TWO CANDIDATES VIE FOR OPEN SEAT ON SANTEE SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD

School bond also on ballot for Santee voters

By Mike Allen

Photo:  Monique Silver, left, and Tracie Silver, right

October 5, 2024 (Santee) --The Santee School District has two seats on its governing board up for election next month. Dianne El-Hajj is running unopposed for Seat No. 2, while Seat No. 4 has two candidates, retired teacher Monique Silver and teacher's aide Tracie Thill.

The candidates shared their views on issues ranging from closing the post-COVID learning gap to parental rights vs.censorship and inclusivity.

Monique Silver

This is Silver’s first attempt at seeking public office. Now retired, she was a credentialed teacher for more than 20 years, split about evenly in the Central Valley and San Diego. A resident of Santee for more than 10 years, two of her three children still attend schools in the district, which she calls “the core of this community.”

A big priority for her is fixing the learning gap that was born out of all the issues surrounding the pandemic.

“This has happened throughout the country, not just here. I want to work with teachers to make sure that they have access to all the resources they need to prepare students,” she said.

In addition to the global pandemic, students had to deal with the real or potential violence from mass shootings. “As a result we face declining enrollment and student mental health crisis because their basic needs aren’t being met, which hinders their ability to learn and grow,” Silver said.

To address this, Silver wants the district to partner with local agencies such as the County Office of Education, and expand access to onsite services. She also wants the board to look at adopting an anti-bullying program.

“Our students and staff deserve to feel safe while learning and teaching. We need to have transparency when something is happening on campus,” she said.

One of the reasons she decided to run was to provide an alternative to Thill who she says has very different views than hers.

“My opponent is not representative of most of the teachers and students (at Santee School District). They reached out to me after they heard me speak and agree with what I say,” says Silver. She cites concern over Thill’s endorsement by Mom’s for Liberty, a group that has advocated for banning books and school curricula that mentions critical race theory and LGBTQ, also advocating against vaccine mandates.

Silver is opposed to book banning and instead would advocate students “have access to books with characters from all different backgrounds to help them thrive.” She also wants to supplement classroom learning with other activities such as science fairs and field trips, something she’s had experience organizing during her teaching career.

Silver said she’s endorsed by a diverse set of Santee parents, community and faith-based leaders, the San Diego Education Alliance, small business owners, Alliance for Democracy of East County, and elected officials including Congresswoman Sara Jacobs and State Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins.

Tracie Thill

After coming in second place in her first foray into politics two years ago,  Thill says she’s better prepared in her quest for a seat on the Santee School District board. “I’ve learned how to read a room,” she says. She was also astute to make a move on a seat held by longtime and respected board member, Elana Levens-Craig. “I wouldn’t have run if she didn’t decide to leave the board.”

When Levens-Craig decided not to run again (her term is up in December), Thill ramped up her campaign, which has a robust presence across social media, as well as lots and lots of signs.

As a current para-professional who assists a teacher in all aspects of the curriculum for nine years, Thill says she wants to boost parental involvement in school activities and board decision-making.

“I’m passionate about strengthening that partnership between families and schools, ensuring that parents are informed and have a meaningful voice in the decisions that affect their children,” she said.

Some two years ago, Thill, a 23-year resident of Santee, butted heads with the Santee district’s rules in response to the pandemic in the schoolrooms, and was terminated from her job as an instructional aide in the district. She is now employed at another East County school district she declined to name.

In an effort to provide more transparency about the board’s activities she began recordings its meetings and posting them on her Instagram page. Last year, the board decided to record its meetings, and post these on the district website for 30 days. Thill wants to have those recordings retained indefinitely.

“Government should be working for you, and I’m 100 percent in favor of transparency laws, and I believe the school district should be doing this as well,” she said.

She also wants Santee’s district to improve academic achievement. The Union-Tribune did a listing of the top 15 districts in the county, and Santee didn’t make it. That should change she says.

One of her priorities is to give teachers all the right tools to do their jobs. “Our educators can’t be expected to deliver high-quality instruction without all the resources they need,” she said.

To this end, she says more instructional aides are needed in classrooms and more time allocated for teacher preparation time.

Overall, the Santee school district “is doing a great job fiscally, and a pretty good job academically, but there’s always room for improvement,” Thill said.

Thill says she opposes book banning, as an avid reader herself, but believes in “empowering parents to have a say in what materials their children are exposed to in schools.” She supports the district’s policy of notifying parents what materials a student has checked out  from a school library to ensure that “values and concerns of families are respected.”

As for her opponent’s claim that Thill is not representative of most students and teachers in the district, Thill responds, “That's her opinion. The residents of Santee-the teachers who reside here, the taxpayers, the grandparents, and the PARENTS- will determine who is best representative through the process of election. 

Thill is endorsed by the Republican Party of San Diego, the East County Chamber of Commerce, all five members of the Santee City Council, and State Sen. Brian Jones, among others.

Santee school bond measure

Also on the November ballot, the Santee School District is asking approval for a $30.6 million bond issue called Measure NN. It needs a minimum 55 percent of the vote to pass. The bonds would pay for a variety of expenses including replacing leaking pipes and plumbing; repairing air conditioning; updating emergency communications; and improving school security.

The bonds would result in school district homeowners paying an average of $11.54 per $100,000 of their home’s assessed value. The San Diego County Taxpayer Association is in favor of its passage, unlike Measure S, which would add a half cent to the current sales tax in the city of Santee. Those funds would go towards enhanced fire protection and services within the city.