For the first time in decades, there’s a competitive political contest in the Goleta Union School District. 

Two self-professed conservative candidates are looking to win seats on the five-member board by knocking off an incumbent and taking one open seat vacated by longtime board member Susan Epstein.

The Goleta Union School District board election is just one of several on the South Coast through which conservatives are looking to tip the balance of power.

The challenge, however, is steep. There are 24,000 registered Democrats and 8,300 Republicans in the district, which also has 10,196 voters who have registered as “no party preference.” There are 25,000 households and about 45,000 voters in the district.

Six candidates in all are running, including incumbent Sholeh Jahangir and challengers Caroline Abate, Devany Bechler, Vicki Ben-Yaacov, Greg Hammel and Patricia “Max” Rorty.

Unlike in Santa Barbara, no screaming issues exist around the district’s policies. The return to school amid the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated recent discussions, but issues such as closing the achievement gap between white students and students of color, ways to promote and encourage diversity and inclusion, and transparency in the district appear to be at the core of the board race.

The election is Nov. 3.

Caroline Abate

Abate is an unapologetic President Trump supporter who does not try to disguise her candidacy. 

“I am running for the Goleta Union School District to give voters the chance to hear a conservative perspective on the issues,” Abate said. “It is important, in order to make the most educated decision, for voters to listen to all perspectives very carefully and thoughtfully.”

Abate, a private school teacher, raised her public profile two years ago when she started speaking at Santa Barbara City Council meetings, delivering succinct public comment statements about her support for Trump.

She brings a traditionalist perspective to politics.

“English immersion is the best, time-tested, most efficient and cost-effective way to learn English,” Abate told Noozhawk. “Times of academic instruction are the perfect opportunity to learn English words, spelling, definitions and pronunciation.”

She said she has concerns about the Dual Language Immersion Program planned for El Camino Elementary School.

“Not using every opportunity to learn English results in a delay, which ultimately is harmful to fluent English-speaking ability as an adult,” she said. “This is the reality, and the same method by which children learn English to become native English speakers in our country.”

She also has concerns about sex education in Goleta schools.

“There are issues of public health and safety related to an increased amount of explicit sexual information being discussed at an elementary school,” Abate said. “Elementary school students have absolutely no need to know this information as it does nothing but put ideas into their head that they would never think of on their own.”

Abate also said she is concerned about fiscal responsibility. 

Devany Bechler

A former teacher and current parent in the district, Bechler said she wants to focus on improving student achievement.

“I believe every student has the right to an excellent education,” Bechler said. “It is the gateway to ending cycles of poverty, develops problem-solving skills and social skills, and leads to a more equitable society.”

She said her ability to bring people together and “get things done” makes her stand out as a candidate.

Bechler said she wants to increase parental involvement in schools because she believes it leads to high test scores, “regardless of racial, socioeconomic or ethnic background.”

She said getting parents to appreciate and invest in their school is a cost-effective way to engage students and increase achievement.

“Events after school should be convenient for families to attend,” Bechler said. “Child care should be provided, meals should be available, and transportation should be an option for those that need it.”

Bechler also said she wants to help the district improve its transparency and communication.

“Our websites aren’t updated, PTAs use different communication styles, and some sites operate small, sometimes selective Facebook groups to get the word out on school functions,” she said. “We need a thoughtful, consistent, baseline strategy to tackle communication and make sure our parents are regularly informed. And when thinking of this strategy, we need to utilize areas that parents are already plugged into, not create another thing for them to learn or check off their list of things to do. Trust comes with transparency, and I want to create an atmosphere that parents are being heard and listened to, and our district is capable of appropriately responding.”

Sholeh Jahangir

The incumbent Jahangir, endorsed by the county Democratic Party, touts the approval and start of the El Camino Dual Immersion Language Program as well as the district’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If re-elected, she wants to continue collaborating with district administration to provide safe and effective learning environments during COVID-19 and ensure equitable learning environments, access to technology and staff professional development.

She also said she wants to promote environmentally sustainable programs and reduce the achievement gap among students and schools.

“I believe strongly that the children of our community deserve the best education and support possible,” Jahangir said. “They are our bright and beautiful future, and I am honored to advocate for them and my community.”

She is a former teacher, PTA president and community volunteer.

Jahangir was raised locally. She attended Foothill Elementary School, La Colina Junior High School and San Marcos High School.

She is the former PTA president of Foothill.

“This experience was phenomenal and allowed me the opportunity to advocate for education and families,” she said. “I have chosen to run again because the community needs strong, experienced, reliable, honest and dependable leadership.”

Greg Hammel

Hammel said he wants to increase equity in the district.

A conservative candidate, he bemoans the district’s English and math proficiency levels, which are between 30 percent and 40 percent.

He said the students in the La Patera, Hollister and El Camino elementary schools are the most neglected.

“This has been a chronic, systemic problem that does not get properly addressed or solved,” he said.

Hammel said he wants the district to form an equity educational plan patterned off the success of Franklin Elementary School in Santa Barbara.

“What Goleta Union School District has been doing over the last 20 years to provide equitable education for students from low-income households has not been successful,” Hammel said. “It’s time to change our approach and try something new that has proven success.” 

He is a parent of three children who attended Goleta Union schools, and he is an engineer.

He also helped start Cans for Camps, a school recycling effort that raised more than $20,000 for school camps for children who needed financial assistance to attend the camp. He also helped establish and support the Math Super Bowl club at Isla Vista, is a former Dos Pueblos Little League coach and umpire, and coached basketball and football noontime leagues.

Patricia “Max” Rorty

Rorty, who has two young children, one of whom will join the district next year, is a social worker who founded the Santa Barbara Transgender Advocacy Network.

After she moved to Goleta, she helped form a local chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, or PFLAG. The group, she said, started to get inundated with parents of children who identified as trans.

“Three- and 5- and 7-year-olds who were saying I am not a girl, I am a boy,” Rorty said. “And that community needed its own group. And that group was the Santa Barbara Transgender Advocacy Network.”

She said the parents of trans kids found her so that she could do trainings with their doctors so that the kids could get safe access to their schools. She praised the district’s work in that regard.

“As a social worker, I know that our health and welfare is a function not of our inner resources but our outer circumstances, and so I wanted to support the district that has been supporting my patients,” Rorty said.

Rorty is endorsed by the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party. She said the main reason she is running is because of the threat she sees in the conservative candidates who are supported by Fair Education Santa Barbara.

“The Fair Education people are a real concern to me,” she said. “When I heard they were running for the Goleta school board, I vowed to defeat them.”

Vicki Ben-Yaacov

Besides incumbent Jahangir, Ben-Yaacov perhaps has the most experience working in the district. An engineer, she said she wants to open the door to students to understand how to apply science in the real world.

She is an immigrant from Taiwan who came to UCSB as a 21-year-old. She said most people are happy with Goleta schools and that district is moving in the right direction, with rising test scores. She supports the Dual Language Immersion Program at El Camino.

“We are moving in the right direction, and I would like to see that progress continue,” she said.

But, Ben Yaacov, who has two kids in the district, said she wants to open more students’ eyes to science.

“If we have a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) lab, how do we really fully utilize it?” she said. “Instead of having a STEAM lab there, how do you better integrate that into your curriculum?”

Ben-Yaacov has pushed greater environmental awareness on campus, including composting and proper food disposal. She is quick to point out, however, that she wants to work with the district. She is on a first-name basis with many district employees.

“I don’t like to be the person who goes there to complain,” Ben-Yaacov said. “If you work with the school district people long enough, you know everybody has good intentions. Everyone is trying hard to do their jobs.”

— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.