On Aug. 15, I wrote a check for more than $5,000 and completed a slew of forms to declare my candidacy for the Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Trustees.
I did not take this step lightly. As a 24-year resident of Santa Barbara and a parent of a child who went through its school system, I am deeply concerned with the state of public education in Santa Barbara, as well in California and nationally. We are facing a national crisis, as a very high percentage of our kids are leaving school without the requisite skills to compete for jobs in the 21st century. I am committed to making the hard but necessary reforms to change our schools and to ensure that every student, regardless of race, ethnicity or socio-economic background, receives a first-rate education.
The future of our Republic depends on a well-educated populace; otherwise, we will be leaving a country to the next generation very different from the one we inherited.
Click here for my Aug. 16 Noozhawk commentary, “Why I Am Running for Santa Barbara School Board,” which outlines my reasons for running and the steps we need to take to fix our broken schools.
— Lou Segal is a candidate for the Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Trustees.