For those who live in the William S. Hart Union High School District Area 1, you will see a familiar name on your ballot this November, Gloria Mercado-Fortine.  Gloria grew up in the Santa Clarita Valley and graduated from Hart High School. Her whole life has been about education and serving community. She has been a teacher, a principal and a district administrator in the L.A. Unified School District.  She has also served on the Hart school board as well as the Castaic Union School District board.  Gloria is very involved in our community and has served on the boards of many nonprofits, including the Santa Clarita Valley Boys and Girls Club, and the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center. She is the most recent past president and current board member of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Foundation.  Importantly, for parents of Castaic High School students, when other Hart district board members were hesitant and even skeptical, Gloria, along with former Hart district board member Paul Strickland, shepherded the campaign for Hart Bond Measure SA. This bond provided the funds that built your high school in Castaic. Regarding the previous Hart Bond Measure V, Gloria helped oversee the building and completion of Valencia High School, Rio Norte Junior High School, West Ranch High School and Golden Valley High School. I have actually been in an excellent position to judge her hard work and commitment as I sat in the front row of the Hart district board meetings for 17 years, advocating for music education in our district. What I saw was someone who always did her due diligence, arrived prepared and was patient and persistent in her goals. While some others on the board waited until the Wednesday evening meetings to open their agenda, Gloria always arrived informed about the action items and listened with openness to public comments. Gloria is supported by the Hart District Teachers Association because she cares that their working conditions and supports the quality of the education they provide our students. These qualities have been missing of late and it is high time to return Gloria to the Hart district school board. Vote for Gloria on Nov. 5. Michele Lecrivain Valencia The post Michele Lecrivain | A Familiar Name on the Ballot appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.