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By Susan Taylor and Miriam Raftery
November 3, 2022 (La Mesa) – The La Mesa-Spring Valley School District will soon have a majority of new faces, since incumbents Megan Epperson and Charda Bell are not seeking reelection in trustee areas 1 and 3. In addition, the resignation of Sarah Rhiley resulted in the Board appointing Nathanial Allen last month to complete her term in trustee area 5.
Six candidates are vying for three seats on the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District Board. In trustee area 1, business owner and former board member Jim Long is running against Tiffany Caitlin, a teacher. In area 2, board president Rebecca McRae, an elementary school teacher, seeks reelection and faces challenger Myriam Moody, a community college professor. In area 3, La Mesa Planning Commissioner Brianna Coston is running against teacher and university administrator Hermann Kyle.
The California Teachers Association has endorsed Caitlin, McRae, and Coston. So has the San Diego County Democratic Party. The San Diego County Republican Party has endorsed Moody and Kyle.
East County Magazine sent questionnaires to all candidates running but disappointingly, only one candidate, Jim Long, replied. His responses are published below.
1: Please describe your qualifications in the form of a brief biography, and why you decided to run for school board in this district.
A: was on the school board for La Mesa-Spring Valley Schools from 2016-2020. Due to our adoption of trustee areas, I was not able to run again in 2020 because a sitting board member lived in trustee area 1 already. The board member in my trustee area decided not to seek reelection. After receiving several requests to run again, I made the decision to step up. I hope to be able to serve again.
My past experience and education have given me a variety of for-profit and non-profit work opportunities in both large and small organizations. I've worked for others as well as serving as a leader. I currently own a small business in La Mesa. In my career I have worked in and overseen business operations, human resources, finance, and marketing. I understand how to listen, learn, and lead. I've made great decisions and mistakes, endeavoring to give credit to the team for the successes and yet take responsibility myself for the failures. The school board is not a stepping stone for me. I have no intention of launching a political career. Instead, I want to do the right thing for our students and staff, not serve a political agenda.
My wife Kristin and I have been married for 25 years and we have two boys who went through our district's schools from Kindergarten through 8th grade. Kyle is attending Cal Poly Pomona, and Keaton is at Grossmont High School. We live in Fletcher Hills.
2. How are the students in your district doing academically? Coming out of the pandemic, how can we best help students make up for any learning losses, and build improvements in achievement testing?
Some students kept up academically during the pandemic and others struggled tremendously. The result is we have a lot of work to do to help these students. Our teachers and staff do an amazing job of identifying the needs of students individually and then meeting the students where they are to help them learn.
It will take years of continual effort to make up for lost ground. Our state needs to provide more of the surplus funds they have to school districts so that additional support can be provided to students who need academic help. We could also use financial support for issues such as mental health, as we know our students were not just impacted academically.
3. Do you have any criticism of the way the district handled its responses to COVID (remote learning vs. in person, masking, vaccines, campus shutdowns, social distancing, etc.) – have policies been too strict, not strict enough, or about right?
It's easy to look back to see the mistakes that were made. We know so much more now than we did at the beginning of the pandemic. I'm proud of the work that was done by our teachers, staff, and administrators. And I'm so proud of our students. None of us had many choices, as so many of the decisions were made by federal, state and county officials (departments of health, state and county boards of education, etc.). Not to mention the many confusing messages we all received.
What we know is we have a lot of work to do to get our students back on track. And as we learn more about our country's response to the pandemic, we cannot repeat the mistakes that were made, and we must use what we learn to respond better in the event we face another enormous challenge like this in the future.
4. What more might be done in the district to protect students and teachers from gun violence, given the rise in school shootings nationwide?
It brings tears to my eyes that we have to deal with this topic. I loved that we had open campuses when I was a child and that my parents could walk right up to my classroom to get me after school let out. It's wrong that our teachers and staff have to be in a position to be human shields for our children (though I love and appreciate them so much for being willing to do it.) Folks, that's not a solution! These are the things I believe we need to do in the present. One, we need to have perimeter fencing and single-point access to the campus. Two, we need to have security cameras all around our schools. And three, we need to have police officers assigned to our elementary and middle school campuses like we do for our high schools.
5. Which programs would be funding priorities for you?
One area is salaries and benefits. Hiring and retention are huge issues across our country at all levels and in all fields. And this problem is no different in education. We all know we live in a very expensive city and we need to make sure that our teachers and staff are paid appropriately, and that they're able to afford to live here, buy homes, and care for their families. Attracting the best and then keeping them with us is one of my top priorities.
Another is safety and security. We cannot neglect this crucial area (see my answer to #4 for more details).
One more I'll cite is equity. We need to ensure that all students have what they need to learn. We have homeless students who are living in cars or shelters, students whose household language is not English, and children whose parents may not know how to help their students when they are struggling in certain subjects. We have families that can afford new shoes for their kids anytime they need them, and others who struggle to just put food on the table. And there are other realities that I need to learn about, and you might need to learn about them as well. These are not just life realities, they are also obstacles to learning, and we need to help these kids so that they learn at the same pace as students who don't face the same challenges.
6. Regarding civility and divisiveness, how would you set an example for students and others in contentious discussions during school board meetings?
The first skill we must improve on is listening for understanding. We all have life experiences that inform our decisions. Our education, personal challenge and tragedy, and family dynamics, to name a few areas all have filled our lives with good and bad experiences that we apply to decisions we make and opinions we have. It's vital that we listen to people share those stories so that we not only know what they think but why they think it. We need to respect others and seek to learn before we can ever hope to find real solutions. We also need to allow people space to process, because not everyone deals with what they hear the same way and at the same speed. I have worked hard in my life learning to listen, seek understanding, and be respectful in response. I expect the same in our school board meetings.
7. What are your views on the teaching of critical race theory, teaching history/civics, banning books, or other hot button issues raised in some other districts?
Over the years, our thinking on so many subjects hasevolved. Things that are accepted today as normal were hot buttons decades ago. I'm sure as you read this you can think of a those yourself.
What are my thoughts about the hot button topics of today? They're the same as they were when I was a kid. One is that parents should be teaching many of these subjects. It's possible they're not because they don't know how or what to say. One solution could be to provide balanced educational resources to parents that give all sides so they can effectively teach their children. Another is that we need to make sure that the topics being taught are appropriate for the grade levels. Politicians shouldn't be deciding this - the experts should, with direction and input from parents. And expanding on my first point about parents. It's essential for our educational system to be careful not to overstep. School is not the only source of learning for our children. Parents need to be the ultimate decision makers for their children and have control over what is being taught to their children, when it's taught and how it's taught.
8. Are there any other issues you’re concerned about, such as teacher shortages, or other information you’d like our readers to know about the district or your candidacy?
I covered so many of the important topics through the answers in this questionnaire. I want to thank the voters for approving the school bond for La Mesa-Spring Valley Schools in 2020. These much-needed funds are being spent responsibly to modernize our schools, improve safety, and upgrade to the latest technology for our students. I also hope that members of our community will attend board meetings to learn about all that's happening and give input on critical areas such as curriculum, school safety, and our budget.
9. Do you have endorsements and/or a webpage you’d like to share?
I don't have a web page. But if anyone living within the boundaries of the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District has any questions or comments for me, they are welcome to reach out to me via email or phone. My contact information is listed in my candidate statement in your ballot. Transparency is vital and I'm here to listen and make a difference.
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