Four years ago, Rose Munoz was elected to the Santa Barbara Unified School District board. On Tuesday, she will look to hold on to her seat against the challenge of candidate Phebe Mansur.
No matter what happens, the tide of the district is about to change. Board member Laura Capps plans to step down in December before taking her seat on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. In January, the board plans to interview applicants and make an appointment to fill her seat.
In Trustee Area 1, three candidates — Efi Banales, Gabe Escobedo and Dan La Berge — are vying for an open seat on the board.
Munoz is backed by the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party and has raised about $3,500. Mansur, whose most high-profile endorsement is from the Santa Barbara County Deputy Sheriffs Association, has raised about $4,430 for her campaign.
The contest comes at a time when overall student test scores in the Santa Barbara Unified School District dropped 8.87% in math and 6.37% in English, according to 2022 information released from the California Department of Education.
The number of Hispanic students who met or exceeded standards in English dropped to 34.44% in 2022 from 39.8% in 2019. Hispanic students’ math scores fell to 21.77% from 29.91%.
For Black students, the decline in those who met or exceeded state standards was even steeper. Scores in English plunged to 26.67% in 2022 from 51% in 2019. In math, the number fell even further, to 17.86% from 44.23%.
Phebe Mansur
A small-business owner, Mansur said she would bring unique solutions to the school board. The owner of CopyRight Printing, she said small businesses like hers employ almost half of the nation’s workforce.
“We can reverse the nearly 10-year trend of declining enrollment by simply refocusing the curriculum on the basics,” Mansur said. “Increasing the amount of time students spend on reading and math will help to improve the shockingly high illiteracy rates in reading and math.”
She said that as a board member, she would be committed to representing parents, teachers and students and encourage them to share their concerns to find creative solutions.
She lists improving school safety; increasing literacy and math skills, and investing in career technical education as goals if elected to the school board.
Mansur said her plan to improve literacy rates involves establishing a strong foundation.
“We need to switch from teaching ‘balanced literacy’ to the ‘science of reading,’” Mansur said.
The district’s first steps, she said, should be to conduct a critical assessment of how students’ time is spent during the school day, followed by increasing the teaching time for literacy and math, and then performing individual student assessments and providing tutors to assist students who need additional help.
“Graduating students should be competent in core subjects and immediately employable or ready for college,” Mansur said.
Mansur also has been vocal in opposition the district’s sex education curriculum, Teen Talk.
“Many parents objected to the school district’s choice in sexual health curriculum,” Mansur said. “The California Healthy Youth Act specifically states that parents should be included. As a board member, parents can count on me to respect their opinions and advocate for the implementation of HEART, a parent-selected curriculum that fits the state guidelines.”
Mansur said one of the reasons why she is endorsed by the Santa Barbara County Deputy Sheriffs Association is because she places a high priority on the safety of children, teachers and staff.
“I would advocate placing a resource officer on campuses,” Mansur said. “This provides a greater level of safety and allows students to focus on learning.”
She is also an advocate for increasing career technical education programs.
“Understanding that college is not for everyone helps us to provide appropriate opportunities for students by increasing career technical education and dual learning to learn about various career paths,” she said.
Rose Munoz
Munoz is a social worker and serves as the president of the Santa Barbara Unified School District board.
She is in her first four years on the school board and on the campaign trail has focused on inclusion.
“The priorities of my campaign are for all of our schools to offer a healthy and supportive learning environment,” Munoz said. “I believe in campuses that are inclusive and allow for students to learn.”
On literacy rates, Munoz referenced the Multi Systems of Support (MTSS), which includes instruction, intervention and support.
“It provides a way for teachers to identify how students best respond to the curriculum and also addresses behavioral needs,” Munoz said. “My role as a board member is to evaluate the literacy rates and test scores to determine how to increase student achievement in an equitable manner.”
Munoz also said she is a strong support of district staff and teachers.
“They are the frontline workers that have supported our students during the pandemic and in the aftermath,” Munoz said. “Including the teachers in the conversation by providing training and coaching and participating in the listening tours of our campuses has been helpful to determine how the board can best respond to their needs.”
Munoz has been a strong supporter of the Teen Talk sexual health curriculum.
“As a mental health professional and a progressive advocate in the community, I feel strongly about the need for inclusion and conversation in our schools about sex education,” Munoz said. “The likelihood of depression, low self-esteem and bullying is increased if support and understanding are not available to our youth.”
She noted that parents can have their children opt out if they decide not to have them participate in a sexual education class. Munoz said teachers evaluated several sexual education curriculums and recommended Teen Talk to the board.
“There was a small but vocal group opposed to the curriculum because it included discussion regarding sexuality and gender issues,” Munoz said.
Munoz was born and raised in Santa Barbara.
“I faced many challenges when I was growing up and relate to the struggles of faced by the students in our community,” Munoz said.
She said she supported the ethnic studies requirement for high school graduation and attended the student-led forums on ethnic studies at high school campuses.
“Ethnic studies are crucial in our schools for many reasons; students benefit from learning about their own history and the diverse cultures of their peers,” Munoz said. “I believe in the importance of ethnic studies beginning in pre-kindergarten through high school, in an age-appropriate manner. It has the positive benefit of a better campus environment for all students.”
She said if she is re-elected she would devote her time and energy to the academic achievement and emotional well-being of “all the students in the district.”
— 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.
