Constance Fish, the appointed incumbent and a retired educator, is running for the short-term Area 4 seat on the Fallbrook Union Elementary 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 Fish told us about hers. Why are you running for school board? What makes you a good candidate? I was appointed to the board in the fall of 2023 and am running to fulfill the last two years of the term because I believe so strongly in education for ALL students. Constance Fish (Courtesy Constance Fish) I know a great deal about what it takes to have an environment for all students to be successful learners because of my years spent as a teacher, principal and assistant superintendent in charge of instruction, and also teaching aspiring teachers and administrators for a university. With that experience, I can observe, ask the right questions and monitor that student learning is progressing as it should. What is the most important issue currently facing your school district? Improving achievement is a top priority for all schools and grades in the district. This is clear in all board meetings, training workshops and discussions with teachers and administrators. Our students need to be ready for high school, which has an incredible impact on their abilities to attend college or other career opportunities. We cannot let students fall through the cracks. What are the top three specific things you would seek to accomplish on the school board? The board needs to be transparent and inclusive with the community. The board and the superintendent and her staff need to be well-informed and on the same path forward. These goals will lead to the third goal — working together to ensure ALL students have an equal opportunity to learn! What would your approach be to district budget planning and spending? What would you do if your district had a budget shortfall? Budget planning and spending need to be tied directly to the district priority of high student achievement for all students. Therefore, as budget considerations are shared with the board, it is imperative that it is clear where money is being allocated and that the priority is support of students. Should the district have a shortfall, cuts would need to be as far from 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? Students need the best materials for their learning needs, highly-trained teachers and school administrators who understand what needs to be happening in the classroom and monitor regularly to make certain it is happening on a daily basis. District administrators need to be monitoring what is going on in schools by providing proper training, visiting the schools regularly and reviewing results throughout the year. As a board member, I need to be educated in how all of these things are happening in the schools, and I can visit the schools to see it happening. What I have stated cannot happen without careful planning and budget prioritizing to have the training, coaches and materials needed to make this happen. Do you think anything currently offered in school curricula or libraries should be removed? If yes, what, and why? If no, why not? Our children need to be educated with materials that teach them about themselves and the world around them. To remove materials that are currently in curricula, libraries, etc. would be a disservice to that education. 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 was largely created by the pandemic, and families have not learned or relearned the importance of high attendance for all students. I am supporting our schools in their outreach to parents in a variety of ways to improve the parents’ understanding of why their children need to be there everyday. Teachers are working with the students to help them understand why they need to be there regularly, and the schools are also doing a great job of recognizing students for their high attendance. As a school board member, I fully support these efforts, and we already have evidence they are successful. Do you think schools should notify parents if their child’s gender identity or presentation at school changes? Why or why not? I think it is critical for parents to know who their children are, and not the school’s responsibility to inform the parents.