7 candidates in crowded Petaluma school board race
Seven candidates are seeking three open seats on the Petaluma Joint Union High School District. The city’s largest school district, it represents 7,493 students across eight elementary schools and 10 secondary schools.
With a budget of $74 million, the district is one of the largest employers in Petaluma with a total staff of 878.
The candidates seeking office include the three incumbents, running as a slate - Michael Baddeley, Sheri Chlebowski and Phoebe Ellis. They face challengers Mady Cloud, Joanna Paun, Caitlin Quinn and Kimy Ruiz Seitz.
The Argus-Courier sent each candidate a questionnaire. The following is an abridged version of each candidate’s responses, in the order they were received. Ruiz Seitz did not return the questionnaire. See the full responses at Petaluma360.com.
Name: Caitlin Quinn
Age: 25
Occupation: Nonprofit Communications Coordinator
Education: BA, UC Berkeley in Political Science
Community activities, boards, volunteer work: Petaluma City Youth Commission, Associated Students of the University of California, Petaluma City Animal Services Advisory Committee Chair
Why are you running for a seat on the school board?
I am young, but that doesn’t mean I am inexperienced. As a student leader at UC Berkeley, I led efforts to register over 8,500 new voters in 2012 and another 2,500 in 2014. I know how to engage young people. I know what students’ issues are. I want to see our board be proactive in solving problems, not reactively scrambling to cover its bases.
How do you think the current school board has handled technology in the classroom, and what, if anything, would you do different?
I love to see that the District uses Google Drive and Google Calendar. I’m glad that the district has managed to find funding for some technology, but iPads and tablets are simply not as useful as laptops are. The students I work with lament their inability to use keyboards to type.
What improvements to school facilities would you recommend doing with the remaining bond money?
I would like to see funds committed to pay for Chromebooks or other light laptops that faculty actually requested instead of iPads. I am certain we could sell the iPads to recoup some of the initial costs to pay for them. I would also want to use some of this funding to provide furniture upgrades and the building a few more classrooms on campuses. I also think it would make sense to evaluate what vocational programs we want to see or expand. Better technology in art classrooms would be a huge asset. I also think opening up the drawing board to students would be a magical idea, giving seniors a way to use some of this funding to make a senior project that improves their current or former school.
What should the district do to keep children safe on campus?
I think queer and transgender students and faculty should all feel safe presenting their identity in whatever way they see fit, feel safe using whatever bathrooms and locker rooms they prefer. All students and families should know that ICE is not allowed on our campuses and that any information about undocumented members of our community will never be shared with ICE. Seeing all students as complex human beings with emotional needs is key to addressing the toxic culture that allows for things like school shootings to happen. Our kids should furthermore be breathing healthy air and consuming healthy food and drinks when at our school.
Are there other key issues facing the district that you would like to address if elected?
Between my own personal experiences with sexual violence at public schools and my professional experience working at Sonoma County’s rape crisis center, I know a lot about public schools’ requirements to follow Title IX law. Students deserve to feel safe from the threats of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and bullying. I would be highly interested in learning more about the restorative justice practices that schools in Santa Rosa are implementing and seeing if we can incorporate those practices.
Name: Phoebe Ellis
Age: 49
Occupation: Business owner/attorney, Lace House Linen
Education: BS, Boston College; MSW/JD, Loyola University of Chicago
Community activities, boards, volunteer work: Grant Elementary PTA President and School Site Council, Sonoma County Juvenile Justice Commission, PHS Athletic Boosters Club President, Miracle League North Bay board member
Why are you running for a seat on the school board?
I was appointed to the Petaluma City Schools Board in 2013 and then elected to a four-year term in 2014. I would like to continue to serve on the board in order to complete the lengthy list of bond projects that the citizens of Petaluma approved. We hired a new superintendent three years ago and we have been active in supporting his transition and building innovative programs and curriculum in our schools. The board has also focused on college and career readiness for all of our students. I am involved in the Petaluma community and I talk to many parents and students who are involved with our schools. I have children attending Petaluma City Schools, and I remain firmly committed to actions that are in the best interest of our students.
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