Bonsall Unified Board should represent families

Bonsall Unified is known for its quaint community. The small-town feel attracts families who want to be involved in their children’s education. The kids at Bonsall benefit greatly from teachers, staff, and parental involvement.

Following the years of COVID shut-downs, masking children, questions about underaged children being exposed to provocative material in school libraries, challenges getting enough SPED support, and most recently, tampons being installed in the boys' bathroom (yes, tampons in the boys’ bathroom at the elementary school), parents have grown concerned. Many families have exited public schools or moved out of state.

Parents' concerns have often been met with a muted response from school officials. For years prior to COVID, teachers unions typically endorsed candidates, and the public would vote for board members, trusting teachers’ choices. This allowed for teachers and administrators to put people on the board in place that would best represent their needs. It has been only recently that parents and families have grown concerned that their voices have been stifled in pertinent decision-making efforts.

With big ticket items rolling into schools, such as big-money bonds, and legislation coming down the pike from Sacramento (such as AB-1955, which allows teachers and staff on campus to keep secrets from parents under the auspices of "protection for kids”), it is clear that school boards should fairly represent the community at large.

One of the biggest unions in the state is the California Teachers Union. They have deep pockets, and are the frontrunners in advocating for bills that consistently dissolve parental rights and family values. As a result, test scores have gone down and the achievement gap has grown.

The most logical response to these serious concerns that the community has is to level the playing field. A non-teacher-endorsed parent on the board can allow for the community, and the parents to have a voice in the boardroom. Ideally, the board should also represent the parents and families in the community.

As a teacher with 17 years of experience, and a parent of five children who have gone through the district (three who are still in the district and two who are high school aged and involved in athletics) ), a business owner, and a community volunteer, as well as someone who has a passion for supporting underprivileged children in South Africa, Haiti, and Mexico, I believe that it is imperative to have a parent on the school board at Bonsall, who will help to give the community the ability to make a difference in the lives of children on behalf of the parents in the district.

Lindsay Jones