After the January resignation of Stacy Keszei from the Coronado Unified School District Board of Trustees, the Board voted to select an interim trustee. Applications were accepted from January 26 through February 4 for those interested in the interim term position.
Eight people submitted applications: Timothy Casey, Deberie Gomez-Grobe, Kathleen Mathis, Alexandra Murrio, Alexia Palacios-Peters, Lance Rodgers, Malachy “Mal” Sandie, and Bruce Shepherd.
The Coronado Times reached out to the applicants to learn a bit about them and why they would like to fill the school board position.
We asked three questions of the applicants: why did you apply, what strengths would make you an effective school board member, and what are some challenges facing the board? (The Coronado Times did not hear from two of the eight.)
On February 15, the four current board trustees will interview the eight applicants and select one to fill the seat on an interim basis until the election in November. If community members wish to send a letter supporting an applicant prior to the interviews, correspondence should be emailed to [email protected]. The letters will be included in the applicant’s packet of information for the board.
Below are the applicants’ answers. Answers have been edited for brevity.
Timothy Casey
What were the main factors that prompted you to apply for the vacant seat on the CUSD Board of Trustees?
The main factors are my commitment to education and my desire to give back to the community. I view the current vacancy as a call to service. I’ve been fortunate to enjoy a career in education and I’d like to share that experience in service of my local community. In addition, as a recent empty-nester, I have the time to dedicate to the work of the board.
What strengths best qualify you to be an effective school board member?
The position of trustee requires the ability to listen to a variety of viewpoints and the capacity to work in a collaborative environment. My experience as a career educator and my training as a lawyer provide the foundation for effective service as a trustee. My communication skills allow me to listen to different perspectives, and my analytical ability allows me to examine difficult issues and arrive at effective and practical solutions. My training as a lawyer will be an asset because serving as a trustee is similar to a lawyer representing a client. Just as a lawyer uses knowledge and skill to promote the interests of the client, a trustee must use knowledge and skill to promote the interests of the school district. Finally, as a legal ethics professor, I’m keenly aware of the ethical and fiduciary duties that apply to board members.
What do you see as the greatest challenges facing the board now and in the near future?
In the short term, the board faces the challenge of calming the waters and focusing on the work of the district. In the long term, I expect challenges in managing the financial health of the district; ensuring the administration receives appropriate support; hiring and retaining exceptional educators, staff, and administrators; and promoting pathways to success for our students.
Deberie Gomez-Grobe
What were the main factors that prompted you to apply for the vacant seat on the CUSD Board of Trustees?
To say that this past year has been anything but a complete disappointment is a bit of an understatement. Due to the implementation of the controversial 4X4 scheduling, questionable divisive programs/curriculum content, the divisive tortilla-gate controversy, and troubling decisions around pandemic policies, the board and the superintendent admitted that “the trust” has been lost.
I believe that having a 4-member board with no majority vote on issues for any period of time is at best dysfunctional and at worst dangerous during this time of unprecedented new challenges. Having attended all CUSD Board meetings since last May, I had hoped to see others emerge who could step forward, and when they did not, I stepped forward.
I see a need to focus relentlessly on improving achievement because all our students of all talents and abilities have fallen behind and I see a desperate need to help parents navigate the complexities of these times in education through total transparency and dialogue. Lastly, I profoundly want to lead the way for more local control.
What strengths best qualify you to be an effective school board member?
Accomplishment is the best predictor of future success. I bring the strength of documented accomplishments in public education including research and evaluation, school district long range planning, development and implementation for change, reviewing and advising on state legislation, managing of district operations in human resources, recruiting all levels of personnel, labor relations, and instructing new Board Members, to name a few. I bring the strength of listening and hearing, problem solving, and applying innovative strategies. Integrity is more than a word to me and honesty and transparency are strengths that I practice at all times.
I spent 32 years in public education listening to parents and conducting two-way conversations to help us all understand each other. Educational jargon can create a daunting divide between a parent and the schools. I also thoroughly understand curriculum, instruction, academic achievement measures, and California school finance. I will volunteer my time to help the CUSD Board try to regain lost trust by bringing my experiences with highly charged issues. Having sat in Closed and Open Sessions with boards for at least 20 of my 32 years, I believe that I can help. I have no agenda, nor do I seek another career, I simply want to apply my knowledge and experiences to make things work better for the parents, the community and for CUSD.
What do you see as the greatest challenges facing the board now and in the near future?
CUSD must first ensure that it is implementing instructional strategies that will reach all our students and bring all our students back up to the educational levels that were lost through distance learning and time out of school. And, since that former level of achievement was less than satisfactory at the time with 30% of the students still not proficient in math, as an example, CUSD must implement instructional strategies that will result in higher levels of academic achievement that will elevate CUSD to the top of school rankings for academic achievement. To do that, CUSD will have to create, manage, and navigate a very difficult and precarious budget pathway that not only keeps the district financially solvent while using the LCFF in the face of declining enrollment, but will ultimately allow the district to gain more local control over teaching, learning and pedagogy by getting to Basic Aid funding.
Alexia Palacios-Peters
What were the main factors that prompted you to apply for the vacant seat on the CUSD Board of Trustees?
I want to be an advocate for the students, parents, and teachers of our amazing community. I want to be a champion for our children’s futures. We need more parent voices on the school board who can ensure that parents of the children in our schools are heard.
I have children enrolled in three of the four schools in the district (CHS, CMS, and VES). I am part of a professional working family. I am engaged with the PTOs of all three schools and participate in supporting our teachers as much as I can. I am sensitive to the current challenges facing students, teachers, and parents. I intend to bring awareness to these challenges.
I am also a military spouse. CUSD’s military students are the largest demographic subgroup in the district at approximately 40 percent (CHS 28%, CMS 37%, SSES 79%, VES 40%). From 2009 to 2021, CUSD received approximately $6.35 million in DoDEA grants. These funds help close the achievement gap between CUSD’s military population and the total population. As an applicant, I provide insight from this significant demographic of our CUSD community.
What strengths best qualify you to be an effective school board member?
My experience as a leader of various organizations has allowed me to hone my skills as an empathetic listener and consensus builder. These strengths are necessary when working on a board or in any group and will be especially useful while the school board navigates complicated issues. Additionally, my legal experience and training enable me to understand the legal parameters of the role of a school board member, as well as assist in guiding the school district.
I will represent our community with transparency, integrity, and civility.
What do you see as the greatest challenges facing the board now and in the near future?
Our greatest challenge right now is trust and transparency with the community. The board enacted several changes within the past two years, the 4×4 schedule for example, and coupled with the ever-changing COVID policies and the local and national debate surrounding their efficacy, it will need cohesiveness to solve these issues. Communication is a two-way street and I want to be part of a school board that is transparent, constantly self-evaluating, and seeking ways to improve. The people of Coronado crave being part of a small, tight-knit community and our school system is a big part of that community. When we are aligned in purpose and respect each other’s motives, nothing seems impossible.
Lance Rodgers
What were the main factors that prompted you to apply for the vacant seat on the CUSD Board of Trustees?
With the vacancy, there was a need to fill the spot with someone who could hit the ground running. I have worked with several of the current and past board members and I have worked with many of the administration and teaching/classified staff during my many roles while volunteering for CUSD. The students and our community need strong leadership now.
What strengths best qualify you to be an effective school board member?
Professionally, I have mainly been in operations. I have always been a creative problem solver and team builder to get the job done. My mantra at work is “don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions.”
What do you see as the greatest challenges facing the board now and in the near future?
Right now, it is lacking trust and a perceived lack of transparency. Our community is demanding more. In the future, the ongoing struggles with deficit spending will need to be resolved.
Captain Malachy ‘Mal’ Sandie
What were the main factors that prompted you to apply for the vacant seat on the CUSD Board of Trustees?
I am a California native (Los Altos) and am very proud of the California public school system and especially Coronado Unified School District. I have four children who have all attended Coronado public schools. Two of my children graduated from CHS and have done extremely well at California public universities (UC Riverside & Cal Maritime) thanks to the education that they received through CUSD. I have a current 11th grader who aspires to attend a Federal Service Academy and a 7th grader who is in the special education program. Due to my 30-year active duty Navy career, my children have also attended public schools in Rhode Island, Virginia, Florida, and Tennessee…and CUSD is by far the best!
I have been actively following Coronado schools and the CUSD governing board and believe that I have the passion, energy, time (currently a stay-at-home-father), and background (personnel management & program management) to be a positive and productive member of the board. It will be a steep “learning curve” for me, but it is always that way when taking on a new challenge.
What strengths best qualify you to be an effective school board member?
My educational background is a B.S. in Political Science from the U.S. Naval Academy, M.A. in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, Defense Acquisition University Level III qualification in Program Management, and the Civilian Program Management Professional qualification. I retired from the Navy and subsequently worked as a defense contractor before deciding to stay home and focus on my family.
As a volunteer, I have actively managed three Coronado Little League Teams (and helped coach several others) and have been a volunteer at the PAWS Coronado for the past four years. Additionally, I have a lot of interaction with the CUSD special education department and am extremely familiar with the program.
I am a progressive thinker who bases decisions on data and proven facts, and I have the highest standards for honesty, integrity, and transparency. My family and I are firm believers in vaccinations and mask mandates; none of my six family members have ever been COVID positive even though my wife works in the operating room (nurse anesthetist) with many COVID positive patients and our four children are in different schools with exposure to many students.
I have no political ambitions and only want to give back to the community to help keep CUSD as a premier school district in the state and to serve the students and families of Coronado as we continue to strive for improvement.
What do you see as the greatest challenges facing the board now and in the near future?
I would like to first highlight the strengths of CUSD which include: 1) superb leadership from both the governing board and the administration; 2) a strong community that is very involved in CUSD; and 3) a motivated, diverse, and cohesive student body.
The greatest challenge is the attempt to politicize the CUSD governing board. There appears to be a small but vocal group of people in the Coronado community who refuse to work within the structure of CUSD and California state guidelines and policies. They do not seem to place value on science, data, facts and history and prefer to launch lawsuits against the state, and consume the governing board’s time with histrionic canards regarding critical race theory, book banning, anti-mask/vax, and a basic disdain for truth.
A significant challenge for our school facilities will be dealing with climate change, specifically increasing temperatures. Many of our classrooms do not have air conditioning and in recent years school has been canceled for “heat days” which I see as a problem that must be addressed with the well-being of all CUSD teachers and students in mind.
Bruce Shepherd
What were the main factors that prompted you to apply for the vacant seat on the CUSD Board of Trustees?
I served 12 years on the Coronado School Board (1998 to 2002; 2006 to 2014; five of those years I served as the board’s president). I am familiar with the rules and laws applicable to public school districts, and I am hopeful that as a board member for the balance of 2022, I can add a calm and experienced voice to the board’s dialogue.
I am seeking the board appointment primarily because I love the Coronado schools, and I am indebted to them (and their teachers and administrators) for the fabulous education that they have provided to our community’s children (and to my four children in particular!). We have fabulous teachers, committed and caring parents and a supportive community. We need to get our focus back to building and celebrating the excellence that those assets can produce.
While I hope to contribute as a board member for the balance of 2022, if appointed, I will not run for election to the board in the November election. The community should have the opportunity to watch potential candidates in candidate forums and the like, and to assess which candidates will be the best fit for Coronado voters going forward.
What strengths best qualify you to be an effective school board member?
I have material experience serving on the Coronado School Board. I am familiar with the rules and laws applicable to school boards, and with the structure and scope of California school finance laws. This experience gives me skills and background that will help me to hit the ground running as an interim duration board member.
After attending public schools in California through high school, I went to Harvard for my undergraduate degree and to the University of California at Berkeley for a law degree and a master’s in business administration. I then moved to San Diego and spent 32 years working as a lawyer for Latham & Watkins. My practice focused on real estate and finance matters, including many matters that included public finance issues. I also served 11 years as managing partner of Latham’s San Diego office, running an enterprise with total employees numbering about the size of the Coronado School District. I believe that this background provides me with valuable experiences applicable to many of the issues that come before the School Board.
I am not always right, I do not have all of the answers, but if I am appointed to the board, I will try to always keep the interests of the district and its students at the forefront, just as I believe that I did in my previous 12 years on the board.
What do you see as the greatest challenges facing the board now and in the near future?
There are two issues in particular that merit immediate and serious district attention in a positive, collaborative manner:
COVID Educational Remediation — How can the district help Coronado students, many who have fallen behind in their schooling by the many and prolonged COVID disruptions, develop grade appropriate fundamental reading, writing and mathematics skills? Coronado’s students, particularly the younger ones, also need support in developing appropriate social skills. COVID has interfered with so much. Our goal should be to make meaningful progress on these challenges every day.
Basic Aid — Are we planning appropriately for the district’s transition to “basic aid’ eligibility in a couple of years? The shift to basic aid from revenue limit status is sure to bring an earthquake to the financial footings of the district. A district which enjoys basic aid status gets to control its share of local property tax revenues, rather than shipping those revenues off to Sacramento and then crossing its fingers that a reasonable share will be returned to the district through “revenue limit” payments. If we plan for it properly, the shift to basic aid also may provide the district with great financial opportunity. Are we prepared for this monumental transition?
In the November 2022 election, four seats will be open on the CUSD Board as Dr. Helen Anderson-Cruz’, Captain Lee Pontes’, and Esther Valdes-Clayton’s terms come to an end, and the interim position will be an open seat as well.
