PRESS RELEASE
Carson's Future for SJUSD
Hi Friends and Neighbors,
Many of you have heard about the closing of 5 low-income elementary schools last year. We also uncovered at the last board meeting that 13.5% of the students that were enrolled in those schools are no longer being served by the district. (Average enrollment drop across the district was 4%.) Closing schools in the way our current board did is exacerbating the enrollment declines brought on by demographic shifts. This November, we must elect a new member to the board to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
What could the board do?
Declining enrollments in San Jose Unified mean that we have more dollars per pupil to spend. We need to build schools that families in our communities want to attend. Our district has schools and programs with long waitlists (bilingual immersion, montessori, environmental education) and we should be increasing those opportunities for students to get the unique education they want. We should increase staffing and support in classrooms to provide more early interventions and services to children, including those with special education needs. Our declining enrollments should be used as an opportunity to reassess how we can offer an exceptional education to all students, and not as an excuse to serve fewer students in the same way we have.
Our future will be written by the board members we elect to guide us through the upcoming challenges. Please help me achieve my vision of offering more for our students, reducing reliance on unproven educational technologies, fostering excellent teaching, and spending the dollars we already have for facility improvements on the facilities our children are using.
Candidate Forum Tuesday
SJ Voice is hosting an online (Zoom) candidate forum tomorrow night. If you'd like to hear more about the candidates in this race, you can register to join. I'd love to see you there. (Of course, you'll only be able to hear from the candidates in this race who are willing to engage with the public, which sadly does not include our current trustee.)
Candidate Forum- Tuesday, October 6th, 7:30pm, Zoom
How you can help
As the election approaches, more people are visiting my website to learn more about me. I think the most effective endorsements are ones from the community, so I would love to have many voices represented. Fill out my form to have your words included.