School safety, transportation issues, and mental health help were discussed by three out of four Santa Maria Joint Union High School District board of education candidates during an Oct. 19 community forum.
The school district is divided into five trustee areas, with areas 4 and 5 up for reelection this year. The League of Women Voters and Future Leaders of America partnered to host the forum at Santa Maria High School, where students, parents, and community members could attend, ask questions, and hear the candidates’ overall plans.
Starting off the forum, incumbent Diana Perez, representing area 4, said she wants to help increase post-graduation options like the military, college, or trade schools, and add an additional school to the district to alleviate overcrowding. Her opponent, Raymond Acosta, was not present for the event.
“We have over 9,000 students in our four schools, with roughly about 3,200 at Pioneer Valley, 3,000 at Santa Maria High School, 2,500 at Righetti, and over 400 at Delta,” Perez said. “But we’re talking about some high schools that were built for 2,000 students, so we’re definitely oversubscribed.”
Adding a new high school to the district, she said, would help improve the classroom environment with fewer students per class, prepare for the district’s future growth, and alleviate long commutes for Guadalupe students—a concern also brought up by parents during the forum because the bus driver shortage and overcrowded transportation is causing students to be late.
“I know a lot of students travel to Righetti High School every day and that’s pretty tough. They have to get up early and sometimes cannot participate in after school sports and activities,” Perez said. “That’s why I’m supporting opening a new high school because I think we could build a school closer to Guadalupe and combat some of these challenges.”
During a question related to mental health, sex education, and drugs and alcohol, Perez noted that the district works with Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley for enhanced education about drugs and alcohol, added eight more counselors per school, and hosts parent workshops about these topics, she said.
In trustee area 5, incumbent Dominick Palera faces off against Santa Maria resident and former military pilot David Baskett, whose top priority is enhancing student safety on campus, he said.
“We can have different ideas on education, we can have input from all kinds of folks in ideologies and backgrounds, but students must be safe,” Baskett said. “At the end of the day, all of that falls apart if the students are not safe.”
To enhance school safety, he proposed that teachers should have “the ability to defend the students,” against someone. To address the question about overcrowded buses, he said the district should get bigger buses to hold more students, and in response to a concern about enhancing mental health, he suggested adding a chaplain on campus—something that helped him in the military, he said.
During most of the forum, incumbent Palera pointed out current school district programs and policies and said he’d like to continue down that track with the goal of improving student outcomes. He highlighted that during his term, he’s seen the addition of 32 new classrooms at Righetti and 50 classrooms coming to Santa Maria High School.
To address commute-related concerns, Palera pointed out the current partnership with the city Department of Transportation to get adjusted routes and more buses, and said he wanted to look further into the issue.
“We are lucky to [have a partnership] with the city because they are moving routes and their buses [while] they are short too,” he said.
Palera and Perez echoed one another on mental health, highlighting current services and partnerships, but Palera said he recognized that the school has taken on a greater role in these dialogues.
“We know the schools are picking up the role of a lot of parents now. The schools are almost the de-facto parent,” Palera said. “These things are important, and they are young adults now. It’s important we educate them on these things.”
