Antonio Martinez, a congressional staffer for Rep. Juan Vargas and incumbent school board member, is running for re-election to 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 Martinez told us about his. Why are you running for school board? What makes you a good candidate? I am proud to be running for re-election. As a lifelong resident of my community, I was the first in my family to graduate from a university, and I want to ensure that every student in our district has the same opportunity to succeed and reach their fullest potential. Antonio Martinez (Courtesy Antonio Martinez) I am honored to be endorsed by our classroom teachers, and I have a proven record of strengthening our schools. I have fought for more funding to reduce class sizes, improve after-school programs and expand the school lunch program so every child has access to healthy food. I helped pass bond measures, which have been used to renovate playgrounds and will be used to modernize and rebuild crumbling schools. I have been actively involved in my community for over a decade, having served as a member of the San Ysidro Planning Group and the president of the San Ysidro Recreation Council. What is the most important issue currently facing your school district? Seventy-five percent of our district’s student population are economically disadvantaged, and 24 percent are unhoused. This is the most important issue our district has faced, and our goal has been to close the achievement gap for these students and families. The key to doing so has been ensuring that our district provides as many resources and social services as possible. This is beyond the educational services we offer to every student on a daily basis. As such, we have partnered with many nonprofit organizations, such as Hearts and Hands Working Together, Feeding San Diego and Casa Familiar to provide our families food and housing opportunities. We have collaborated with San Ysidro Health and South Bay Community Services to provide our families access to affordable healthcare and mental health services. Bottom line, a student will have the best opportunity to succeed if and when the aforementioned resources are provided. What are the top three specific things you would seek to accomplish on the school board? Continue to address the needs of our economically disadvantaged and unhoused student and family population: Our district needs to continue to provide resources beyond the educational services we offer to every student on a daily basis, which means partnering with as many community organizations as possible. Continue to improve the variety of electives offered at our middle schools: Our middle school students deserve a quality and diverse educational experience. Our district needs to continue to maintain and expand the number of electives offered at our middle schools, including theater, music, dance, journalism, etc. Continue to improve parent engagement: The more a parent is involved and engaged in their child’s education, the better the likelihood the child will have a successful educational experience. Our district needs to continue to organize and expand the number of educational forums and community events for parents (computer literacy workshops, resume training, etc.). What would your approach be to district budget planning and spending? What would you do if your district had a budget shortfall? Since being elected, I have always maintained that open communication between staff, administrators and our community regarding any form of budget concerns is the key to success. Furthermore, my approach has always been the same: Hire and support quality teachers and staff, and always direct more funding to our classrooms.In 2014, I was proud to oppose harmful budget cuts, standing with teachers and parents during the San Ysidro teachers’ strike. The strike was caused by poor management of the administration team. Accordingly, I have made a commitment to only hire administrators that have financial experience and, more importantly, the wherewithal to acknowledge the importance of staff collaboration. Despite previous challenges, and the current state budget deficit, our district is in a relatively financially stable position. How should your school district raise student academic achievement, and what would you do as a school board member to accomplish that? As a current board member, I have already taken significant steps to improve student academic achievement, as well as address gaps within students’ education by providing various learning opportunities outside the traditional classroom. This is more than analyzing data from annual standardized testing, but also working with teachers and administrators on a student’s work on a day-to-day basis. I have also been able to improve and expand our after-school programs and extracurricular activities. This includes expanding our award-winning Sci-Phy Program, which provides STEM and physical education to students. Furthermore, I absolutely support our district’s dual-immersion program. In fact, my district has already implemented a dual-immersion program at half of our schools. We have had this program for over a decade and will continue to expand it. Students will have an advantage in life when they have mastered more than one language. Do you think anything currently offered in school curricula or libraries should be removed? If yes, what, and why? If no, why not? Our district is extraordinarily rich with diversity and culture. Located in a border community, it is one of the most diverse districts in the County of San Diego. It is pivotal for the future success of every child’s education that all curricula that are responsive and inclusive to the cultural, social and personal backgrounds of all of our students be supported. What do you think is driving student absenteeism in your district, and what would you as a school board member do to reduce it? The ZIP codes in our district (92173 and 92154) were two of the most impacted by the pandemic. Hundreds of parents, grandparents and community members were hospitalized and lost their lives because of COVID-19. As such, one of the leading causes of student absenteeism in our district hitherto has been because of the aftermath of this catastrophic event, as parents would rather keep their child home for safety reasons. Despite this, our district has had significant success in reducing chronic absenteeism, working with students and parents directly on attendance success plans. One of the strategies that we have used has been to provide incentives for students to want to attend school. For example, Friday is our minimum day and comprehensively the day out of week that students miss the most. Accordingly, our staff consistently organizes award ceremonies and fun school events (dressing up in your pajamas day, etc.) on Fridays. Do you think schools should notify parents if their child’s gender identity or presentation at school changes? Why or why not? Our district is a role model for inclusivity, which encompasses our LGBTQIA+ community. By implementing programs within our district like “No Place for Hate,” we have helped our schools provide a safe space for all students. A student’s decision to inform the district that his or her gender identity differs from his or her assigned sex at birth is extremely personal and private, and all districts, following California state law, are legally responsible to maintain a student’s privacy.