Former school board trustee Dee Lacey endorses candidate
– A message from Dee Lacey –
– Special School Board Election ballots have been delivered and it is time to get out the vote! I congratulate both Mrs. Angela Hollander and Mr. Kenneth Enney for throwing their hats in the ring. It takes a lot of courage to stand for election, especially in these polarized times where even a local school board election is controversial.
Both candidates believe they are the right person to fill the empty spot on the Paso Robles School Board. Both were encouraged by allies to run for this spot because they have attributes that are admired. They are both highly and well educated, they are bright, opinionated (that’s good) and they have strong personalities, willing to let us know where they stand. Mr. Enney chose a career in the Marine Corps (my favorite branch of the military because my husband was a Marine) and he rose through the ranks, spent his career working with adults, and after retiring, he became a wheat farmer. Mrs. Hollander chose a career in the medical field and became a neonatal intensive care nurse and then moved into education, working with families with children from birth through young adulthood.
So, who do you vote for? The candidates each have Facebook pages, websites, and their supporters offer lots of reasons to choose them. But for what it is worth, I am choosing Angela Hollander, and I will tell you why.
I have lived in this community for 48 years. In 1976, I was elected to the Paso Robles School Board and spent the next 20 years being re-elected, retiring in 1996. I then was elected to the Cuesta College Board of Trustees and spent the next four years getting a campus built in the North County. I believe I have some insight into what it takes to serve as a trustee.
First, it takes a passion for public schools. Public schools enroll everyone regardless of their intellectual ability, their athletic ability, their musical talents, physical and emotional status, race, religion, nationality sexual orientation or financial status. It is the job of our public schools to educate the whole child and make them feel safe, welcome and educate them in subjects that will prepare them for the world they will live in. Do they get it right? Not always, but I will tell you, I believe they get it right most of the time.
Second, you must realize, a trustee is one of seven people on a board, and you need the ability to build consensus to get 4 votes in order to make change and bring your ideas and vision to fruition. An individual trustee must navigate the opinions of 6 other trustees to reach a majority vote to approve changes to policy they are charged with overseeing and delivering.
Third, a trustee must show respect to those who work in public schools and do their jobs day in and day out. Board members set the tone from the top down for how the public and the students view their schools. Negativity and a combative nature don’t solve issues. That does not mean that a trustee shouldn’t ask the hard questions! It doesn’t mean that a trustee doesn’t challenge something that is brought to the board. It is not about playing the game of “gotcha” as if they are in a battle with administrators and teachers to see who is smarter. I believe a trustee needs to see themself as part of an entire team that is working to enhance public education in our community.
Mrs. Hollander and Mr. Enney both believe in parent choice for education. I do also. If you want to homeschool, Paso Robles public schools has a terrific homeschool program. If you want your children to have a private school experience, we have them in this community and this county. Mr. Enney is a strong believer in the voucher system, and he would like to see a charter high school. I say, go do it. However, I don’t think serving as a trustee on the local public school board is the place for him. I would expect someone running for the Paso Robles School Board to be supportive of public schools and want to work to make them better than they are currently. It is so easy for all of us to point fingers at whose fault it is that reading levels aren’t what we would like, and math scores are low. We are all aware of the challenges that exist here in our schools. That is all Mr. Enney seems to see. Doesn’t our district deserve someone who supports our local public schools and balances those criticisms by reminding us about the good things that are happening every day in our schools?
Do I think Angela Hollander is a status quo candidate? Her opponents believe if they say it enough times, it must be true. They are wrong! She is about change and is especially persistent in advocating for ways to increase reading levels. She understands the need for parents to be involved and how important it is for families to work with the public schools for their children to be successful.
I am voting for Angela Hollander because she is a critic and a supporter of our schools. But instead of pointing fingers, she has rolled up her sleeves for the past 20 years and tried to make a difference in children’s lives. She has been in the PTA, on school site councils, a reading buddy to a 2nd grader (her own children are grown), coordinated early reading programs, and she volunteers two days a week in the College and Career Center helping students and their families navigate applications for college, technical schools, and scholarships and financial aid.
As someone who has loved working with teacher and classified unions and fought with teacher and classified unions, who has voted to remove inadequate teachers and praise good teachers, who has been in disciplinary hearings, who has worked with 6 superintendents, I promise you I would not steer you wrong. We need someone who believes in the promise of the public school system and that is Angela Hollander.
Like so many of you, I choose to live in Paso Robles. I chose to be involved in our schools directly for over 24 years because I too believe in the promise of public education and what our local public schools mean to the quality of life in our community and to the future of our democracy.
Vote for Angela Hollander before or on April 18th.
Dee Lacey
Former school board trustee
Paso Robles
