Transparency: My Campaign & Public Boards
Hello! This is the first blog post in a series of posts that I will be writing until the election in November, and hopefully beyond if elected because I think that blog posts are a great way to keep people informed about matters in a more casual context than a standard public meeting agenda.
If you’ve come this far, you probably know a bit about me, so I won’t get into that. The purpose of today’s blog post is to talk about transparency as it relates to my campaign for a position as a PHUSD Trustee, and also how transparency relates to being a Board member on a public governing body.
Commitment to Campaign Transparency and the Public Interest
This weekend I had the opportunity to attend the California - American Planning Association (CalAPA) conference in Riverside. Why is this relevant to the PHUSD Board, you might ask yourself? It’s relevant because while sitting in sessions about community engagement in public processes, I had an epiphany: I’ve been going about my campaign all wrong- at it’s core, school boards are an instrument of local government and I know how to work in that space. As public servants, this isn’t about personal views- it’s about our responsibility to voters as Governing Board Trustees. It’s also relevant because it re-affirmed lessons I’ve learned in public engagement, as well as inspired me to bring new ideas to the table, as I’ll discuss further in this post.
Lately I’ve been stressing about this election, because I know how contentious small town politics can sometimes be. Considering my experiences in contentious public hearings from my career as a Planner, I was concerned about what kind of public attacks might be levied in my direction. But then I remembered- as a Board Trustee, it does not matter. If elected, my role as a Board member is to: represent the entire PHUSD community; listen the concerns of the community; consider how existing policies can be adjusted or new policies adopted to address community issues and opportunities; ensure actions are consistent with applicable laws and regulations; and overall be a steward of the public good.
I will be scheduling meet & greets moving forward until the election with my fellow candidates, Geoff Anderson and Russ Powell. I will also be publishing my Public Engagement Calendar so folks know what I’ll be posting about next as well as the before-mentioned meet & greets. Please be sure to follow us for upcoming event info!
In the spirit of transparency, it should be noted that I have been endorsed by a handful of groups including the Placer Action Network and the Placer County Democrats. Having said that, it’s important to note the position of a school board member in California is categorically non-partisan. So, you may also be asking yourself: how can I claim to be non-partisan considering I sought an endorsement from a specific political party? And my answer is that endorsements from a party reflect their agreement with certain aspects of my work, but they do not influence my impartial approach to broader issues. Being non-partisan means maintaining objectivity, and putting the needs of the community above personal politics. I can put partisan politics aside for the betterment of our kids and our community, and I hope my fellow candidates can join me.
Transparency also means being visible in our community, not just as a candidate but also as a Board member, as I will get into.
Public Governing Board Transparency
Transparency can and should take many forms. First and foremost, transparency comes from a place of shared understanding. Upcoming blog posts will be around the role of school boards, the regulatory framework around them, and ideas on opportunities for further public engagement. Based on my experience with public governing boards, I believe transparency can be achieved through the following methods:
Using language that is easy to understand: public meeting agenda language including those for school boards is often phrased in terminology that is centered on Brown Act compliance or other legal terminology. While a board should absolutely be compliant with applicable laws, public boards in general can also provide basic information on what these regulations mean in laymen’s terms.
Public visibility: Board members should be widely known by parents, teachers, administrators, and other community members. Board members should be approachable and open to hearing concerns from everyone in the community, and should regularly attend school events including sporting events, festivals, back to school nights, etc. If there is a campus concern, Board members should know about it in order to take necessary steps to resolve issues.
Board actions: The Board has a great opportunity to improve how the previous meeting minutes are reported. The current meeting minute reporting can provide better information than it currently does.
Final Thoughts
As it relates to the topic of transparency I have a few closing thoughts and items to note.
The first is that if elected as a Board Trustee, I will continue to attend and volunteer at school events- I do this already, and hope that if elected, people will feel open to chatting with me about any issues or opportunities they observe for our district when I am at such events.
Next, I recognize that as someone who has never ran for an elected position- that I have made some mistakes along the way. I have had interactions where I could have done better. At the recent BBQ & Brew for example, current Trustee Allison Harvey approached me and asked if I had taken photos of her, and I said I had not. In review of my photos I was absolutely mortified to discover she was in photos I had taken of the party! It was not my intent so single out any candidates and simply wanted photos of the event for posterity; none of the photos taken have been published or shared.
I encourage readers of the post to follow me on Facebook, and please stop and chat if you see me around. I look forward to hearing more from the public about their experiences with the school board and opportunities for continued improvement!
