkerson Cindy Curley Cheryl Scheider Brandon Arevalo Myles Guy Megan Rayzor Rachel Counihan Paul Hagerty Betty Jackson Elizabeth Garbett Monica Arambula	Adrianna Ocegueda Jennifer Wutkee Chris Kilbane Chad Anderson Fran Fredette Jeannie Eifert Betty Jackson Vicky Yasenchok Marla Donley Kristin Swenson Tom King Madison Harman Stacy Schloetel Jodi Byfuglin Andrew Brady Karin Ninnemann Scott Fullerton Brooke Stone Yvette Delgado Sharmaine Pollack

JAMES A. MERRILL	Incumbent
STEPHEN R. MARSHALL	Incumbent