Jose Manuel Dircio, a mechanical engineer for the U.S. Defense Department, is running for a seat on the San Ysidro School District board of trustees. The San Diego Union-Tribune asked all the candidates running for school board in districts around San Diego County about their policies, plans and priorities. Here’s what Dircio told us about his. Why are you running for school board? What makes you a good candidate? My family and I moved to San Ysidro when I was six years old, previously living in Tijuana, Mexico. I attended Beyer Elementary, San Ysidro Middle School and San Ysidro High School. Jose Dircio (Courtesy Jose Dircio) I am running for school board with the desire to give back to my community. I want to be an example and an inspiration to the next generation of students, showing them that with hard work and a positive mindset, your hometown does not limit your potential to be successful and achieve your goals. Part of that success comes from many programs and resources previously available in many schools within the San Ysidro School District that to this day no longer exist. I am advocating to get programs such as music reinstated in our schools. What is the most important issue currently facing your school district? One of the most important issues currently facing our district is the lack of resources for our students. When I attended school in the San Ysidro School District (SYSD), students had many options for activities outside of the classroom. One of the biggest is the music program. Classes such as band, mariachi and choir provided a safe haven for many students struggling to find motivation on a daily basis. These classes served as an incentive for many kids to do well in school, as classes like these were seen as sort of a reward. Extracurricular activities, including sports, feel like an essential part of children’s development. It keeps kids engaged and provides accountability when they are part of something bigger that not only affects them. All these activities keep the community engaged as they look forward to seeing our kids perform or play a match. What are the top three specific things you would seek to accomplish on the school board? As previously mentioned, one of my main goals is to reinstate music and performing arts programs into our schools. It means a lot to me, as I participated in these while at SYSD. Another of my main goals is that I want to increase the transparency and accountability of our leaders. I want the community as a whole to be able to understand and see where all the funds and resources are being used in our schools and for our kids. Third but not less important, I want to motivate retention between our staff members. It is no secret that in the last years we have seen an exodus of experienced employees moving on. What would your approach be to district budget planning and spending? What would you do if your district had a budget shortfall? I believe the district budget has to include planning for several years. We have to look at data, including the potential increase in enrollment for the upcoming years considering the increase in housing within our community. It is very difficult to deal with budget planning and spending on a year-by-year basis when many factors do not come into play until years later. In case of a shortfall, I believe we need to sit down and analyze how the shortfall could have been prevented. After that, we have to look into solutions that do not impact our children and staff. Seeking donations from alumni and corporations is one field that we could work on to mitigate the potential budget shortfall. How should your school district raise student academic achievement, and what would you do as a school board member to accomplish that? Raising student academic achievement, in my opinion, goes hand in hand with bringing performing arts and music programs back to our schools. These programs are seen as a reward for many kids, while others look at them as a potential career. Academic achievement efforts must also come from the students’ household. Keeping the parents informed is key for that parental involvement in their children’s education. Another action that must be taken is to try and limit class sizes. Teachers cannot physically attend to so many students alone. Many kids will struggle academically for one reason or another, so I want to propose having programs to assist those kids in need, be it before or after school. Do you think anything currently offered in school curricula or libraries should be removed? If yes, what, and why? If no, why not? I believe everything offered in school curricula at this moment is acceptable for our children. I would like to see more classes other than your basic subjects, including woodworking, baking, etc. I do believe that our libraries could use higher reading-grade-level books. Many kids with amazing academic potential may feel held back if not challenged intellectually. What do you think is driving student absenteeism in your district, and what would you as a school board member do to reduce it? Absenteeism in SYSD comes from many children being homeless or living in Mexico, or parents working from early in the dawn of morning to late at nights and not being able to hold their children accountable if they even made it to school. I believe there has to be greater investment in programs to help homeless children. I also believe a resource center where students can seek help and shelter before and after school can help to motivate them and see school as a safe place where they want to be regardless of their situation at home. Do you think schools should notify parents if their child’s gender identity or presentation at school changes? Why or why not? I believe parents should be notified of anything going on with their children. I understand the need to give children a chance to be themselves, but we have to ensure that that sense of independence and identity comes from a positive source. Children nowadays have access to a lot of information that previous generations had to learn through experience. Now we have adults online on platforms such as TikTok telling our kids what is acceptable to society and what is not. Many times parents are not aware of this, as children only show this behavior at school and act differently at home. Parents should get the chance to support their children and educate them.