Noozhawk invited Santa Maria Joint Union High School District candidates for two races on the ballot to answer questions about important local issues.

Three seats are on the ballot this year but voters will only fill two. Incumbent Feliciano Aguilar, an educator, was the lone candidate to file for the Trustee Area 2 so he automatically wins another term. 

For Trustee Area 4, Diana Perez, college administrator, and Alex Jauregui, principal/educator, are running to represent the northwest areas of Santa Maria and stretching west to include Guadalupe.

Trustee Area 5, which includes Orcutt, Los Alamos Valley along with Sisquoc, Garey and Tepusquet, also has two candidates — incumbent and aviation professional David Baskett and educator Joe Dana.  

Only voters in specific board member areas will choose the winners of the races. A map showing the trustee areas can be found by clicking here.

Read the answers submitted by David Baskett and Joe Dana below.

David E. Baskett, Aviation Professional 

Question: What experience and expertise would you bring to the school board?

Baskett: The SMJUSD schools are well run, maintained, energized and dealing with a wide variety of students. About 9,000 “Bell Curve” students from both stable and troubled situations have a caring, professional team including mechanics, bus drivers, campus and student caretakers, teachers, administrators and professional education board members.

I believe there is value in having a board member’s view that developed as the result of foreign missions, military, peace and war, DC politics, international business and an aerospace focus.

Question: What do you think are the most pressing issues the SMJUHSD over the next four years? How would you address these issues?

Baskett: Keeping the students safe! Safety is improving and it is good to have the uniformed security plus additional training for teachers and staff.

Overcrowded schools. Build another school! Unlike many other districts, the Santa Maria area is expected to grow more.

Question: After failing to get support for the most recent bond measure, what else does the SMJUHSD need to do to regain the support of the voters?

Baskett: Two years ago we missed by .05%. Expect a new effort in 2028. I think we board members can do more. 

Question: Is there anything else you’d like to add? 

Baskett: Yes: There is now a beautiful Technical Center where students can learn to weld, make parts, overhaul trucks, build buildings, grow food, cook food, and I hope build an airplane then learn to fly it.

I have opened a special account to help pay for flight lessons.

Joe Dana, Educator

Q: What experience and expertise would you bring to the school board?

Dana: I am a local boy who attended elementary and junior high school in Orcutt and graduated from Righetti High School in 1982. My wife, Angie, and I have two children, and they attended local schools as well.

My career has me ready to represent Orcutt and Los Alamos and serve on a school board. I just retired from a 37-year career in the Orcutt Union School District that included service as a teacher, school administrator, and district administrator. I am proud to have been principal of six schools all around the district, and for 16 years I oversaw the Orcutt Academy Charter. For the past five years, I served as Orcutt’s assistant superintendent of educational services, which gave me leadership experience with curriculum, instruction, assessment, student support systems, the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), and much more.

Over the years I have been very active in our community. I am a board member and past board chair of the Santa Maria Valley YMCA. I currently am board president of the Orcutt Children’s Arts Foundation. I have served on the boards of several nonprofits, including Northern Santa Barbara County United Way and the Santa Maria Public Library Foundation. 

Question: What do you think are the most pressing issues the SMJUHSD over the next four years? How would you address these issues?

Dana: Every undertaking in a school district is important. Three issues at the front of my mind are student and school safety, continuing the work to improve student academic achievement, and making sure students and families have what they need to support learning. As a trustee, I will visit schools to learn all I can about the district’s efforts on these fronts and advocate for improvements as needed.

This being said, I believe the most critical issue for our high school district is that it very much needs another high school. Pioneer Valley and Santa Maria high schools each have over 3,000 students, and Righetti has over 2,500 students, making them the biggest high schools in this area. Our high schools were not built to accommodate this many students, and the number of students presents challenges with student supervision and scheduling and makes the campus atmosphere overwhelming for some. For the good of students, our district needs to plan for a new high school.

As a trustee, I will request regular briefings on our progress as well as a board study session at which we can give momentum to the process of planning for a new school.

Question: After failing to get support for the most recent bond measure, what else does the SMJUHSD need to do to regain the support of the voters?

I don’t know that the district needs to “regain” support of voters – we just need to clearly communicate the needs of our students so a future bond measure can earn the required 55% approval from voters/taxpayers. Some key steps that the district needs to take:

• Reach out to all voices in planning for the future. This includes students, parents, employees, and the community. We also need to make sure our plan is aligned with what taxpayers are willing to support.
• Make sure our process for reviewing options and deciding on best next steps is open and inclusive. Having our board meetings live-streamed and accessible is not enough – we need to be reporting on this process all around our school district at numerous venues.
• Once we have a plan and are taking a bond measure to voters, we need to communicate thoroughly, be visible, and answer every question.

I truly believe that the people of our community are rooting for our students and schools. If we do a good enough job telling our story and why we need a new high school, they will support us.

Question: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Dana: I have some personal experiences that will enable me to be an asset to the board.

My wife and I have a son, Jacob, who is on the autism spectrum. Jacob has grown into an amazing adult and we could not be prouder of him. Raising a child with special needs has given me insight into these students’ experience in our school system that will make me a more empathetic, understanding trustee.

I am a veteran chair of Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation visits at high schools throughout Southern California. Going to numerous high school campuses in a range of settings has enlightened me on the many different, often creative, ways in which high schools can meet their students’ needs.

Finally, I am a former journalist who in the 1980s worked as sports editor and news editor for the Santa Maria Times. I learned quite a bit about our community through this work and developed friendships and associations that endure to this day. Also, the skills I learned as a reporter and editor have made me a better listener and communicator.

These answers have been lightly edited for style and formatting.

Additional candidate Q&As will be published on Noozhawk in the coming weeks.

Read more about local candidates and issues in Noozhawk’s Elections section.