Election Q&A with San Dieguito Union school board candidates

The Coast News has asked the candidates running for the San Dieguito Union High School District board of trustees to participate in a questionnaire about their stances on local issues ahead of the November election. 

The five-person board of trustees sets policies for the district, which serves 12,000 students in grades 7-12 at four middle schools and five high schools.

In the Area 4 race, incumbent Michael Allman is running against former Carlsbad Planning Commissioner and political consultant Kevin Sabellico. Area 4 represents Rancho Santa Fe and parts of Carmel Valley,

Jodie Williams, currently a trustee on the Encinitas Union School District board, and Kelly Friis, a parent and financial services executive, are both running for the SDUHSD Area 2 seat, which covers La Costa Canyon, La Costa Oaks South and Rancho Ponderosa. Incumbent Katrina Young is not running for re-election. 

All candidates besides Friis participated in the questionnaire, with emailed responses outlined below.

Q: As a school board member, what strategies would you explore/implement to address declining enrollment in your district?

WILLIAMS: The School Board’s role, and mine as Trustee, is to analyze the bigger picture of socio-economic factors that may be impacting our district overall. If enrollment is declining, it may be due to a number of factors, such as a declining birth rate or the cost of living in our District, among others. As a Trustee, I would assess what factors are impacting our district as a whole and see what, if anything, the Board can or should be doing to address those issues.

With SDUHSD recognized as the best school district in San Diego and third in the state, I would also work with my co-trustees and District team to ensure we retain our top educational talent and staff — the people who make SDUHSD the phenomenal district it is. 

ALLMAN: Declining enrollment is mostly due to our community’s changing demographics. Our community is slowly aging, and families are having fewer children. As a result, student enrollment is declining by about 2% per year. Declining enrollment usually creates strain on a school district because revenues typically fall as the number of students decreases.

However, San Dieguito is different. Our revenue will increase as property taxes increase, even if enrollment decreases. As such, our spending per pupil will increase MORE than other school districts in the state. Thus, quite unusually, declining enrollment does not adversely affect the San Dieguito school district’s financial position. You can email me at [email protected] if you would like a further explanation.

SABELLICO: The population of all five cities encompassing the San Dieguito Union High School District has declined over the past four years, and the district’s enrollment has fallen proportionally. On top of that, North County is aging, which means fewer school-aged kids live in our district. As someone who served three and half years as a planning commissioner, I know why. On everything from homelessness, traffic congestion, and affordable housing, our government hasn’t done enough to spur investment and keep residents here.

This is a larger problem that affects all of California, not just the five cities in the San Dieguito Union High School District. Our city council members and state legislators can do a lot to reverse this trend, but the one thing school board trustees can do is maintain our schools’ reputation for academic excellence. Good public schools are essential for our economy and society to thrive. 

Q: As a school board official, what will you do to successfully implement the state’s ethnic studies guidelines while involving the community in the process?

WILLIAMS: SDUHSD has already initiated the appropriate steps to implement the ethnic studies curriculum mandated by the California state legislature. The SDUHSD team thoughtfully and carefully structured a program that follows California State guidance and standards. 

So far, the District has included our community with them in this journey, holding community forums with each milestone and plenty of opportunity for our community to collectively discuss the State standards, mandates, guidance and curriculum implementation.

As Trustee, I would ensure that our District continues down this path of following standards set by our State education officials and transparency with the community about the District’s adoption and implementation of those standards.  

ALLMAN: A one-semester ethnic studies course will be a graduation requirement in California starting with the class of 2030, and our school district is developing that course now. As your school board member, I worked with our superintendent to design a process that substantially involves community members. We have 12 community meetings, board workshops, and board meetings before the final curriculum is approved. 

At each meeting, the public has access to lesson plans and course materials. Curriculum materials will also be published on the district’s website. This process provides substantial transparency. In fact, our superintendent said that our process is the most transparent curriculum development process she has ever seen.

Our process is so innovative that the County Board of Education sends their staff to our meetings to observe and report to other districts about how the Number 1 School District in San Diego County develops new courses.

SABELLICO: San Dieguito is diverse, and I believe our curriculum should reflect the rich diversity of our school district. Assembly Bill 101 requires that ethnic studies be a graduation requirement beginning with the class of 2030.

Our teachers already do a terrific job selecting a diverse set of course materials, and topics related to ethnic studies have always been a part of the English and History curriculum – you simply can’t teach American or World History without talking about race. I believe having state standards to follow will provide important guideposts for teachers as we implement this new graduation requirement.

Many parents have concerns about ethnic studies, and their concerns are legitimate. I have long supported adding common-sense guardrails, which the Legislative Jewish Caucus proposed this legislative session. It didn’t pass this time, but as a trustee, I will continue to support this effort until it becomes law.

Q: What is your stance on AB 1955, which prohibits school districts from adopting or enforcing policies that would require employees to disclose information about a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to anyone without the student’s permission?

WILLIAMS: Public schools have always been a safe place for students, a place where students can feel welcome, find a sense of belonging, and receive support from adults they may not be receiving at home. AB 1955 codifies another element of that safety system for our students. This bill helps protect students who fear retribution at home if their gender identity or sexual orientation is disclosed prematurely.

While we hope the family home is also a safe space for students, data has shown that is not the case for all students, particularly when it comes to these sensitive issues. Our main priority as trustees has to be ensuring the safety of our students, which also means letting those students tell us when they are ready to talk about their gender identity and/or sexual orientation with anyone, including their parents and extended families.

ALLMAN: Every student has the right to choose how to express themselves, and this includes the name they go by, their pronouns, how they dress, and many other forms of self-expression. SDUHSD respects these personal choices.

We follow all laws governing school districts. AB1955 is controversial because it conflicts with the Federal law known as FERPA that provides parents access to all school records, including those referencing which names students prefer.

This is currently the subject of numerous lawsuits, and we will review our policies again as court decisions are finalized, so that we are consistently complying with the law. See: https://www.lawinc.com/classroom-confidential-lawsuit-california-ab-1955. To further reinforce that students’ individual expression is protected, I sponsored an anti-discrimination resolution to reaffirm that SDHUSD does not tolerate discrimination, bullying, or harassment, and I explicitly included protections for LGBTQ students, including those expressing their gender identity in the way they choose. 

SABELLICO: As a member of our LGBTQ community, let me be clear — these “notification” policies are systematic forced outing. It’s simply a fact that LGBTQ youth are far more likely to be homeless because of family rejection. Having resources to help students going through difficulties at home is meaningless if the school district puts those students in danger by breaching confidentiality. I was proud to support AB 1955, the Safety Act, which prohibits the forced outing of our students.

Our schools must be safe places to learn for all students, no matter how they identify. One way we accomplish that is by providing confidential resources for students to discuss important issues going on in their lives. If a student chooses to identify by another gender while at school, it should ultimately be their decision who to share that decision with.

Q: What are ways you can save taxpayer dollars and/or raise revenue for the district as a school board official?

WILLIAMS: If our district is acting in a fiscally responsible manner, the tax dollars allocated to our schools are already being maximized to their fullest potential. As trustees, our role is to ensure our District is budgeting appropriately and spending our limited resources wisely. If elected, I intend to review our operational spending and explore ways we can further stretch these resources. 

I would also ensure our board is acting appropriately and not intentionally enacting measures that are contrary to state law and expose SDUHSD to unnecessary litigation and the corresponding exorbitant costs that come with defending those lawsuits at the taxpayer’s expense. 

ALLMAN: The vast majority of our district’s revenue comes from local property taxes, which is beyond the control of our school board. High school foundations and PTSAs also raise money for schools, and I support their continued success. Our district will see increases in revenue-per-student which will dramatically help our financial situation without increasing property tax rates. Our board controls some district expenditures, and we can find ways to save money.

Almost 90% of our budget is allocated for salaries for certificated teachers, classified staff and district leadership. We offer the highest salaries in the county to retain our excellent staff, but as enrollment declines, natural attrition in staff will reduce total compensation expenses. We have discretion in other areas, such as legal expenses. We spend too much money on outside legal costs, and the board should carefully review these expenses to ensure that every legal expense is necessary.

SABELLICO: Our district doesn’t need more of our money; it needs to spend our money better. And before we ever ask taxpayers to put up even more money than they already do, we need to keep the promises that we made under Prop AA. Prop AA was passed when I was still a student, and we have a lot of projects to fund before the life cycle of Prop AA comes to an end.

On the school board, I will vote against any and all tax increases. What I will do is leverage my relationships with state and federal leaders to secure grants for our district. I’ve worked for Congressman Mike Levin, Senator Catherine Blakespear, and current Vice President Kamala Harris, so I believe I’m in a good position to make sure San Dieguito gets its fair share.

Q: Community members have criticized the district’s treatment of special education families as well as its high spending on special education litigation and settlements, which grew to over $1 million in the past year. How do you plan to address these concerns and improve the district’s handling of special education disputes?

WILLIAMS: Special education curriculum and resources are an invaluable element of our SDUHSD community.  We need to ensure that we are providing the highest caliber special education services to our community.  But, we need to recognize that our services may not always be the right “fit” for each student. 

As trustees, we need to understand where the complaints about our special education services, if any, are coming from and what, if anything, we can be doing better at a district level.  We also need to closely scrutinize the claims levied against our district and ensure that our students are best served by the outcome of resolving these claims.   

ALLMAN: Since my election to the SDUHSD board, I have had the opportunity to help some of our special education families, and I understand their frustration with the school district. I believe that the way we manage special education needs improvement. Special Education in California is subject to many laws and regulations.

Students have the right to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). This requires consideration of individual student needs, and this can often be complex and confusing to families. We see too much conflict between families and the district. I would like a more family and student-centered approach—one that is less adversarial and more collaborative. This may mean hiring additional classroom aides and welcoming more family advocates to help navigate the often confusing bureaucratic processes and laws. We should also encourage ongoing professional development so that staff is always aware of best practices.

SABELLICO: I have yet to hear an excuse for how our district treats special education families, let alone a good one. Legal fees over these past four years, while my opponent has sat on the board, are roughly three times higher than what they were the previous four years. And while many of the details of these cases are not public, it’s clear that litigation could have and should have been avoided.

My opponent is running on his supposed business sense, but I’m left wondering where it was these past four years. This is personal to me. I suffered from Tourette’s Syndrome when I was a student in the district, and I needed reasonable accommodations. The last thing families want is to sue the school district to stick up for their children. I’ll spend our taxpayer dollars in the classroom, not the courtroom.