Priorities

COVID-19 has upended life and schooling as we know it - threatening to drag us down. I won’t let it. I will fight to protect the quality education and programs that define this district. I will fight for our students, our teachers, our community. 

I remain steadfast in my commitment to provide every child, regardless of circumstance, the education and opportunities to build the life of their dreams.

Challenges ahead will be around safety, academics and funding. Please send me a message about issues you think need priority attention.

Safety

I will work to ensure that when campuses are open, they’re safe, clean and ready with healthy behavior protocols in place. Staff must be prepared to address the social and emotional repercussions of the pandemic and we need to teach our children those soft skills to support themselves and each other. I will not lose sight of other concerns. I remain committed to providing children with safe routes to school, sustainably-operated campuses to address climate change, and emergency-ready schools.

Academics

We must protect our high-quality education , whether distance or in-person. I remain focused on equitable access to quality education, and believe strongly that investment in early childhood education is the most effective way to close the achievement gap.

Funding

Because our community has consistently invested in our schools, MPCSD is positioned to weather the COVID-19 storm-- for now. But moving forward, MPCSD is facing a contraction in many of our funding sources: property taxes, MPAEF donations, state and federal contributions, the sunsetting of the Measure X parcel tax. 

At the same time, we will need to navigate potential new expenses including, but not limited to, COVID costs and rising pension costs.  

This combination of likely reduced revenue and increased expenses could threaten our offerings. As your MPCSD Board member, I will not only press to keep up investment momentum, but I will strengthen it. I will pursue sustainable, innovative funding solutions that are transparent to the community.