Good evening, good evening, and welcome to the 2026 candidate forums for the Walla Creek
School District and the Akalani's Union High School District governing boards.
I'm Nick Weinberg-Glenn, past president and current parliamentarian of the Las Trampas
Creek Council of PTAs.
And since this is homecoming week for Las Lomas, I felt it was only appropriate that
I wore my 2002 homecoming shirt from Los Lomas since I am very invested in local education.
Tonight's forum is presented by the Las Trampas Creek Council, the League of Woman Voters
of Diabola Valley, and the AAUW Danville Alamo branch.
Thank you so much to the Walnut Creek Library for hosting us.
Our purpose is to let you hear directly from the candidates so you can make an informed
choice on November 3rd.
The sponsoring organizations do not support
or oppose any candidate or party.
Tonight has two parts summarized above.
We'll begin with the Walnut Creek School District candidates
from 645 to 740.
We'll then make a brief transition
and the Occulani's Union High School District candidates
will begin at 745.
We sure hope you'll stay for both.
To keep the discussion fair and balanced,
each session will be guided by a moderator
from the League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley.
Our first moderator
for the Walnut Creek School District Forum
is Dr. Rhiannon Shires.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Shires.
Testing, can everyone hear me?
Back there?
Okay, thank you.
Okay, so as you know,
this is the Walnut Creek School Board that we're looking at.
We have six candidates for three seats.
we have, we'll start from right to left for now.
Rod Assani, then we have Wenlei Johnson,
and Heidi Hernandez Gaddy, and Eileen Ong,
and Aaron Hole King, and Geeta Ganti.
Now, thank you, first of all, for joining us.
This is a great come-out, and this is a great way
to get to know your candidates.
So the Las Trumpas Creek Council of PTAs,
the AAUW, Danville Alamo Walnut Creek,
are the co-host of this candidate forum,
along with the League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley.
The League of Women Voters, it's a nonpartisan organization.
We do not support or oppose any candidate
or political party.
The League is here as part of its key mission
to educate and inform voters in a space
that is free from bias.
In keeping with the League's mission,
I do not live in this area or district.
therefore I will not be voting in this particular contest.
The purpose of this forum is to present
the Clayton community the candidates
who are running for a seat on the Walnut Creek School Board.
Oh, it says Clayton community.
Oh, okay.
Okay, it's probably that area, whatever.
Okay, thank you.
This contest serves the community of Walnut Creek.
Walnut Creek Television is recording the forum.
It will be posted, unedited to the League of Women Voters,
the Abbell Valley's YouTube page and on WCTV
where you can watch it or have other people
who were not able to attend tonight watch it.
Candidates when they came in have drawn random,
excuse me, random numbers
to determine the opening order of speaking.
And you'll see there, I have them one, two, three, four,
five, six, when I'm doing questions,
I have a grid which looks like this,
meaning it's all random of who gets to go first, okay?
Okay, so closing statements will be in the reverse order.
Let's see.
In addition to the one minute opening
and closing statements,
each candidate will have one minute
to answer each question.
Volunteer timers over here
will raise a yellow 15 second warning card.
A red card will be raised at the stop time.
Personal comments about opposing candidates
are not permitted.
Any statements about opposing candidates
must be verifiable in the public record,
such as a vote, a public statement,
contributors, contributions.
Candidates must limit the rebuttal statement
to correcting any mis-disinformation from a prior speaker.
So a few reminders to our audience.
If you have a question for the candidates,
please write it down on a three by five card
and hand it to one of the volunteers.
Questions are screened to avoid duplicates
and conserve time.
Therefore, a question may be a synthesis of questions
topics. All candidates get to reply to the same question. Since the forum is
being recorded, we ask that you please silence your phones out of respect for
the hard work that went into providing this forum and to ensure there is no
improper use of the forum's content. We ask that you do not film or record
tonight's program. We also ask that you refrain from cheers or applause during
the forum in order to preserve the valuable time to hearing the candidates
comments. Thank you. Now we will proceed with one-minute opening statements
beginning and if you don't mind I'm going to use your first names is that
okay with Rod. Thank you thank you all for joining us this evening and thank
you to our hosts the League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley, the Las Trampas
Creek Council of PTAs and the AAUW for hosting tonight's event. I'm Rod Assani,
I'm a CPA and I'm a former health care executive and a longtime Walnut Creek
resident. My wife and I are raising three daughters all of whom have attended our
local schools and I still have one child in the Walnut Creek school system. So I
have real skin in this game. Professionally I've spent over 25 years
leading large teams and managing complex budgets or associate board member of
one of California's largest credit unions and I'm also the former
president of the Institute of Internal Auditors for the Sacramento chapter, a
PTA leader and I've been on several HOAs. I'm running to put that experience to
to work for our schools and to give back to this community.
Okay, the next person will be Wenlei.
Thank you, Dr. Shires.
Thank you, Dr. Shires.
Seven schools, 3,697 students.
As a board member, my job is to not serve one child,
one family, or one campus.
It is to serve every single student across our district.
And over the past three and a half years,
I've seen firsthand what focused leadership achieves.
Science scores are on the increase.
Eighth grade math scores up 17 points.
Reading and math scores up across our district.
School connectedness, meaningful participation up.
When we hired our new superintendent,
we had 41 applicants.
Why?
because educators know that this district is strong,
stable, and thriving.
We cannot afford to derail this momentum
for narrow personal agendas.
Please, for our 3,697 students,
I ask you to choose leaders who respect the whole community
and govern for the benefit of all.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And the next presenter will be Heidi.
Thank you.
School gives us our first glimpse
of what the world looks like,
and it shows us our place in society.
The quality of our education and our community
shapes not only who we are,
but who we think we can become.
I'm proud to have served
on the Walnut Creek School District
for the last eight years on the governing board,
and I'm asking for your support to continue in this role.
The board is responsible to ensure
that our families and community experience schools
as safe and welcoming environments
where every opportunity is available
so all our students can reach their fullest potential.
During my tenure,
the district completed measure deconstruction projects
on time and on budget.
We are midway through our Measure J projects.
Our focus on careful planning and fiscal responsibility
has allowed these projects to flourish in parallel
with rising student achievement
and a comprehensive wellness program
that is a model for school districts
across the state and the county.
Our community continues to face new challenges
and we are all constantly learning and adapting.
I've worked to ensure that the board's decision making
is student centered with equity and belonging
at the heart of our work.
Okay, our next presenter is Eileen.
Good evening.
I'm Eileen Ong, a mom with two kids in our schools.
I'm here because my community asked me to step up.
I'm not a career politician.
I have no political machine behind me.
Families and educators are frustrated.
They are tired of important decisions being communicated
after the fact by this board and they want change.
When you ask why a principal was hired
without a proper interview, you should get an answer.
During this campaign, someone here told me,
we don't need current parents on the board.
They continued, as a young parent
at our child's music concert,
do you want people coming up to you
with questions about our schools.
I said yes.
I wanna hear it because a board member should be accessible.
I bring a unique combo to this race.
The only one with more than 20 years experience
in communications and PR
and an active volunteer in our schools.
I'm also endorsed by our teachers association.
I'm running because our school,
current school board has failed us
and our community deserves a board that listens.
Okay, our next presenter is Erin.
Good evening, I'm Erin Hall King.
I'm the proud daughter
of a retired California public school teacher.
I'm a substitute in our TK classrooms.
I'm a classroom volunteer.
And I'm the mom of two students
who have grown up in our district.
When you add it all together,
I've spent thousands of hours in public school classrooms.
And I've really seen firsthand
what makes our school so special.
But my experience extends beyond the classroom.
For the past 10 years,
I've served on the Walnut Creek Education Foundation Board,
including four years as president,
where I worked closely with our district leadership,
educators and families to raise critical funds
for our schools.
I also serve on WCI's school site council,
where I have an even closer view of how decisions
and resources translate into opportunities for students.
Now I'm running for governing board
because I wanna bring all of these perspectives together
to protect what makes our schools exceptional
while preparing responsibly for challenges that lie ahead.
In meeting these challenges will require thoughtful,
transparent, data-driven leadership,
leadership that's responsible with our resources
and keep students at the center of every decision.
OK, next presenter is Geetha.
Hello, everyone.
My name is Geetha.
I'm so excited to be here.
I have worked in Silicon Valley Health Tech for about 14 years,
solving a problem that should be very intimately familiar
with all of you.
Patients continue to not have the health care outcomes
that they want, and providers are
asked to work more burned out and see more patients per hour.
The funny thing is, of course, Silicon Valley has asked a lot of the engineers to figure out this problem through AI.
I now work on several boards where I advise companies who are using AI in the wrongful way so that the patient-provider relationship is always preserved,
very akin to what we're looking at in their school districts.
A funny story about me, my family actually started in Silicon Valley, and I have two kids, a kindergartner and a fourth-grader,
and my daughter was starting kindergarten
at the time that we moved.
And we joined a meeting where they were asking
about kindergarten and the parents there were saying,
my kid reads at a third grade level,
can you pull him out so that he can have advanced treatment?
Both my husband and I were like,
I don't know if that's the environment
we want our kids to live in.
Walnut Creek is what we chose
because we believe in this community
and the wholeheartedness of it.
Thank you.
You have to stop, thank you.
Okay, thank you for that first response.
Now we're gonna proceed with questions.
Now the questions have not been seen
by any of the candidates.
These have been generated by you.
So it's first time I'm seeing them also.
So our first speaker for the first question
is going to be Wenlei.
Okay, while the superintendent manages daily operations,
The board is responsible for governance and oversight.
When evaluating complex decisions,
what independent sources of info will you rely on
to inform your voting choices?
Okay, and you'll have one minute.
Starting with?
Sure, thank you, Dr. Shires.
I think this question depends on whether it's a closed
item session or open item session.
You can't hear me?
Can you hear me now?
Can you hear me now?
Yeah, I'm sorry.
So your question was what information are we provided for items that come before us?
It depends on whether it's closed or open session.
We are provided information from various sources and just really we conduct surveys and gather
information from our parent community.
We ask everyone for their input and depending on the question that's being presented we
will make a decision that's in the best interest of our 3,697 students and make sure that
It is an equitable decision for all.
Thank you.
Okay, next person, Rod, would you respond to that question?
So when it comes to making decisions as a board member,
my campaign is very simple.
It says students first, parents heard,
and teachers supported.
So when reviewing a specific decision
that's before the board,
the first question that I'm gonna ask
is how is this gonna benefit our students?
How is this gonna make the classroom better?
And right after that is how are we gonna make sure
that the teachers are supported
so they can provide valuable instruction?
Because we don't want our teachers to work hard,
we want them to work smart.
And finally, when it comes to students,
we wanna make sure that every student is considered
in these types of decisions.
And we also want to make sure that some students require extra care,
some students require more challenges.
So we want to make sure that as we're making those decisions
that we're constantly reminding ourselves and asking us.
So when we're talking about what sources to look at, I think we can determine that,
not just by looking at sources, but by asking those specific questions before we make decisions.
Okay, our next speaker is going to be, let's see, Erin.
Great, so just so I understand the question, you're looking for independent sources
of information of the governing board that we can use, is that correct?
Do you want me to read the question again?
Yes, thank you.
While the superintendent manages daily operations, the board is responsible
for governance and oversight.
When evaluating complex decisions, what independent sources
of info will you rely on to inform your voting choices?
So independent sources of information I think we would all rely on would be our LCAP first,
our strategic plan, our budget, CASP data, those are all the ones that come immediately
to mind that I would think of.
I think that's it.
So our next speaker is going to be Heidi.
Thank you.
I think it's important to remember that the board governs at the policy level.
So complexity is definitely increasingly a part of the decisions that we make and every
decision that's made by a school district is made across a multiplicity of stakeholders.
That means parents, community members, families, students, teachers, staff, and different decisions
will weight different components of that community in various ways.
It is really critical that you understand not only the type of decision that's being
made a curriculum decision might have piloting, would have a teacher committee, would have
student input about how it is that that curriculum is received, where a safety issue would bring
together potentially outside sources like our police departments and other types of
information gathered from our facilities director, but it is for the board to work through the
the superintendent to instruct the types
of information that's requested.
Thank you.
Okay, next person, Gita.
Thank you for that question.
It's really important to understand
what a board can and cannot do.
And the job is really to empower the superintendent
with the right data sets, which of course,
we can look at what's publicly available to do that.
But really at the heart and the spirit of this
is also being able to talk to the right people
to corroborate the data that comes from those data sets.
As an engineer and a former journalist,
I think asking right questions and looking at the data
are two lethal combinations.
So for example, if you go to my website
and you see the curriculum
that's out for Walnut Creek School District, it's amazing.
Our board has actually done a really good job
coming up with that curriculum.
Well, it comes from a state level,
goes down to a board level,
and then there's a degrees of freedom
for the teachers to choose.
We've done a really good job of that.
But then when you actually talk to parents,
you should hear some of the concerns.
They tell me that transition going from elementary school
to middle school is tough.
They say that their kids cannot keep up
with the math program that comes in sixth grade.
So doesn't it behoove us to look into the nuances
of these details and be able to inform the superintendent
of the voice of customer, which is our parents and teachers.
Okay, number four.
I would go straight to the sources,
the folks who know what's happening
at the school level best.
I would go straight to our parents, families and our staff.
Staff have told me that they feel our current board
has not given them a seat at the table
when major decisions about our schools have been made.
So I want to make sure that their voices are heard,
all of our teachers and our supporting staff,
and I would love to make sure that all families,
including families in our general education
and all of our families who have kids learning
in special education have a seat at the table
to share their opinions before I make any major decisions.
Okay, next question.
Walnut Creek School District is facing
a critical funding gap after the June, 2026
Measure L Parcel Tax, a proposed $98 per parcel annually
to attract retained teachers, maintain core programs
and prevent class size growth,
fell short of the two-thirds approval.
Without this revenue, the district must make
difficult choices in a state budget environment
where local options are limited.
How would you address this?
How would you handle this?
What are your thoughts on this?
We're gonna start with Eileen.
Measure L fell short of its two thirds vote
by only 376 votes.
376, that's one neighborhood.
And for me, the problem with that,
our community wants to support our schools,
but our current board did not make the case
that they can trust them with our community's dollars.
There is a communication gap.
We cannot be going out to our community
asking them to invest in more money
and consider them to be an endless piggy bank
when we come one month before election season.
We cannot, we need to be making the case year round
for why we need the money, what outcomes we expect.
If we want strong schools and a strong community,
we need to be able to make the case year round.
And I have that background in communications and PR
so that I can effectively speak
to all the different audiences and our taxpayers
and tell them why we need the funding.
Okay, next speaker, Erin.
So school funding is interesting.
And I'm gonna do my best to answer this question
in 60 seconds.
So I don't think that the vast majority of people
in California understand how schools are funded.
So I think we need to start there.
And I think most people don't understand
is that New York is one of the states
that has the highest per pupil funding.
It's about 32,000 per student.
Walnut Creek on the other hand is at about 17,000.
So we really rely on community funding to help our schools.
And that is to fund all of the extras
that make our schools so spectacular.
And I don't think the community understands
how poorly funded our schools are
and that it really is up to us to pass parcel taxes
and bonds for infrastructure
and the Walnut Creek Education Foundation
and our PTAs and PTOs to help lift up our schools
so that we are at a level that's competitive
with other states within our country.
Okay, Wendley.
Thank you.
So when Measure H, the current parcel tax passed in 2009,
that funded 21 full-time teachers.
Today, it funds about 12 teachers.
The money doesn't stretch as far.
that is why we needed the parcel tax.
And we felt just a little bit short, 61%.
And it's unfortunate, but we're learning
and we learn from what happened.
The problem was there wasn't as much engagement.
If you look at Lafayette and Moraga,
which did pass third parcel taxes,
they had 10% more engagement and voters who went out.
And so that's what we're gonna look for next time
when we go out and make sure that we
get the parcel tax passed, thank you.
Okay, next speaker is Gita.
As Erin mentioned, funding is complicated.
If I were to look at this problem,
I would look at it in a basic first principles framework,
which would be, what is the amount of reoccurring revenue
that we get as a district?
And what is the delta between that
and the amount of reoccurring costs that we have?
If we keep having way more reoccurring costs,
but not reoccurring revenue coming in,
that's where we need to establish
what our relationship is between a parcel tax,
asking people for more money, and WCEF.
Those are the two levers that we have.
We have a very limited piggy bank,
and it is up to us to figure out
how we're able to market the parcel tax
for so people can understand how badly it's needed.
As mentioned earlier, Measure L did not pass,
and it didn't pass by just a few points.
So it would really require the board to take a stance
on how we would market it and help people understand
with common sense language,
what these parcel taxes pass for.
Because guess what guys, I've talked to hundreds
of households and a lot of people in Walnut Creek
still do not understand what they're for.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay, Rod.
So Measure L failed in 2026.
The good news is,
we're hopefully gonna have another opportunity in 2028
to pass a new measure.
I believe that there's already significant
grassroots support because 64.7% of the folks voted for it.
We didn't get the two-thirds majority to pass it,
but we got nearly two-thirds of the people to vote for it.
And as pointed out, we did see our neighboring counties
like Moraga and Lafayette be able to pass their measure.
So I think the lesson here is we need to start earlier
and we can't take the grassroots community for granted.
We need to start earlier, we need to explain.
There's no shortage of volunteers in our community
to go out and spread this message.
And until that time, we're gonna hopefully rely
on the WCEF and the PTA to hopefully raise monies
to reduce that gap until we go again
and try to pass this measure in 2028,
which I think we will do because we're gonna start early.
Okay, we, let's see, the last person is Heidi.
Thank you.
In all candor, I do think Measure L
was a failure of organizing, period.
And the only thing that we, and the board's role
once it pushes the parcel tax out is to do a better job
of coordinating a committee that we can't,
we do not control, but have an opportunity
to be able to support differently than I think we did
this case. So I'm not here to tell you that that was, that should be any different. But
I will say that we are thoughtful enough as a board to have gone out for this parcel tax
before it's catastrophic. We do have another opportunity in 2028. Our 2627 budget is actually
on track and will be fine. We will, and whenever we have had to think about how to make cuts,
Our first thought is how do we keep anything, how do we keep those cuts as far away from
students as possible?
How do we keep that out of the classroom?
We have done a really excellent job in budgeting carefully for the future.
Okay.
The next question, the district is struggling to attract and keep qualified teachers amidst
statewide budget pressures.
measure L's funding Walnut Creek School District risks losing staff to other
districts or leaving positions vacant which can disrupt student learning and
morale. How are you going to address the issue of teacher retention and
recruitment? Okay first will be Erin. They can't hear you they can't hear you
in the back? I just did. I just turned it back on and off. One of the issues we
do have in our area is cost of housing which does make it increasingly hard to
retain teachers because most of our teachers can't afford to live here on
the salary that they have. So that's something obviously that we can't
control. So I think we need to look at other ways to make sure that our
teachers' needs are being met. I think the easiest way to do it and probably the
most important is to make sure that our teachers feel heard and to make sure
that our teachers feel respected. Our schools are the way that they are and
that's fantastic as they are is because our teachers show up every day and they
put the work in. And as the daughter of a teacher, let me tell you, they work
behind-the-scenes more hours than most people know. And so I think a great way
to start is just to thank a teacher. And I think that that's a great place to
start. Okay, Rod. So great teachers and great great teachers make great schools.
So when I say teachers supported, I mean first we need to listen to our teachers
and understand what they need to be successful and what will make excellent
educators want to stay in Walnut Creek. Compensation and benefits matter. They
matter, especially in an expensive place like Walnut Creek. But support is also
about workload, about flexibility, about leadership, about training, about
resources, classroom resources, and making teachers feel respected and heard. So I
want to involve teachers in those conversations because they know best
where those resources should be spent and to help themselves and help students
and feel supported. So I would always start with the teachers and find out
what we need to do and to make sure that future measures are passed so we have
that financial leverage to be able to continue to retain those good teachers.
Eileen? Compensation matters for our teachers but so do provide so does
providing excellent working conditions.
You know, I spoke recently to one of the families
in our special day program
and they were telling me how disruptive it is
when teachers or parents leave.
For them, the teacher is the entire program.
They cannot learn, their kids cannot learn
with teachers who decide to leave.
And in addition to that,
I've talked to a few teachers who felt
they have not gotten a seat at the table to speak and work hand-in-hand with
folks to help with strategic planning. I feel like we need to we need to keep our
educators involved, have them have a seat at the table, and make sure that all of
them are supported, especially those in our special day program.
Gita? Thank you for this question. If we think about how much time our kids spend
with the teachers. It's so much. These teachers do God's work and it would be in our absolute
best interest to hear them out on how we're able to retain them. I think this is one of the reasons
why I was able to get the teachers endorsement because I'm so committed to hearing out what it
is that would keep them in our schools and keep their conditions happy. The thing that really
bothers me is when something is not working it's really important to seek inspiration somewhere
else. We are an hour away from Silicon Valley and Silicon Valley is able to
attract the world's best engineers and it's just not on salary. We keep looking
at this as a binary thing, it's not just salary. They provide some of the
best benefits through self-insured health plans and the ability to have
incredible maternity leave. I would go completely out of my way to understand
the third-party administrator that's negotiating the benefits for our
teachers and figure out creative solutions for them to be retained in
Monnet Creek Schools. Thank you.
Wylie? Wylie?
Yes. I actually don't think it's correct that we are not retaining teachers. I
think this is a wonderful district to work, and teachers come to us in groves.
We have a great relationship with the teachers union, and we hope to maintain
maintain that relationship. One of the things that Measure L was to address is the benefits
package that is very crucial and essential to retaining these teachers. And so we have,
in our budget, set aside funds to fund the benefits packages. And it is our hope that
We have those funds to continue funding the benefits package and hopefully in two years
when we go out again, Measure L or whatever measure it's called, then we'll pass and we
can retain more teachers that way.
Thank you.
Okay.
Heidi.
Thank you.
I would start by saying that our district is fully staffed currently.
So it's not necessarily about attracting teachers, although we do see a lot of variance in what
our teachers need.
And when questions come to the table, at the bargaining table, that is where you see, you
know, that is where a lot of that rubber meets the road.
And what happens at the table isn't something that can really be, you know, disclosed in
public, but what I will say about how it is that teachers are supported is that we have
a really excellent coaching program, we provide professional development, we
actually do partner with the Silicon Valley Math Initiative, and I'm not
saying that that is always great because our teachers are also often asked to
take in new curricula to have to work on wellness programs, and we have also tried
to put in place some wellness supports for our staff and teachers. Okay, this is
our last and final question. Campaigns and board discussions highlight a trust and transparency
gap between the district and families. Voters express frustration that they do not receive
clear plain language explanations of where funds go or how decisions are made leading
to skepticism about new measures.
How are you going to deal with communication
and trust with the community?
And we will start with Rod.
Listening is important, but being heard means more
than just being given an opportunity to speak.
Parents deserve answers to legitimate questions
and concerns that they have, and they
need to get clear explanations on how decisions were arrived
at, what alternatives were discussed.
And most importantly, parents should
be given the opportunity to have meaningful input
before major decisions are made.
So as a board member, I would listen carefully
to the parents' input.
I would communicate with the teachers.
I would speak to the students to make sure
All of that information is included and I want to make a very clear commitment.
If you have a legitimate question, I will respond to you.
If I don't have the answer right away, you will get an answer the following week and
I will call you personally to make sure you get your answer.
believe that transparency builds trust. We have to stop, thank you. Okay, Heidi.
Thank you. The unit of trust is relationships and how it is that we
interact with one another and listen to one another. Not every decision
that the board makes is one that can be discussed in a transparent manner.
Personnel issues in particular are always necessarily kept in closed session just the
same way that they do in a professional setting where questions around workplace challenge
once brought to human resources often are resolved unsatisfactorily for the people involved
because they are necessarily private.
report? I'm sorry. Our board works to support our superintendent in
communicating. I would also, I think briefly now that I'm down to 15 seconds,
say that the board protocols really dictate how the board can communicate
back. So I would encourage you to look at the board handbook. Okay Gita. I'm really
passionate about this one. I'm gonna start with a quote that my news director
told me when I was working in local news,
he said, Geetha, there's no point
in being smart if people don't understand what you're saying.
And that really changes the way that I communicate,
especially when very complicated and nuanced policies come
from the top down and not from the bottom up.
It's very confusing, and it needs explanation.
If I were to go about this, I would
have a two-pronged framework, which
is you have two ears and one mouth.
listen before you actually are going in
and trying to understand how to communicate these things.
I've heard from several people
that they do not understand the bonds.
I've heard from several people
that they need more of an explanation
on how this goes, how this money travels.
And so we need to be able to take this information
and market it in ways that people actually want to hear.
Believe it or not, if you talk to somebody
about something they're not interested in,
they're gonna stop listening.
So it would behoove us to understand
Why are the, thank you.
I'm being forced to stop.
When Lay?
Yes, thank you.
I believe it was at the coffee chat yesterday.
Mr. Campa Piano, Superintendent Campa Piano said,
is it that you don't like the message
or you don't like the way we deliver the message?
I think the question you're asking stems from
people not liking the message.
Well, we heard you when it dealt with personnel matters
and you asked for more transparency.
And that is why when we hired the new superintendent,
we outlined every single step along the way,
and we told you this is what we're doing.
These are the candidates, 41 applicants.
This is the next step.
We invited you to every single step
and told you and guided you along the way.
So I think as a board, we are listening.
And as a board, we are responsive to our community
and certainly it's our intent to hear you
and to do our best to be better.
Thank you.
Aaron.
So I think trust starts with a communication.
Families and teachers and staff need information
that's timely, clear and accessible,
especially when the district is considering decisions
that will affect their schools.
We need to communicate not only what is changing,
but why it's changing, what data informed the decision
and what alternatives were considered
and what the trade-offs are.
We also need to engage people earlier in the process.
Community input is most meaningful
when there's still an opportunity for that input
to influence a decision,
not after the decision was effectively already made.
And then we need to close the loop.
I think this is one of our biggest opportunities.
If we ask people for feedback,
we should explain what we heard,
what we did with the information
and why the final decision was made.
Transparency doesn't mean everyone will agree
on every decision.
It means people understand how we got there.
And I really think that's how we're gonna
build trust over time.
Okay, so first of all, I apologize to those in the audience
whose question I did not ask.
There were too many questions for the time.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Sorry, go ahead.
Communications question, what perfect question for me.
I have 20 plus years of experience working
in corporate communications and public relations
for major tech companies like Google, PayPal, and eBay.
At the heart of it, at heart of great communication,
what I tell all my executives is listening, listening first,
and being an active listener.
Showing you are listening means empathizing,
responding with compassion.
And as someone who takes that input in,
what you need to do is figure out
what is most important to these people.
What are the priorities for all your different audiences
and speak to them in the languages,
in the plain language that they understand.
So when you're talking to parents,
speak to them and make it easy for them
to understand what's happening in the classroom
so that they don't have to go to a board meeting
to figure out why personnel decisions
are being made above them.
I also think it's important,
you know, trust in our district has been broken.
I feel like with my communications background, I can-
Okay, we have to end, sorry.
First of all, I want to thank our candidates
who I felt really did this in a very eloquent way.
I did not hear any attacks.
I heard everyone coming from their own perspective.
And I think the audience appreciates that too.
Perhaps you're able to stay after the forum
to ask your questions.
If candidates are able to mingle for a short while.
Now, we're closing, each candidate
will present a one minute closing statement.
And we will begin in the reverse order
of the opening statements.
So Geeta, you will be first.
All right, well, I'm really upset
we didn't get an AI question
because that was one of the urgencies
of why I'm running for this school board.
I am so passionate about kids learning
and I envy every single parent
that's sitting here and in this table
that does not have a kindergarten
or elementary school kid.
Those are some of the most complex ages
for critical thinking.
These kids will have a complete laboratory
of information at their fingertips
and what they do with that information
and what kind of humans that they become,
that's on us to be proactive about.
These are unprecedented times
and I'm interested in seeing how the school board
is going to really get in front of this.
even Silicon Valley is trying to figure it out.
Well, lastly, I would say,
let's talk about board mechanics, okay?
One fifth of a board is nothing,
two fifths of a board is something,
three fifths of the board is everything.
I want you guys to use that math equation tonight
and understand if someone like me
who's not a current board member
was to institute any sort of change,
I need board majority.
I need to be able to talk to current board members
and future board members about this,
so keep that in mind as you vote.
I've had the privilege of working alongside our educators, our families, our district
leaders and our community to strengthen our public schools.
I know what makes this district special.
I understand the challenges ahead and I'm ready to do the work necessary to protect
what we value while planning responsibly for our future.
I have received endorsements while the Creek Teachers Association is one and to me these
endorsements reflect confidence in the experience and collaborative leadership I will bring
to this role.
The decisions we make over the next four years
will shape not only the experience of the students
sitting in our classrooms today,
but the strength of our schools
for the students and families that come after them.
I'm ready to bring my experience, my commitment,
and deep understanding of this district to those decisions.
I would be honored to earn your vote
and continue my work for our district.
I really believe that strong schools
build a much stronger community.
Thanks.
Hi, William.
Thank you to the Las Trampas Creek Council of PTAs, AAUW,
and the League of Women Voters
for bringing our community together tonight.
At the heart of this election is trust.
And I believe the current board
has fallen short of earning it.
I know how to fix the way this district communicates with us.
We deserve board members who are accessible,
who listen, who respond, who empathize.
And when our schools need community support
funding, we need leaders who have earned the trust to ask for it. Our schools are
strong, but they can be better. Our kids deserve better. Six people are running
for three seats this year. To me, that shows how much people care about our
schools and how ready our community is for change. My community asked me to step
up. I said yes. I'm here as a grassroots candidate to stand alongside the people
who want change. It's time for new leadership. It's time to rebuild trust,
and I'm ready to lead. I'd be honored to have your vote on November three.
Heidi, thank you for everyone who has put this together and thank you to
everyone who has come together. I've learned a lot from education first and
foremost and very early and somewhat frustratingly is that education is the
long game. We have a deeply engaged community to build on. I know because
before I sat on this board, I spent seven years supporting the community through PTAs,
through the Walnut Creek Education Foundation, through advocating at the district and state
level. I know what it means to be able, I know that education is a complex landscape
and it is not getting easier. I hope that in the next four years I'll be able to continue
to support the progress that we've made
around putting equity at the heart of our decision making
at the heart of our strategic plan.
I've seen our achievement grow,
I've seen our belonging improve,
and I want to be able to support our new superintendent
as we continue this journey
to make Walnut Creek School District as strong as it can be.
Thank you.
Wendy.
Thank you.
I sit before you with no personal agenda.
My commitment to this board comes from a single place,
a deep love for this district, a passion for education,
and a desire to see our new superintendent
and our schools succeed.
Look at where we are today.
This district is working.
Our students are thriving academically.
We have inclusive schools that promote a climate
of belonging for all.
Our finances are solid with growing reserves
secured for the next three years.
Teachers want to work here.
and through Measure J, our campuses have never looked better.
Are we perfect?
No, but progress requires steady, experienced leadership,
not disruption.
Do not risk our momentum or upset this balance
for those who put their personal priorities
above our collective success.
Thank you.
Okay, Rod.
Thank you to our hosts
and to everyone who joined us tonight.
Look, many of you already know me.
We've served together in our schools, in the PTA, HOA,
you're my neighbors, you're my friends.
And those of you who know me know
that when I make a commitment, I take it seriously.
I'm very passionate and I do it 100%.
I'm a CPA, I used to be the chief audit executive for VSP.
I served boards and I've been on boards.
I know what I'm doing, okay?
But most importantly, I'm a father.
I have a daughter in the Walnut Creek School District
and I will approach every decision affecting your children
with the same care, concern, and responsibility
I would expect of my own.
If elected, my commitment is simple.
Students, you will be first.
Parents, you will be heard.
And teachers, you will be supported.
I would be honored to have your vote November 3rd.
And for more information about me,
please visit my website, rod4wcsd.com.
And thank you very much, and I ask for your vote.
Okay, well, first of all, let's give a line of applause
for our candidates.
And I also like us to applaud this wonderful audience
that provided some of these very provocative questions.
And as you notice, our next speakers
will be Akalonas Union High School District.
So if you're able to stay here for that, that would be great.
If you want to mingle, ask her candidates some more questions,
you're welcome to do that also.
But thank you.
It's been a great debate.
Thank you.
Hey, folks.
First of all, I want to thank all of you
for joining us this evening.
The Las Trumpas Creek Council of PTAs, the AAUW Danville Alamo
Walnut Creek are the co-hosts of the candidate forum,
along with the League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley.
My name is Audra Ruth Ruff.
I am the membership co-chair and a board member
of the League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization,
and what that means is that we do not support
or oppose any candidates or political party.
The League is here as part of its key mission
to educate and inform voters
in a space that is free from bias.
In keeping with the League's mission,
I do not live in this area or the district, and therefore I will not be voting in this
contest.
The purpose of this forum is to present to the Akalanes school community the two candidates
who are running for one seat on the Akalanes Union High School governing board area one.
These candidates are Nithin Iyengar and Stacey Schweppe.
To give our audience a very short description of this position, a governing board member
will serve as a local public officer responsible for helping set district wide educational
policy approving budgets and overseeing high school administration. This contest serves
the new governing board by Trustee area one which primarily encompasses northern Walnut
Creek communities but is also part of the broader Occlanis union high school district
made up of the five communities, LaFayenda, Orinda, Maraga, Walnut Creek, and Canyon.
Walnut Creek Television is recording the forum.
It will be posted unedited to the League of Women Voters Diablo Valley,
YouTube page, as well as WCTV.
Candidates drew a card this evening to determine who would go first.
And tonight we will start with Nithin Iyengar and then Stacy Schwepi.
The order of speaking was determined randomly, obviously.
Closing statements will then be in reverse order.
So Stacy will go first at the closing.
In addition to one and a half minute opening and closing statements, each candidate will
have one minute to answer each question.
Because we only have two candidates, obviously, they will just alternate who answers each
question first. Our volunteer timers this evening we have Kate Riley and Katherine Wilder
will raise a yellow 15-second warning card and a red card will be raised at the stop
time. At which time I will say thank you and we will move on to the next question or candidate's
answer. Just a note, personal comments about opposing candidates are not permitted. Any
Any statements about opposing candidates must be verifiable in the public record such as
a vote, a public statement, contributors or contributions.
Each candidate is also given the opportunity for two 30-second rebuttals during the program.
Candidates must limit their rebuttal statement to correcting any mis or disinformation from
the other speaker.
And the moderator will have discretion at this.
A few reminders to our audience.
If you have a question for the candidates, please write it on a 3 by 5 card and hand
it to one of the volunteers that's around the room.
Questions are screened to avoid duplicates and to conserve time.
Therefore, a question may be synthesized and maybe a synthesis of questions of like topics.
All candidates, both candidates will reply to all questions.
Since the forum is being recorded, we ask that you please silence your phones and other
electronic devices, and out of respect for the hard work that went into providing this
forum and to ensure that there is no improper use of the forum's content, we do ask that
you do not film or record tonight's program. We also ask that you please refrain from cheers,
applause, snapping, or other approval or dissent noises during the forum in order to preserve
of the valuable time to hearing the candidates' comments.
OK, so now we will proceed with a one and a half minute
opening statements.
And this will begin with Nithin Iyengar.
Thank you.
Great.
Thank you for hosting this event and for everyone
for joining both here and online.
Over 20 years ago, I started my career
teaching math in Pittsburgh, California.
I taught every class from algebra through AP Calculus.
Since then, I've led school improvement work
across the country, both inside
and outside of public schools.
I've been elected twice
to the Walnut Creek School District Board.
And today, my kids attend Los Lomas
and Walnut Creek Intermediate.
There is no question,
Aquilina schools are fantastic.
But fantastic is not the standard I'm running on.
Excellent is.
Our schools face two challenges of excellence and equity.
Families want rigorous academics and for their students to get into the most selective colleges.
And today, half of students who are black and brown in our district
are performing below grade level on 11th grade math.
Both are true and both demand action.
The false choice is we have to pick one.
But a system designed to work for every child pushes the highest performers further
and creates opportunities for everyone.
But we need to be explicit about this
and we need to be explicit in our commitment.
For the first time, Walnut Creek
will elect its own representative
and that representative needs to be a voice
fighting for current families who have been overlooked
and not engaged in our district community.
Thank you.
Okay, thank you.
Candidate Schweppi.
Thank you to the League of Women Voters,
Las Trumpas Creek Council of PTAs and the AAUW.
Thank you community members that have joined us tonight.
I am seeking election to the AUHSSD Board.
I was appointed unanimously in January of 2025,
and I would like to continue my service.
My story of service in public education
starts with my family.
My father was in the Navy for 22 years,
and upon retiring, he joined the community college system
as an educator.
My mother was a elementary school principal,
special ed teacher and a principal in San Francisco Unified. Both my mother-in-law and
my sister-in-law are teachers in Mount Diablo Unified. So, long history of family. I have
been a parent volunteer for more than 20 years and a PTA leader. I was the PTSA president
at Los Lomas and I served eight years on the PTSA executive board there. I have also served
on the Los Trampas Creek Council of PTAs
for more than 10 years.
My goal for our districts are centered on everything
that's important to our community.
Student well-being, academic excellence,
and fiscal responsibility.
I want to support students who need more support,
who are interested in the trades,
who have English as their first language,
those that want more AP courses
and are on a pathway to Ivy League or UC,
And those who are looking for pathways to careers.
Thank you.
All right.
So now, for about the next 30 minutes or so,
I will be presenting questions.
Do you want to let you know that no candidates, neither
of the candidates, have seen any of these questions
prior to this forum?
So the first question is going to go to candidate Shweppi.
And it is, what specific roles or skills
do you have that you bring to the position that you are seeking on the school board
and leading at the high school level?
One minute.
They have one minute to answer, yes.
So I have been on the board serving since January of 2025.
I take my commitment to the board very seriously.
I onboarded as quickly as I could and have taken all of the mandatory classes for a board
member. I also have joined the California School Board Association and I'm very
active in the Contra Costa County chapter where I sit on the executive
committee getting to know superintendents and other board members
throughout our entire county. I've worked hard to understand the issues in our
district having two kids go through Las Lomas. I understand the school. I understand our
challenges and I am very familiar with our budget challenges and I think that makes me
highly qualified for this position. Thank you. Candid Iyengar. So, skills and experience
aren't about participation or how many committees you sit on or councils. For me, skills and
experiences are have you improved student outcomes in the places you've
served. I've been inside classrooms as a teacher, as an instructional coach, and a
school leader and everywhere I've worked the measure of successes did kids learn.
I've worked the system level across the country and I understand how district
decisions translate but more often don't translate into student outcomes. And
that's the focus I bring to the board. How do board level decisions actually
translate into meaningful changes in the classroom. And third I've governed. On the
Walnut Creek School District Board we handled budgets, labor negotiations, and
a pandemic. And I know what it means to make hard decisions but keep a true
north, again focused on student outcomes. And today I have kids in our schools and
like many families we're trying to our best to navigate a new era. That's the
kind of skills and experience I bring to this board. Thank you candidate Iyengar.
you will also start this next question because we are flip-flopping who starts
first. This question goes, it's kind of a synthesis, goes to the discussion about
mental health and learning and social and emotional issues. So what is your
approach or do you have any specific program recommendations to ensure the
wellness of student mental health especially in the face of high
academic pressure in the district? It's a genuine asset that on each of our
campuses, we have wellness centers. Not every district has that. The question
isn't whether or not we have mental health center, wellness centers. It is,
are they reaching the students who need them most, not just students who
self-refer? Take Los Lomas. It's a campus about 1,500 kids. Large enough to be
diverse, but small enough that, to steal a phrase from Aruana Creek
superintendent, every student can be known by name and what they need. When
When teachers, counselors, and staff know every student,
early intervention becomes possible.
The goal isn't that wellness centers are open.
It's a campus culture where no student falls through
the cracks and goes unnoticed.
So as a board member, the couple things I push for are,
one, how do we make sure we have proactive outreach
embedded in the school day, not just drop-in services?
And second, how are we getting better data
on who's being served and who's not being served?
And based on that, how are we adapting
how our wellness centers operate on our campuses.
Thank you, and candidate Schweppe.
I've been a proponent for mental health awareness
and active on campus for many, many years.
In 2008, before we had wellness centers,
I was the first person to bring a wellness fair
to Los Alamos High School students
and really address all aspects of mental health,
where we looked at not just support
through suicide prevention groups,
but also things that they could do in the community.
So we brought in park rangers and hikes,
and we know that we really need to speak
to the whole student and make sure that counselors
and teachers and our wellness centers
are really looking for those students that need help.
And we're doing everything we can
put safety nets in place so that those students are identified and called to the wellness
center when they need help. I also strongly believe that referral from other students
should be something we really push for as well.
Thank you, candidate Schweppe. All right. So this next question, candidate Schweppe,
you will begin, and then candidate Ayengar. So, Akalanes Union High School District is
a very high performing district with a big emphasis on the AP and college prep culture.
What do you see as an avenue for students who are not college bound and how will you
support them?
I'm very proud of the fact that we have various pathways on our campuses that we offer multi-year
course work in auto shop, in foods, in audio technologies, and that we do offer options
to students that do not see themselves as college bound or at least not college bound
right away.
I was integral in making sure that career and technical education was included in the
measure W resolution, so that we're not just talking about
having AP classes and advanced placement opportunities,
but that we're looking at every student on campus
and giving every student a pathway to success.
Thank you.
Canada Lyingar.
So in talking with families, one of the things
that's come up a lot is this question of
not only are there career pathways,
But for those career pathways, is my child going to be ready?
Are they going to have the basic skills
to be able to function and succeed in a career?
And today when we start with our data,
that's not always the case for some of our students.
Again, relative to 11th grade math and ELA standards,
a large portion of our students,
whether broken down by race or by income,
are not meeting grade level standards.
And so whatever pathway anyone chooses,
that's first where we need to start.
The second thing is, California has invested billions
of dollars in career pathways across the state.
Las Lomas is a great start where the medical career pathways
provides an opportunity for students
to enter the medical careers, but we need more of those,
and we need to leverage state funding to take advantage
of what it looks like to have sustainable career pathways.
And finally, as a board member, the questions I wanna be
asking is, how are students doing?
Not just when they graduate from high school,
but one, two, three years later
when we hear how they're doing.
Thank you.
Okay, candidate Schwepi.
Oh no, I'm sorry, candidate Iyengar, you'll be, we're going to go into kind of a handful
of similar questions, but related, but separate, all having to do a little bit with budget
and measure W. So I'll ask a few of these questions as we go along, but just to give
you a sense of what these next few questions will be.
So candidate Iyengar, can you share what you are doing to ensure the passage of measure
W? Well we learned from Measure L and previous parcel tax in Occulanus is that getting Measure
W passed requires everyone to move beyond intention and have action. And action means
putting in the sweat equity to make sure everyone is doing whatever it takes to get Measure W passed.
And so for me what that's looked like is one, I've been canvassing over the weekends and I put on my
Measure W shirt is not about my campaign.
I'm walking around talking about Measure W,
learning from families what they want,
what they're excited about, and what questions they have.
Second is I've been fortunate to raise enough money
in this campaign that I've been able to contribute
quite a substantial amount of match funding
to support Measure W.
And then finally, it's individual conversations.
Conversations with people in my network,
people I know, to convince them.
Measure W passes both by the grand actions we do,
but also by the individual actions that every one of us take to make sure that we're convincing our friends they should support measure W
Thank you candidate schwepi
As a board member
It was really important that we learn our lessons from our last parcel tax attempt and really come up with a strategy that would
Improve on the things we knew we had fallen down on and one of those things was starting the process early enough to really build
to robust campaign team and get campaign teams in place.
Personally, I've been attending a great number of parties.
I can now call myself Party Central.
And it's been great talking one-on-one with community members,
educating people about the state budget process,
really talking about, you know, where we sit
and why we are in this situation we are.
I was at an event for Campo Lindo last night.
It's been great to be not just within the Walnut Creek area, but also interacting across
our entire district.
Thank you.
So this next question, Candida Schweppe, you will start with first.
If Measure W passes, it is estimated that the parcel tax would raise about $6 million
annually.
What specifically would you do to ensure that the money reaches the classrooms as promised?
And what programs do you see as the top priorities for the additional funding that will be available?
So as a board member, I am very passionate that we bring back our librarians.
I think that's our job number one, assuming Measure W passes.
But I also think it provides us a great opportunity to do some reimagining.
Are our libraries structured the way they should be?
Could they be more like student centers on a college campus?
Are there things that we could do to bring them more into the 21st century?
So I think the opportunities will be vast and I think it will be important that the
board take their time and that we really think through the things we want to do.
We have also found out that within the first cuts we may not need to bring everything back.
Sometimes you don't miss the things that you let go of and that's really what the first
round of the 2.2 million in cuts we did were things that were just belt tiding that we
don't need.
Thank you.
Canada Iyengar?
So as many of you know my wife is a librarian in elementary district so obviously we're
bringing back librarians, but 85% of the budget goes towards people and with the
additional with the six million dollars we have the opportunity to reimagine
what it means to support our people. Where and how we can raise salaries and
provide better compensations so our teachers and staff can afford to work in
our schools. Where and how we can think about what high quality professional
development looks like for our teachers so they're able to thrive. Teachers don't
leave they leave teachers leave a place where they're not being supported and
developed and nurtured and coached and so how do we really think about what it
looks like to fundamentally support our teachers in a different way and then
finally it's about thinking about the future I think one of the things we
should think about is not only what a short-term decisions we need to make but
also what a long-term choices we need to make to ensure the financial
sustainability of the district for years to come especially in a context of
of increased cost and decline.
Thank you.
Thank you, candidate Iyengar.
So you will answer this next question, which is first,
which is if Measure W fails,
what would you propose cutting first
and what would you work to protect and please be specific?
So first one emphasize that work between now and then
is to make sure Measure W passes,
and that's our primary job.
If Measure W fails,
We have to take a really hard look
at some of the things happening in our schools.
I'm not gonna pretend to say we need to cut this or that
because really the path forward is
we have to come up with clear criteria of what matters
and be transparent about what some of those choices are
for our community.
Whenever I've had to make really difficult budget choices,
it's not only about where the destination is,
but it's also about being transparent
of what the process and criteria that got there is.
And so by no means is anyone gonna be excited
another year of cuts, but the way we navigate that is by again being
transparent about what are the choices we're trying to make, what values are
most important to us, and then what's the process we follow to arrive at those
reductions. Thank you, candidate Schweppi. Measure W has to pass, so fingers
crossed. The good news is with the one-time money from the state this year
we are set through to the 27-28 school year without having to make further
reductions and I think that would give the board an entire year to really be
thoughtful about what would have to be done to make the budget sustainable and
give us the the lead time we need to be thoughtful about cuts and really try to
keep them as far away from the student experience as we can. This has not been
in an easy time to go through budget cuts.
It's not been an easy time to negotiate with our unions
when we say we can't give raises.
So there would be some very difficult conversations
that have to occur, but at least we have some time
and I believe we can be very thoughtful
in how we approach the next five years.
Thank you.
Candidate Schwoepi, you'll be the first to answer
this question about staffing.
Staffing shortages and retention are an issue statewide.
What do you believe are things the district could do
beyond pay teachers more to keep good teachers and staff
in the Akelanes Union High School District?
We're very fortunate to have all of our positions
currently filled.
We haven't had a shortage of teachers
for the last couple of years, which has been great.
We are a desirable district.
We are a place people like to work,
and I think a big part of that hinges on the fact
that we offer professional development.
As soon as we knew there was some one-time money,
we were able to reinstate
our full professional development curriculum
that we provide two days before,
so teachers have a full immersive experience
before school starts.
think our campus culture is also incredibly important that we are a place
that teachers like to work and feel supported and we have a very strong
mentor teacher program so that our new teachers come in and can rely on the
support of experienced teachers and know that they're going to be well taken care
of. Thank you candidate Schweppi. Candidate Iyengar. So beyond salary we
need to be serious about workload, prep time, class sizes, administrative burden, and intentional
about culture. One of the things I'm proud of is the Walnut Creek Teachers Association
has endorsed my campaign. I hope it speaks to my track record as a board member in supporting
teachers. But one of the things I've observed is that teachers leave managers. They don't
leave schools. We saw that at Los Lomas before Principal Sullivan took over, and we've seen
that afterwards as he has retained and grown the campus culture.
That means investing in our instructional leadership so school leaders can support teachers.
Finally I'd push for more transparency on teacher satisfaction data and teacher wellness
data.
We survey students.
We should continue to survey staff with the same rigor and use those results to figure
out how we can retain the best and greatest asset we have in our schools, our educators.
Thank you.
So this next question, candidate Iyengar, you'll start.
And it is about the trustee area.
So with the split of the district into new trustee areas, how will you weigh your area
against decisions that affect all the schools in the district?
So as a trustee of the Occolines Union High School District, each trustee has an obligation
to serve the entire district.
And at the same time, if elected, I'm elected and supported by the members and voters in
Trustee Area 1.
And so what that means for me is advocating incredibly hard for what the needs are of
Walnut Creek communities and making sure that Walnut Creek's voice is heard on the board.
One of the things I've experienced again in talking with families is many families have
shared that over the past few years, they haven't felt like Walnut Creek has been represented
on the board.
That may be fact.
That may be a perception.
But it's something that needs to be addressed.
And so as a board member, yes, I have responsibility to support all the students across the district,
and my goal is to make sure that Walnut Creek finally has a meaningful voice on our board.
Thank you.
Candidate Schweppi?
I don't see my role changing at all.
I represent all students and all teachers and all community across our total attendance
area.
I happen to depend on the voters of Southern Walnut Creek,
but my responsibility as a board member is to all.
I think the one thing that transferring to districts
has done is allowed more people to enter the process.
When we were at large, we were represented by 89,000 voters
and now to have a much smaller group
allows it to be more affordable to run
and hopefully will engage more people in the process.
It's incredibly important that Walnut Creek have a voice
and these new districts will guarantee that.
And by 2028, we will have two Walnut Creek board members
representing our community.
Thank you.
Candidate Schwepy, you'll be the first to answer
this next question, which is about safety.
What's your view on the district's current approach
to campus safety and emergency preparedness responses?
And, what additional tools do you propose to improve safety on school campuses?
So every site is required to provide a safety plan annually, and the Board reviews those
safety plans completely.
I think it's incredibly important that our communities maintain relationships with the
the different support services we have.
So that those entities know our campuses.
The firefighters know how to get in,
they know how to get out, they know how to get around.
I'd say my biggest concern is many of our campuses
have a one way in and during a fire event
that can be really frightening.
So it stresses me out to be honest.
And I really would like to continue to explore ways
that our teachers and our students know how to safely exit
in the event of any kind of emergency.
Thank you.
Candidate Iyengar.
And when we think about safety on our campus,
safety across our campuses, it's multiple layers.
So certainly we have to have the emergency safety plans.
In the worst possible scenario, a tragic incident happens.
what's the involvement of emergency services,
what's the involvement of police,
what's the involvement of fire.
That has to be there at,
but that is a, to some degree, a last resort.
We have to also think about
what are early intervention approaches?
What are ways that before things get to that level,
obviously fires and others are different,
but before things get to that level,
we have early intervention.
So things like see something, say something.
Opportunities for students to make referrals
of another student say,
hey, I think this student needs help.
teachers being more, continuing to focus on
what are the needs of students
beyond just what's happening in their classroom.
But again, for us to really think about a safety plan,
it has to be multiple layers.
We can't just rely on the final safety plan
that is for some of the worst possible circumstances.
Thank you.
We have probably time for maybe two more quick questions.
So, candidate Iyengar, what is your stance
on banning books in the high school libraries
or limiting curriculum topics?
And do you think teaching civics education
in this unique period in our nation's history is important?
Students in our schools should be challenged
and should be challenged with what they experience
and what they see in libraries, what they see in classrooms.
And it's the board's responsibility
to set the framework, set the process for that.
And ultimately we have to defer to our educators
who understand youth development,
understand curriculum best, and understand how kids learn.
So I am not supportive of banning content
or banning curricula in any way in our classroom,
and if individual parents have problems with that,
their first step is to talk to their teacher
and find out what's the curriculum,
why is it being taught, and what's happening.
And if a parent continues to not be satisfied,
their child doesn't have to engage,
but it doesn't mean every other child can engage.
In terms of civic education,
I think we can see with our national discourse right now
how critical civics education is.
A lot of what is going on right now
is because we lack fundamental understandings
of how government operates, how individuals should engage.
And one of the things I'm excited about
is this next generation is really looking for us to lead
on how to get involved in our government.
Thank you.
Candidate Shwethi.
I think critical thinking skills are needed now
more than ever.
And the way you encourage critical thinking
is allowing students to have a wide variety
of material available for them to read,
and I would never support book banning.
I think I'm very proud of the fact
that our district went ahead and embraced ethnic studies
as a course selection.
It came down from the state.
It wasn't due to be mandated until 2028.
We went ahead and did that because as a district,
We believe that understanding the pathway and people's lived experience is important
to our students' growth.
And we focus strictly on the California experience, so we talk about Native Americans, we talk
about the Chinese railroad, and we talk about Hispanic culture.
And I think all those things will help our students be better citizens of the world.
Thank you.
You will be the first to answer this final question.
What do you believe is the top issue for students
in the Akalani Student High School District,
and what do you see as some possible solutions
to that issue?
Right now, I think our most critical issue for our students
is the fact that we've had to tighten the master schedule
due to budget cuts.
So many students are not getting their first choice,
they're getting their second choice.
Many students who perhaps lined up for a class
they thought might be interesting,
and found out it wasn't their cup of tea,
are having a really hard time
changing out of that classroom.
And so it's more important than ever
that we figure out these budget issues,
that we pass the parcel tax,
so that we don't have to have 35 kids in a classroom,
and that students can have the full range of choice
that they deserve and get their first choice the first time.
and that if they're in a course that isn't interesting
or that they don't feel they can handle with their schedule,
that they're able to opt out of that class
and get into something else.
So more than ever, I think our kids are resilient.
Thank you, candidate Schweppi.
Candidate Iyengar.
Yeah, I agree.
I think the near term thing that many of our students
in our schools are challenged with is
can I take the classes I wanna take?
Can I challenge myself?
can I explore the opportunities that I want to explore?
But I think that speaks to a larger question
that I know many of our young people are wrestling with is,
where's this going?
What am I doing?
Where and how am I being prepared for what's next?
And I think one of the things that we need to do
is prepare students for what comes next.
There's an uncertain future ahead of our students
because of AI, because of changing workforce.
And one of the things that our students,
especially as they go to college, go to career,
whatever their pathway is, are they truly being prepared
for what's next?
And we need to be teaching not only what are
the academic skills, but what are the critical
thinking skills, what are the life skills
that really help our students thrive?
Because ultimately, questions about courses
are really a implication for where's this leading me
and is my education that I'm learning in high school
going to be of value for me.
Great, thank you so much.
So, I do wanna apologize to those in the audience
question I did not get to or I was not able to ask. There were obviously way too many
questions for the time we had this evening. If the candidates are able to stay for a few
moments after, maybe you can mingle with them and ask your questions or find them on their
websites or whatever they have available to you. At this time we are going to ask each
candidate to present a one and a half minute closing statement and we're going to begin
with candidate Nyongar? Oh no, you started, okay, sorry, candidate Shweppy, you answered
the last question and I just had it in my head, you had to go next, sorry, my apologies,
candidate Shweppy. Thank you again for the opportunity to speak
with you tonight. My path has been chosen involvement in education, donating my time,
my energy, my engagement with our community and our students. I treat my board position
as a full-time job. I have a long history of participation in our high schools, including
the Oculonese Union High School District Coordinating Council as a parent, a PTSA president, eight
years on the PTSA executive board, being a parent advisor to the class of 2021, being
on the Citizens Oversight Committee for measures A and G, being an executive board member on
on Los Trump's Creek Council of PTAs,
being an executive board member
on the Contra Costa County School Board Association.
I'm also the liaison to the Lafayette Community DEIB,
Akalani's Campus Culture Committee,
and I chaperone the Black Student Union events.
This position matters a lot to me.
I care deeply for our students.
I care deeply that we have a place where students can thrive
find their pathway forward and then find a unique journey that fits their aspirations and their
goals as they navigate through high school. Thank you, I'd appreciate your vote and I hope I can
continue to serve this community well. Great, thank you candidate Schweppi and I do apologize.
Candidate Iyengar, your time for a closing statement. I've spent 20 years learning as a
teacher, as a school leader, district leader, and nonprofit executive, is that schools are
communities making daily bets on the potential of young people. Every budget decision, every policy,
every board vote either supports that bet or undermines it. The students walking into our
schools every day are navigating things no generation has faced. The aftermath of a pandemic,
the harms of social media, AI rewriting the future. All of this occurring during one of the
of the most turbulent times in our nation's history.
It would be easy to feel hopeless
about what our students are inheriting.
But here's what I've seen.
This generation is more adaptable and clear-eyed
than we give them credit for.
They are ready to rise, all of them,
not just the ones for whom the system already works,
if we give them the foundation to do it.
That's the bet I'll leave this board to make
on every student at the highest level of excellence
that our students know they're capable of.
Walnut Creek has waited a long time
to democratically invite its own voice on this board.
I'm asking for the honor of being that voice,
for every student, for every family,
and every teacher who deserves excellence.
Thank you, have a wonderful evening,
thank you for organizing this,
and everyone, thank you for attending.
Great, thank you so much.
So at this time, I do wanna thank
the Las Trampas Creek Council of PTAs,
and the AAUW Danville-Alamo Walnut Creek for co-hosting
with this forum with the League of Women Voters
of Diablo Valley.
And I also want to thank you, our wonderful audience,
for engaging in the democratic process
with your respectful attention
and your thoughtful questions.
We do recommend and ask that you be sure to vote early
on or before October 23rd,
if you're going to mail in your ballot.
You can also drop your ballot in a secure drop box.
you can vote in person at early polling places
or locations in person on election day,
which as a reminder is Tuesday, November 3rd.
So at this time, we do wanna say thank you
to our wonderful candidates.
So if we can give them a wonderful round of applause.
And again, thank you for attending this evening.
We appreciate your joining us in the democratic process.