School board candidates share thoughts during ‘meet and greet’
About 30 people took time out on a Saturday during the Tehachapi Apple Festival to meet and listen to candidates for local school board.
The American Legion Post 221 building in downtown Tehachapi was the location for the afternoon event that began with an invocation, flag salute and hot dogs.
Organizers included Eric and Gail Purdy, who became involved with the school board race earlier this year during the redistricting effort of Tehachapi Unified School District.
As a result of school board decisions made during redistricting, there are no incumbents up for election Nov. 8. The district has switched to by-trustee area elections, meaning that individuals must live in certain areas to be elected to the board and only voters in those districts can vote.
In November, the seats representing Areas 2, 4, 5 and 6 will be up for election.
The Purdys and others, including the Tehachapi Association of Teachers, did outreach to inform the public about the changes and to encourage individuals to run.
Originally, 13 individuals filed for election but five later changed their minds. Although their names will be on ballots, Nathanael Harbison, Erika Gunn, Peter Franco, Lisa Lopez and Angie Cortes have indicated that they are not pursuing their candidacy.
Seven of the eight remaining candidates attended the meet and greet event on Oct. 15.
From Area 2, Ben Dewell and Cora Gutierrez participated in the event. Cassandra Sweeney was invited but reportedly unable to attend due to a prior family commitment.
From Area 4 were Dana Christensen and Deborah
Du-Sorenson.
From Area 5 was the only remaining active candidate, W. Wayne Cooper.
And from Area 6 were Paul Kaminski and J. Jeff Schulstad.
OTHER SPEAKERS
Tehachapi resident Lori Cisneros, one of two candidates for the Kern County Board of Education Seat #7, which represents an area including Tehachapi, attended and spoke at the forum.
She is running against an appointed incumbent, Ernie Bell of Ridgecrest.
Three members of the TUSD board also attended the event including board President Nancy Weinstein. She thanked the organizers and the candidates and reminded them that service on the school board “is all about the kids.”
Trustee Joe Wallek told the candidates that being a trustee is all about transparency and accountability and emphasized the importance of not being a “rubber stamp.”
Trustee Tracy Kelly shared with candidates the importance of the school board and challenged them to find the energy to grow and figure out what they think our community, kids, staff and everyone needs.
Weinstein and Wallek are incumbents who do not have an opportunity to run for reelection because of the redistricting. Kelly has two years remaining on his term and represents the new Area 1.
DISCUSSION
Candidates and others in attendance were provided with a workbook assembled by the organizers that shared information about the district with two themes: Informed parents are involved parents and understanding comes from more dialogue, not less.
The packet included information about parents’ rights, local school test scores, common acronyms used in discussing education and more.
Candidates were given an opportunity to introduce themselves and asked a variety of questions. Across the board, their answers to the final question — what is the most pressing issue for the board to address — included the need to find ways to address the learning loss related to COVID-19 and to improve student performance.
All agreed that in-person instruction is better than the virtual classroom situations employed during
the pandemic shutdown. And to a question from a parent about masking, most candidates responded that it should be a matter of personal choice and there seemed to be a consensus that the science did not support the continued use of masks by schoolchildren.
A question about what candidates might do as board members to support a student who thinks they might be gay or lesbian and says they are not feeling safe in school eroded into an argument between audience members. But once the question was turned over to the candidates, there was consensus among those responding to the importance of children feeling safe at school.
THE CANDIDATES
Active candidates in Area 2 are Dewell, Gutierrez and Sweeney.
An atmospheric scientist, Dewell currently serves as a director of Stallion Springs Community Services District and a member of the hearing board of the Eastern Kern Air Pollution Control District. He has a master’s degree from the University of California, Davis and has lived in the school district for five years.
A homemaker and student, 43-year-old Gutierrez lives in Stallion Springs and
said she is proud to call Tehachapi home and has lived in the school district for the past 10 years. She has credentials in HR Management and is currently in the accelerated Master of Legal Studies program at the University of Arizona with a concentration in Compliance and Legal Risk Management.
A parent and area manager for Amazon, Sweeney is 39 and a resident of the district for 19 years. She has two bachelor’s degrees and is currently working on a master’s degree.
Active candidates in Area 4 are Christensen and Du-Sorenson.
A Navy veteran, Christensen is 62 and retired. He has lived in the district eight years and said his education history includes some college.
A special education teacher with a master’s degree in social behaviors, Du-Sorenson is 61 and has lived in the district for about 14 years.
Cooper is the only active candidate in Area 5. He is 80 years old and wrapping up his final semester as an adjunct professor of chemistry at Bakersfield College. He has lived in the district for 46 years and retired in June 2020 after 20-plus years of teaching, having previously spent nearly 30 years working in industry in areas of chemical research, environmental and
governmental affairs, business and chemical process development. He earned a doctorate in chemistry.
Active candidates in Area 6 are Kaminski and Schulstad.
Kaminski, a retired educator, will be 67 on Election Day. He has lived in the school district for 19 years and has master’s degrees in reading and educational management from the University of La Verne. His experience with the district includes 11 years as a teacher (Golden Hills), 11-1/2 years as a vice principal (Cummings Valley, Golden Hills and Jacobsen Middle School), 7½ years as a principal, one year as interim superintendent and one year as secondary academic coach (JMS and Tehachapi High School). He retired from the district in June 2020.
Schulstad is a retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. who has lived in Tehachapi since 2017. He retired from the Air Force and Nevada Air National Guard after 27 years of service. He is 55 years old and has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.