Alan Scott Kholos, a biotech executive, is running for a short-term seat on the Del Mar Union School District board of trustees. He’s currently an appointed member. 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 Kholos told us about his. Why are you running for school board? What makes you a good candidate? I am running for re-election to continue my hard work to maintain the educational excellence expected from our nationally recognized schools — forming the core of our community and support strong property values. Alan Kholos (Courtesy Alan Kholos) I started my career in the Air Force developing educational software and teaching instructors on using new technology. With my degrees in engineering, business and law, I have applied this education to leadership roles in healthcare, defense, communications and software.  On the board, I leverage my extensive business management, corporate governance and problem-solving skills to achieve collaborative solutions with other board members, parents, district staff and community partners.   As a parent of DMUSD graduates, I deeply understand the district and how our programs impact the educational journey of students through high school and beyond. I believe in putting our kids first — that is why we now start every board meeting with a presentation from our children. What is the most important issue currently facing your school district? As when I was first elected in 2012, we continue to face pressure to allocate limited budget resources to the education priorities of our community. I will continue to prioritize low class sizes, state-of-the-art educational curriculum, highly trained and motivated teachers, STEAM+ (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) resources, support for special education children and families, introduction of transitional kindergarten (TK) and ongoing facility upgrades and maintenance. I continually engage with our parent community to understand their priorities and advocate for them during our strategic budgeting process. I also focus on expense management by reviewing contracts and payments to vendors and service providers. I have extensive experience managing law firms and have been engaged in the reduction in legal expenses during my current term on the board. I continue to vote to maintain a healthy budget reserve to protect us if faced with economic challenges in the future. What are the top three specific things you would seek to accomplish on the school board? If re-elected, I plan to continue my focus on three initiatives: Parent involvement: I actively meet year-round with parents at each of our nine school sites by attending PTA-sponsored events and sitting down for private conversations. I listen intently to feedback and concerns and partner with parents to approach the district staff with collaborative solutions. Oversight & accountability: I apply my business governance skills to ensure that we are adhering to our board policies and strategic plan objectives. I meet routinely with the superintendent to ensure accountability of the leadership team and the nine school site principals. Special programs: My own children benefited greatly from the STEAM+ and special education programs at DMUSD. I will continue to assist the Del Mar Schools Education Foundation in raising additional STEAM+ funds from community partners. I will also continue supporting special education families in what I know personally can be a challenging journey. What would your approach be to district budget planning and spending? What would you do if your district had a budget shortfall? During my two terms on the DMUSD, I have been highly focused on strategic budgeting. I actively participate in our budgeting process through a series of public budget workshops to prioritize both capital and operating expenses to have the maximum impact on student learning. I have reviewed the entire spending process from contracting, purchase orders and warrant payments to ensure that it is transparent and robust. I have confirmed the multiple checks in the process to ensure we are following best practices shared with other school districts, along with recommendations from the San Diego County Taxpayers Association. Since I started serving in 2012, the board has voted to maintain a healthy budget reserve to prevent negative impacts from budget shortfalls. How should your school district raise student academic achievement, and what would you do as a school board member to accomplish that? I track the improvement in the academic achievement of our students through two key plans. First, our new strategic plan — Destination 2028! — identifies the priority actions the district will implement to raise academic achievement. I actively engage in our public strategic plan forums that promote collaboration and input by parents, teachers and staff. Second, the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) focuses us on the California priorities for achievement in eight specific areas. I use the LCAP reporting to monitor progress towards academic achievement goals and incorporate feedback that I receive from parent stakeholders. Finally, well-trained and motivated teachers are at the core of the academic success of our children. I will continue to support our teachers to help them be the best. Do you think anything currently offered in school curricula or libraries should be removed? If yes, what, and why? If no, why not? Our current school curricula and library materials undergo a rigorous process before use with our children. I constantly monitor adherence to our board policies and administrative regulations governing the review of new materials. I also review new curricula and solicit feedback from parents. I have not identified any curricula or materials that don’t adhere to our standards or should be removed. What do you think is driving student absenteeism in your district, and what would you as a school board member do to reduce it? Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been actively monitoring our student absenteeism rate.  While DMUSD’s absentee rate is below most other schools, the district has a program of active monitoring and action steps to further reduce absenteeism. This includes maintaining dashboards that are routinely shared with us on the board and daily efforts by health technicians and principals to follow up with families when their students miss school. District staff have developed a deep understanding of which student groups and school sites need support to increase these students’ availability to engage in the learning we have to offer. Do you think schools should notify parents if their child’s gender identity or presentation at school changes? Why or why not? Part of the district’s new strategic plan includes a new priority section on a responsive and caring culture that focuses on our elementary-age students feeling welcomed and understood. I support the district’s approach to be partners with parents. Based on the close connection between parents, students and teachers in our small-class environments, it is more likely that parents will notify teachers or counselors of changes in their child’s gender identity or presentation at school.