Jerry Roberts
By Jerry Roberts of Newsmakers
Seven weeks before the Nov. 8 election, the most consequential and competitive campaign contests in Santa Barbara center on public education.
Across the nation, the 2022 mid-terms feature a collection of bitter and costly political battles for House and Senate seats that may determine far more than partisan control of Congress: the anti-democracy, pro-authoritarian transformation of the Trump-dominated Republican party imperils foundational values of the American system itself: the rule of law, honest elections, the peaceful transfer of power, for starters.
Closer to home, however, the most notable and urgent election conflicts amid the local political landscape are unfolding over ostensibly non-partisan jobs that carry responsibility for overseeing the administration, finances, quality and safety of taxpayer-funded institutions of learning, from transitional kindergarten to college.
In an effort to magnify the visibility, and highlight the importance, of the campaigns of candidates seeking these low-profile, hyper-local, often thankless, but enormously important elected offices Newsmakers has partnered with the Montecito Journal to produce a series of online forums where the contenders debate, discuss and drill down on the complex, formidable and stubborn challenges facing public education at every level in Santa Barbara County.
This week we spoke with, and asked questions of, candidates for the Santa Barbara Unified School District, the County Board of Education and SB City College. All but one candidate on the ballot in the three contests accepted our invitation to present their ideas, values and proposed solutions for the difficult, sometimes seemingly intractable, problems confronting students, teachers, parents and administrators in our community.
We thank them for their participation and for putting themselves out there, doing the grinding hard work of competing in the public arena.
SANTA BARBARA UNIFIED
Kate Ford’s surprise decision not to seek re-election has produced an open seat on the five-member school board, now being sought by three candidates with very different backgrounds and perspectives — UCSB administrator and community activist Gabe Escobedo; retired classroom assistant Ephigenia “Efi” Banales (who had camera issues on Zoom); parent and non-profit executive Dan La Berge.
Watch the SBUSD forum via YouTube below or by clicking through this link. The podcast version is here.
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
Longtime board incumbent and prominent non-profit volunteer Marybeth Carty is being challenged by veteran neighborhood schools activist Rosanne Crawford. A key issue in the race: testing the limits of power and influence of the often overlooked county board.
Watch the conversation via YouTube below or by clicking through this link. The podcast version is here,
SANTA BARBARA CITY COLLEGE
The retirement of longtime trustee and SBCC professor Peter Haslund created an opening on the seven-member board of trustees. Nurse practitioner and CSU Channel Islands professor Charlotte Gullap-Moore spoke with us at length; her opponent, small businesswoman Debi Stoker, refused to participate unless we changed the format we chose for all our forums, a demand we declined to accommodate.
Watch the conversation with Charlotte Gullap-Moore via YouTube below or by clicking through this link. The podcast version is here.
More to come.
Roseanne Crawford is one of those looney tunes Fair Education people
I see Christy Lozano is trying to slither back in – running for district 3 school board in Goleta. Her and James Fekner of the far-right group “Fair Education” were pitching some ridiculous private school idea at the Boys and Girls club and got run off. These are dangerous people keep them out of schools. Christy wouldn’t even be re-hired as a teacher in Goleta or Santa Barbara.
Agreed!
C. Lozano is simply not qualified and seems to be a pawn in this local game of us against them.
She failed as a teacher, failed as a candidate for Superintendent and will fail as a board member.
Chaos candidate with no experience……follow the money…..
Wow, that’s some harsh commenting right there. Calling someone “human garbage” and getting an upvote. That says something about the up and down voters on this site. At least have some class.
If the Hefty bag fits….
After 4 years of someone spewing dumpster juice all over the country, cons have no place clutching their pearls and calling any rhetoric “harsh.”
Just read the article on Noozhawk about a forum featuring many of the conservative candidates for the different school boards in the so. County. California Parents Union supports very conservative views. Never heard of them before but voters should be wary of anyone who is aligned with them. Writer starts with ‘a room full of angry parents’. She then states there were 10 candidates and 15 people in the audience. These conservatives are part of a national movement that wants to control public education so only their restricted viewpoints are taught. These rabid anti-vax and anti-mask and anti-teachers union candidates need to be exposed for what they are. The Ken Burns series running on PBS clearly shows what happened in the 30s when people didn’t pay attention.
We had the most covid deaths because we killed people by forcing them onto ventilators, not adequately protect those we knew were most at risk, prohibited/neglected to pursue and study early treatment options, and canceled any professional that dared speak out otherwise. You’re also missing the point of the vax not stopping transmission, they knew it wouldn’t stop transmission yet continued to push vax mandates on everyone no matter how young or low a risk covid posed to them all with significant consequences – students lost out on learning, people lost their jobs/livelihoods, and too many like you are okay chaulking it up as a “whoops” when it was anything but while pharmaceutical companies made BILLIONS paid for by the US taxpayer.
“we killed people by forcing them onto ventilators” – Ok, Dr. Voice, how should we have treated them? Let them suffocate in the halls? What is your reasoning behind this medical conclusion?
Why can’t you answer the question?
I don’t recall ever reading or hearing that the reason for the US having “the most covid deaths” was due to how we treated those dying from the disease. Interesting take, would love to see where you got that from.
Just more fantasy FUD from the master of non-reason. Just like saying the vaccine didn’t stop transmission. No vaccine can stop all transmission, especially when you have a significant cohort of stupid people who refuse vaccination. It did stop transmission in most cases from vaccinated persons where there would have been transmission from an unvaccinated person.
Voice: You should read up on *gestures broadly at everything*
“…not adequately protecting those we knew were most at risk.” It’s called a mask and social distancing Dr. Voice of Horse Medicine. I thought you were part of the school of thought that said it was going to end in two weeks and was just a flu… *One million dead Americans later*
VOICE – we’re all waiting. What evidence do you have for the cause of abnormally high US Covid deaths being “forcing [people] onto ventilators.”
Pretty bold claim. Really looking forward to reading where this was cited!
“physicians could reduce the more-than-50% death rate for those put on the machine” is NOT the same as “We had the most covid deaths because we killed people by forcing them onto ventilators”…….. Not. Even. Close.
Once again, complete misrepresentation. Lately though, I’m not so sure it’s intentional as much as just not knowing better.
Look, I get that the facts behind the high death rate in the US is hard to swallow for you and your side, but that’s no reason to completely fabricate new “facts” especially with ZERO evidence.
Yeah, again, just because they’re now discovering that ventilators aren’t always the best or safest option, is NOT the same as “We had the most covid deaths because we killed people by forcing them onto ventilators,”
Intentional misrepresentation or just not knowing better? Again, I’m beginning to wonder with you……
“even though the ventilator comment is accurate.” – ok then show us where ventilators were the cause of the US having higher death rates than any other developed country.
Stop misstating it as if that’s the sole reason, its one of many reasons. . I gave you two articles, there are more through this site called duckduckgo.com , check it out.
VOICE – yes or no. Are you really saying the cause of the US death rates being so much higher than other developed countries was because we put people on ventilators? Yes or no.
OK, I admit, you gave more than one cause of our high numbers and I focused on the first. HOWEVER, you are once again putting the blame on everyone else except the TRUE cause of our higher than normal numbers: Anti-vaxxers. Your list of “reasons” ignore the undisputed cause of such high numbers – refusal to vaccinate. It’s been published and proven so many times, but will gladly provide links with quotes if you need.
Overuse of ventilators was one of many reasons that increased our covid death rate. Stop intentionally misstating what i’ve written, it’s not only annoying but showcases you inability articulate a point.
“Overuse of ventilators was one of many reasons that increased our covid death rate.” – So were a lot of things. Listing it as a primary cause is just wrong.
How about the fact that millions refused to get vaccinated? Did that contribute to our higher than normal death rate? You like to ignore that one.
3:52 The word in English you should use is “pedal”, if you want people to understand what sort of dreck you are peddling.
@4:27 not blaming the doctors, but it happened. Only major blame goes to the governors who forced nursing homes to accept covid patients against medical advice and all common sense.
Those who were anti-vax, anti-mask and anti- teachers unions turned out to be right though. The vax didn’t stop transmission and overall not necessary from most children. Cloth masks in schools was nothing but performative. Many teachers unions took covid as an opportunity extract more from the system completely unrelated to the virus / heath and safety. Parents should not and will not forget.
@8:41 AM
It’s really looking like you may have had COVID during the last year or so. Better get checked.
https://neurosciencenews.com/covid-19-brain-problems-21470/
Yes, it did save lives absolutely. Not children’s lives, but it did save many in the higher risk categories.
thE vAx DinT sToP trANsMisSiOn Lol. Stop beating the horse, Voice, it’s already dead. The US had the most Covid deaths of any developed nation. In large part because a bunch of internet scientists thought they could treat a novel virus with essential oils, prayer beads, and horse medicine. To be frank, I don’t really care anymore if they die, we need more natural selection and less idiots.
Caroline Abate send me a campaign flyer warning me that: “Telling young, immature children about serious sexual topics and difficult racial issues is harming their mental health and stability and leading to violent public outbursts later in life that threaten school and public safety.”
Ok, let’s count the blatant and outright LIES here…..
“Telling” kids, not even teaching them, will cause this. Even if a parent says something to a kid, they will go crazy and attack people when they’re older. Prove it.
“harming their mental health” – where is that been proven? Kids who learn about racism and trans issues suffer mental health issues as a result? Prove it.
My favorite – “leading to violent public outbursts…..” – Don’t you dare teach (or even “TELL”) kids about racism or trans issues or they will turn into violent criminals that threaten your safety. How many violent crime were caused by being “told” about racism and/or trans issues? Prove it.
I am ashamed for our city that this woman was even allowed to run, much less send out blatant lies to the families in Goleta. Some poor saps have even fallen for her paranoid BS and planted her signs in their yards. I know which houses to avoid now at Halloween or block parties!