Three win election to school board
Micheal Kusiak, Lavender Whitaker, and Dolly Adams won election to the CVUSD school board in November. Adams won with 20.45 percent, Whitaker with 20.01 percent, and Kusiak following with 19.12 percent.
They share similar viewpoints on acting on COVID-19, achieving equity in the district, pushing for better attendance and opportunities for the special education children and striving to make Castro Valley schools a place for the community.
“I am honored that there are people out there that saw something in me and my vision, and it is an absolute privilege to be given four years to tackle my goals,” Kusiak said.
All elected board members seemed to share the same sense of pride that the Castro Valley community chose them to represent them and their children’s needs.
The school board electees wanted to make sure that the voters knew that they are going to work hard to make Castro Valley schools better than when they started, starting with addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Students are scared to go back to school this year. It is important to understand what it means to come back, and look at different ways that students may be able to come back,” Kusiak said.
Members of the school board are working hard to address the needs of students, as well as their concerns to make sure that when students come back to school, it is the right decision for the health and safety of the community.
Many students have apprehensions about returning to school, with the risk of COVID-19 so high, and the school board has been working hard to listen to everyone’s concerns and opinions on the matter. Kusiak and Whitaker both strongly believe in the district’s plan, and are confident in the ability of our community to pull it off.
Along with formulating a plan to address the coronavirus, the newly appointed school board members are determined to take steps to push our district towards student equity.
“It is important that we recognize where we need to put our money and support, and adjust it as students’ needs change,” Whitaker said.
The school board is working hard to focus on addressing the needs of many underprivileged students and pushing our community to realize the hardships that they have had to overcome.
Adams also showed an interest in putting more effort and resources into special education.
“It is important that we focus more time and energy into our special ed students. They need more technological support, and more services to make school more accessible to them,” Adams said.
Kusiak also discussed the need for our school district to allow for free meals for students and make sure that all students had access to hot meals. He also mentioned how important it is that we fight for better funding in our schools, to provide for departments that have been neglected in the past.
“We need to invest in buildings that stand out, that aren’t just the basics, there is a huge opportunity to see our schools not just as a place to learn, but as community meeting places,” Kusiak said.