PEPS Hosting Public Debate with SB School Board Candidates

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/101812_peps_debate_sb_school_board_candidates/

By Gina Perry for PEPS

A debate between the four candidates vying for three available seats on the Santa Barbara school board will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29 in the Central Library’s Faulkner Gallery and is free to the public.

The debate will be hosted by Parents for Excellence in Public Schools (PEPS), a nonprofit, nonpartisan parent and community coalition.

The Santa Barbara school board candidates will debate topics including school reform, teacher accountability, school funding and asset maintenance. 

The debate will include an “open mic” opportunity for members of the public to ask questions, and candidates will remain after the debate for a public meet-and-greet. 

The school board oversees Santa Barbara’s elementary schools, four junior high schools and three high schools, including Goleta Valley Junior High and Dos Pueblos High School. The board controls curriculum, budgets, union contracts, the school calendar, and the construction and closing of schools. Members serve four-year terms.

The Oct. 29 debate will be moderated by Mark Pomerantz, M.D. The PEPS 2010 School Board Candidate Debate drew a standing-room-only crowd. 

— Gina Perry represents Parents for Excellence in Public Schools (PEPS).

http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/101812_peps_debate_sb_school_board_candidates/