OPINION: Del Mar Union School District in desperate need of change Nov. 2

A school board member is entrusted with our most precious asset ... our children. Ensuring that every child receives a free and appropriate education is dictated by law, but the role goes further than that. Our school board should protect the integrity of the district and provide for a well planned and effective management of the organization which provides that education. The main focus should always be on what is best for children.

Shockingly, for the past four years politics and personal agendas have gotten in the way at the board level. The current board of trustees has fired two superintendents and accepted the resignations of key personnel in curriculum, facility planning, human resources and finance. The departure of these outstanding educators and administrators has created a large gulf of uncertainty and mistrust between board members and district staff where morale is at an all time low. This dysfunction has reached beyond our district boundaries to the much larger educational community in San Diego, where now we are perceived as a “troubled school district with a difficult board.” We find that shameful.

It is time for the DMUSD community to elect board members who will restore the trust and mutual respect for all stakeholders in the district, who will provide proper governance, make clear decisions and keep focused on fiscal issues that drive the educational program for each and every child. That is why we, along with countywide educators and board members, support Doug Rafner, Scott Wooden and Kristin Gibson for Del Mar School Board. They understand the current district problems and have pledged to keep the children their number one priority. Our neighborhood schools are in desperate need of better leadership at the board level. Please join us in voting for Rafner, Wooden and Gibson for DMUSD board of trustees on Nov. 2.

Linda Crawford