I am excited to run for an open-seat, two-year term on the Scotts Valley School Board. My motto is “Making the Most of Our School.” The actions taken by the School Board now lay the foundation for the future of our district. As the parent of a new middle-schooler, I am personally invested in the evolution of our school district as an advocate for him and all of our children so they my continue to enjoy the benefits of district.

My active and continued participation in my child’s education prompted my desire to participate more broadly in the education system in our community. During each o my son’s elementary school years, I volunteered in the classroom, was a room parent and participated in numerous field trips. I thoroughly enjoyed working with parents, helping out the teacher and students, seeing how the subjects were being taught and learning how to best help my child continue his learning at home.

As a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I bring a comprehensive understanding of working with other and I like to “think out of the box” when coming up with clever and creative ways to get things done. The social and emotional well-being of our students is one of my priorities and directly ties into my training and education as an MFT.  I am enthusiastic about working with parents, teachers, the Superintendent and other Board members to address district needs and issues. I am personable, approachable and conscientious and willing to take the necessary steps to educate myself to accomplish goals. My abilities have been enhanced through my training as a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, showing persistence, follow through and humility as I strive to improve and increase my knowledge.
As a parent, I know the frustrations that current state of education can cause and I plan to continue to encourage the development of parent programs/meeting/videos to keep everyone informed about the changes in curriculum and how they can best help their children learn. I am a current member of the Measure A Bond Oversight Committee, ensuring that the monies raised for the construction of the Scotts Valley Middle School are spent as specified by the bond measure and in a timely manner. Setting our local priorities using the limited funds our small school district receives is an important responsibility and includes regular review and updates of the budget to efficiently meet current and future needs. I would also like to explore options of working with other small school district to appeal to the state for additional funds so we can compete with lager districts that benefit from economies of scale. Supporting our new Superintendent is also one of the most important roles the School Board plays.

I am pleased to have the endorsement of John Abel and Art Bubb, both previous SVUSD Board Trustees; Steve Horlock, Scotts Valley City Planning Commission, and Masters’ Matt Salisbury and Julian Jacobson of Lightspeed Martial Arts Studio. I believe the hard work which has been done in the district will continue and evolve with me as your representative voice as a member of the Scotts Valley School Board.

*You can see/read additional information about me and my candidacy at http://votersedge.org/ca/en/ballot/election/42-eac2d6/address/null/zip/95033/contests/contest/13676?cty=ca/scz and on my campaign Facebook page at Gia Schwarzer for Scotts Valley School Board https://www.facebook.com/Gia-Schwarzer-for-Scotts-Valley-School-Board-1082612661860501/