Rhea Stewart, who works in educational publishing, is running for re-election to the Cardiff 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 Stewart told us about hers. Why are you running for school board? What makes you a good candidate? I’m completing my first term as a Cardiff School District board member, and I decided to run for re-election to continue to work with teachers, staff, parents and the community to provide high-quality educational opportunities for Cardiff students. Rhea Stewart (Courtesy Rhea Stewart) Among many activities during my term, I completed the masters in governance program, participated in the district’s strategic plan revision, served on the negotiations team and was elected to the California School Boards Association Delegate Assembly, where I can bring the needs of Cardiff students to a statewide platform. I’ve served as board president for three years. I have lived in Cardiff for over 30 years, and my husband and I are the proud parents of three children who attended Cardiff School, Ada Harris Elementary, Oak Crest Middle School and San Dieguito High School Academy. What is the most important issue currently facing your school district? The district continues its focus on providing excellence in teaching and learning for Cardiff students. The governing board has worked diligently to bring the vision of Measure GG to the community by completing projects to provide facilities that support our educational programs. As a team, board members ask questions and ensure that our financial resources and facilities are managed with a view to current and future needs. What are the top three specific things you would seek to accomplish on the school board? In my second term, these issues would be among my priorities. Supporting the strong academic programs in our district. Implementing the strategic plan, including the learning profile and inspiring active parent and community engagement. Collaborating with district staff to ensure fiscal responsibility with all resources. What would your approach be to district budget planning and spending? What would you do if your district had a budget shortfall? As a school board member, I receive monthly reports on budget status and any potential finance issues. Cardiff board members know where we stand on resources and regularly discuss with district staff. We have an effective budget process every year, where the board, superintendent and chief business officer collaborate on finance forecasting. We budget conservatively and would look to make any potential budget decisions happen as far away from students and the classroom as possible. How should your school district raise student academic achievement, and what would you do as a school board member to accomplish that? Our schools provide outstanding educational programs that give each student the opportunity to achieve his or her potential. This is consistent with our strategic plan’s district purpose: inspiring a lifelong love of learning. The California School Dashboard shows our district performing at high indicator levels. Board members get regular information on the evaluation of our programs and listen to guidance from staff about continuous improvement. Curriculum decisions are data-driven from multiple measures. Do you think anything currently offered in school curricula or libraries should be removed? If yes, what, and why? If no, why not? Our K-6 school district follows state laws and education code, and we use state-adopted, standards-aligned frameworks and curriculum that are age-appropriate. What do you think is driving student absenteeism in your district, and what would you as a school board member do to reduce it? Our district posts our School Accountability Report Card every year, and the board has an annual presentation of the data. One tool we use to support students is short-term independent study, so learning can continue if children are not able to be in the classroom. Our community places importance on being in school and actively participating in our programs.  Do you think schools should notify parents if their child’s gender identity or presentation at school changes? Why or why not? If issues like these come to us as board members of a K-6 school district, we follow the state law and education code to guide our decisions.