Eleanor Evans, an educator, is running for re-election to the Area 2 seat on the Oceanside Unified 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 Evans told us about hers. Why are you running for school board? What makes you a good candidate? I am a product of San Diego County public schools systems and a proud career classroom teacher. As an Oceanside school board member, I am influencing positive academic and fiscal policies that uplift and improve the district. Eleanor Evans (Courtesy Eleanor Evans) I am an experienced educator with 48 years of service in education, including teaching in trustee area 2, Oceanside Unified School District, and over 25 years of leadership experience in the education community. My summary of experiences include: staff developer and trainer for aspiring and career teachers; college adjunct professor; intergroup/interpersonal facilitator; school administrator; state Department of Education commissioner for state standards in English language arts, mathematics, sciences and social sciences; state Department of Education commissioner for professional competence; and race/human relations education consultant. I am actively engaged in the Oceanside community as a member of the Independent Citizens Bond Oversight Committees for the city of Oceanside and for Mira Costa College. What is the most important issue currently facing your school district? The most important issue facing Oceanside Unified School District is being able to meet the needs of every student from transitional kindergarten to high school, so that every student is engaged and demonstrating growth. In Oceanside, we know if we can meet the holistic needs of our students, then we can make learning relevant and meaningful, and our students will succeed regardless of background or circumstances. For our Oceanside district, our issue is how we provide a high-quality education for every student to include rigorous and relevant curriculum, textbook, materials and resources, personalized tutoring, state-of-the-art technology and modernized facilities. How do we address and ensure the positive development of our students’ physical, cognitive, emotional and social abilities? Frankly, the answer is money or finances. We have to be very diligent with our fiscal resources yet make certain we are meeting the needs of every student. What are the top three specific things you would seek to accomplish on the school board? Continue with the steady and positive academic growth and educational achievement of our Oceanside students by maintaining highly effective teachers and outstanding teacher quality Continue to maintain our positive school budget — fiscal responsible decision-making Continue building positive relationships throughout the Oceanside community and continue to make connections to community organizations, stakeholders and parents to build partnerships that benefit our students. What would your approach be to district budget planning and spending? What would you do if your district had a budget shortfall? I am a fiscal conservative. My initial plan is to develop a school improvement plan based on community meetings, collaborations and surveys from stakeholders. Use this information to identify measurable goals and action needed to improve student achievement. Communicate the measurable goals for the community to help develop a Local Control Accountability Plan to implement how budget allocations will be used to achieve better student outcomes. The Oceanside tax base is not sufficient to meet the higher needs of our English Learning students, foster care students and (low-income and) homeless students, plus our special education students. California does provide some additional funding through Local Control Formula Funding. These are dollars controlled by LCAP to help improve student outcomes. In addition, even though the governor is trying to reduce or negate the California Constitution-protected Proposition 98 for base funding for education, currently Oceanside is able to use those Prop. 98 dollars to improve student achievement. How should your school district raise student academic achievement, and what would you do as a school board member to accomplish that? The parent or guardian has to value high-quality education and actively be involved in helping our students to be successful achievers. In order to be successful learners, parents must be involved in the education process of our students. Students need to feel and be safe at school. Teachers need to analyze student data and share data with students with the goal to improve achievement. Home and school need to teach students how to study, manage time, establish priorities of learning and self-discipline. All parties must understand and share a common vision of success and nurture a positive relationship. Parents and home are a factor in the academic success of the student. For Oceanside Unified, we provide tutoring and academic support, meals, glasses, etc., to ensure student success. Teachers and support professionals and staff must ensure that students are actively involved and engage in their lessons. Do you think anything currently offered in school curricula or libraries should be removed? If yes, what, and why? If no, why not? It is the State Board of Education that decides and adopts curriculum materials. As a local school board member, I am responsive to the values, beliefs and priorities of Oceanside. California State Board of Education-selected curriculum materials are then selected for our classroom instructions as decided by our teachers, administrators, parents, stakeholders and all the school board members before being purchased by our district. Our school library materials are vetted by certificated professional librarians who collaborate with teachers, parents and stakeholders to decide selection of library materials. Our professionally educated librarians have the responsibility for selection of library materials. Parents have the right to monitor their student access to library materials. All library materials are carefully selected based on curriculum, age-appropriateness, student interest, student maturity, community values, American Library Association (guidance) and state standards. Oceanside Unified respects the rights of parents and guardians to limit which books their students can check out. What do you think is driving student absenteeism in your district, and what would you as a school board member do to reduce it? Student absenteeism is seemingly caused by staying home to care for younger siblings, disengagement from school, family and neighborhood disruptions, aversion to school challenges and a sense of failure, misunderstanding of the impact of absenteeism on learning, student health issues and economic hardship, including poverty, homelessness and family instability. As a school board member, it is imperative students and parents know the importance of school attendance. School board members need to be aware of student attendance and ensure a district-wide attendance plan is in operation with target goals. Hiring high-quality teachers who can create engaging, interactive, active classrooms where students feel accepted and safe (is important, along with) engaging the entire family in the school community. Chronic absenteeism is being reduced. We have a network of professional social workers and social worker interns, counselors and counselor interns who have been able to assist families in getting their students to school each day. Do you think schools should notify parents if their child’s gender identity or presentation at school changes? Why or why not? Absolutely parents and guardians should be notified. California State Law, California Education Code and Oceanside Unified School Board policy encourages or mandates that parents be notified. As an education consultant and facilitator, I helped to facilitate the division among the faculty and staff at E.O. Green Middle School in Oxnard, California, in 2009, (one year after) 14-year-old student Brandon McInerney shot 15-year-old classmate Larry King (who was LGBTQ+) twice in the head. Larry King’s foster father claimed he did not know of Larry’s gender identity presentations. Even though the school administration claimed freedom of expression, two lives and several careers could have been saved if someone had just informed the parents/guardians of this situation.