Opinion
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – If you’ve ever considered running for the school board, now’s your chance.
The Kelseyville Unified School District board has three vacancies and we’re looking for strong, qualified candidates who are passionate about education and willing to volunteer for a four-year term to help students reach their potential. Any registered voter who lives in the district can apply.
The role of a school board member is to set the vision for the school district as well as providing financial oversight for the use of taxpayer dollars.
The California School Board Association names five core responsibilities: Setting direction; establishing an effective and efficient structure; providing support; ensuring accountability; providing community leadership as advocates for children, the school district and public schools.
Authority is granted to the board as a whole, not each member individually. Therefore, board members fulfill these responsibilities by working together as a governance team with the superintendent to make decisions that will best serve all the students in the community.
In Kelseyville, board members meet for regular meetings once a month, but additional meetings are often required as issues arise. Truth is, this is a tough job, but for the right person, it’s a rewarding one.
Although board members do not deal with the daily operations of a school district – things like hiring and firing personnel or creating class schedules – they do set the policies we depend on to make good operational decisions.
It really does take a special person to be a school board member, someone who isn’t afraid to stand up for what they believe and who understands they can’t always please everyone.
Kelseyville is a diverse community; it’s one of our greatest strengths, but it can also make it hard to be an elected official.
If you’re not scared away by now, you might have what it takes. Here are some details.
To get on the ballot, a candidate must submit the filing fee the following completed forms to the Lake County Registrar of Voters through Aug. 7: declaration of candidacy, statement of economic interests and candidate’s statement of qualifications.
The statement of economic Interests discloses a candidate’s investments, interests in real estate and any income received in the last 12 months.
The statement of qualifications allows candidates to write up to 200 words about their qualifications (note: it must be filed at the same time as the declaration of candidacy).
A handbook with all the details is available from the Lake County Registrar of Voters. If you have specific questions, their helpful clerks can be reached at 707-263-2372.
I’d love to meet with anyone thinking about running to answer any questions you may have and share information about our district. You can schedule an appointment with me by calling the District Office at 707-279-1511.
If you’d like to connect with current Kelseyville Unified board members, you can find their emails on our website.
Dave McQueen is the superintendent of Kelseyville Unified School District.
- Details
- Written by: Dave McQueen
For years I have watched some Americans turn a deaf ear to other Americans.
The results are demonstrations in our streets and some cities on fire, as people protest racial inequality, police brutality, low wages, lack of economic opportunities and reduced funding for education.
As most Americans, I watched the video of George Floyd dying on the street in Minneapolis, handcuffed, with four police officers holding him down. I cried because of the racial injustice of it. But this went beyond a white police officer killing a black man. The scene reminded me of Nazi Germany, where soldiers without a conscience casually snuffed out the lives of millions of Jews, Catholics, blacks and homosexuals.
Regardless of race, the murder in Minneapolis was the brazen lack of compassion by one human being for another.
So where does America go from here? What would compassion in our country look like?
When a police officer takes a knee in unity with peace protesters, they are showing compassion, because they are listening. And those officers have my respect.
When our elected federal officials raise taxes on wealthy Americans to provide a living wage for underpaid government workers; to support our education system and combat pollution … they will finally be listening.
When our local government promotes economic development to provide good paying jobs and opportunities for our young people ... they will finally be listening.
When we care enough about health care for others, as we do about such care for ourselves…. we will finally be listening.
When young people, who anxiously observe, how we are “trashing” our oceans, with no plan to address it ... They know we are not listening. Because in order to survive and provide a living planet for their children, they must clean up what irresponsible older generations, so nonchalantly discard.
As young people inherit a warming planet complete with dying animals, they are angry and crying out for action … and who is listening?
When local education officials (school superintendents and school boards), teachers and classified staff ask for more funding for underpaid workers; when school districts ask to hire more teachers, counselors and school nurses to address the pain of school children who cannot learn due to hunger, medical problems and turmoil at home … we need to listen.
When high school students who want to go to college or a vocational school, to further their education and become responsible, financially secure adults, we need to help them attain their dreams with generous grants and low interest loans. Therefore, we need to listen.
When our local government finally makes it a priority to increase taxes a little, to help others obtain a living wage; and be responsible for public services they have not fully provided … We need to listen and engage to support those priorities.
When corporations and small businesses take pride in providing a living wage to their employees (even if it means increasing their prices to do so) then they will finally be listening.
Asking for a living wage is not socialism. It is not a threat to capitalism. It is simply a request for people to be able to pay their bills and raise their families without living in poverty. And if you cannot hear that message by now … then you are not listening.
My heart is breaking for the many years of pain, racial, economic and educational inequality in America that has brought us to … today.
As Americans, we are faced with a choice. Do we care more about helping other Americans out of poverty, or do we care more about saving money?
Do we continue to turn a blind eye and deny the racial and gender hardships that exist? Or do we engage in the difficult conversations needed to overcome it.
It is not a weakness to communicate with compassion. And we have a growing list of police officers taking a knee, to show us the way.
Anna Rose Ravenwoode is a life-long educator who lives in Kelseyville, California.
The results are demonstrations in our streets and some cities on fire, as people protest racial inequality, police brutality, low wages, lack of economic opportunities and reduced funding for education.
As most Americans, I watched the video of George Floyd dying on the street in Minneapolis, handcuffed, with four police officers holding him down. I cried because of the racial injustice of it. But this went beyond a white police officer killing a black man. The scene reminded me of Nazi Germany, where soldiers without a conscience casually snuffed out the lives of millions of Jews, Catholics, blacks and homosexuals.
Regardless of race, the murder in Minneapolis was the brazen lack of compassion by one human being for another.
So where does America go from here? What would compassion in our country look like?
When a police officer takes a knee in unity with peace protesters, they are showing compassion, because they are listening. And those officers have my respect.
When our elected federal officials raise taxes on wealthy Americans to provide a living wage for underpaid government workers; to support our education system and combat pollution … they will finally be listening.
When our local government promotes economic development to provide good paying jobs and opportunities for our young people ... they will finally be listening.
When we care enough about health care for others, as we do about such care for ourselves…. we will finally be listening.
When young people, who anxiously observe, how we are “trashing” our oceans, with no plan to address it ... They know we are not listening. Because in order to survive and provide a living planet for their children, they must clean up what irresponsible older generations, so nonchalantly discard.
As young people inherit a warming planet complete with dying animals, they are angry and crying out for action … and who is listening?
When local education officials (school superintendents and school boards), teachers and classified staff ask for more funding for underpaid workers; when school districts ask to hire more teachers, counselors and school nurses to address the pain of school children who cannot learn due to hunger, medical problems and turmoil at home … we need to listen.
When high school students who want to go to college or a vocational school, to further their education and become responsible, financially secure adults, we need to help them attain their dreams with generous grants and low interest loans. Therefore, we need to listen.
When our local government finally makes it a priority to increase taxes a little, to help others obtain a living wage; and be responsible for public services they have not fully provided … We need to listen and engage to support those priorities.
When corporations and small businesses take pride in providing a living wage to their employees (even if it means increasing their prices to do so) then they will finally be listening.
Asking for a living wage is not socialism. It is not a threat to capitalism. It is simply a request for people to be able to pay their bills and raise their families without living in poverty. And if you cannot hear that message by now … then you are not listening.
My heart is breaking for the many years of pain, racial, economic and educational inequality in America that has brought us to … today.
As Americans, we are faced with a choice. Do we care more about helping other Americans out of poverty, or do we care more about saving money?
Do we continue to turn a blind eye and deny the racial and gender hardships that exist? Or do we engage in the difficult conversations needed to overcome it.
It is not a weakness to communicate with compassion. And we have a growing list of police officers taking a knee, to show us the way.
Anna Rose Ravenwoode is a life-long educator who lives in Kelseyville, California.
- Details
- Written by: Anna Rose Ravenwoode
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