Paso Robles school board forum: Find out where candidates stand on 10 key issues

The League of Women Voters held a forum Wednesday evening with candidates hoping to be elected to a seat on the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District board of trustees.

The two-hour-long discussion held at the school district administration building was moderated by the League’s Ed Cabrera, who asked questions from the public.

Few topics were left unasked and ranged from the candidates’ priorities, teacher involvement in board decisions and the district’s fiscal health to COVID-19 pandemic-caused learning losses, critical race theory, racism, LGBTQ+ issues, Spanish translation in board meetings and the long-awaited aquatics complex at the high school.

Candidates present were: trustee area 1 — Chris Arend, Peter Byrne and Jim Cogan; trustee area 4 — Frank Triggs and Sondra Williams; and the at-large seat — Adelita Hiteshew and Laurene McCoy.

Absent were Catherine Reimer, up for a seat from trustee area 4, and Jim Irving for the at-large seat. Joel Peterson, who is running uncontested in trustee area 2, was present in the audience.

The room was packed for the forum, with attendees ranging in age from high school to veteran voters.

Here’s a look at how the candidates responded to key questions.

What changes do you want to see happen in your term of office?

The first question from Cabrera drew a wide variety of answers from the candidates.

Byrne, first to answer, noted that he wanted to address what he saw as a lack of transparency in the schools. He was concerned about the LGBTQ+ “library” at Paso Robles High School.

The Paso High library has long had several books on LGBTQ+ topics, but students in the Equity Club noted that they were sometimes difficult to find, according to district librarian Stephanie Lowe. So, a new section was created to distinguish those books, she told The Tribune in an emailed statement.

Byrne also noted his concern about the prospect of a “community school” coming to the Georgia Brown campus once it is renovated.

“It’s actually a socialist school setup, where they take care of mental health care, medical health care, food assistance, legal assistance, stuff like that,” he said during the forum. “And they’re backed by the World Health Organization; they’re backed by the United Nations, and they’re backed by CDC and others. And I do not think that they are proper.”

Coming after Byrne was Cogan, who said he was more concerned about the third grade reading competency and ensuring learning levels of students in the district recover from learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also said that “by the end of my term, we will have reestablished busing to the remote areas of the district.”

Answering next was Triggs, who largely agreed with Cogan’s goals and also noted that he wants to ensure the property tax dollars that go to schools are properly spent.

Williams said she wants to “rebuild our relationships with our teachers” and strengthen relationships with all students, regardless of “whether they align with my personal goals or values.”

She also noted that fiscal responsibility would be a top priority for her.

Hiteshew said she felt parent engagement “is key to a lot of our goals” and that parents need to have more consolidated sources of information to aid their decision making about their students’ education.

McCoy answered next, saying that she would like to see the district have more local control “where parents have a voice.”

She also said she would like to see school safety improved and attendance and academic scores increased.

Arend said the most important thing for him while serving on the board would be to improve academic performance by focusing on academic discipline.

How do you make certain the district stays fiscally healthy, and what is the best way to do that?

Most of the candidates answered this question very similarly. They noted that ensuring the board is kept up-to-date on the financial dealings of the district through detailed and honest reports was key.

Triggs noted that the board may have to make unpopular decisions on where to spend money in the best way, while Byrne said it may come down to a “gut feeling.”

Williams said the board has to be careful on which projects it chooses to allow funds to go to, and Arend agreed, adding that spending based on which projects are sustainable is important.

Cogan noted that the district must focus on finding ways to grow attendance numbers so the district can receive more money from the state.

COVID-19 learning and socialization losses are apparent. How would you implement policies to make up for these losses?

All but one of the candidates said that there are ways to recover these losses.

Byrne, however, said it will be “difficult, if not impossible, to recover.” He noted that the district just has to “make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Considering how the district could possibly recover from the learning and socialization losses, Williams said the district needs to ensure it remains focused on its goals and to ensure students who are struggling and are disadvantaged have all the proper tools they may need.

Hiteshew said having “interventionists” at each school site is important, and that after-school tutoring programs shouldn’t cost students their elective opportunities.

Smaller class sizes and after-school tutoring were paramount ideas from McCoy and Triggs, while Arend said focusing on academic discipline was key.

Cogan tossed out the idea of having the school libraries open an extra two hours after school with tutors available to aid students in learning loss recovery.

What are your thoughts on critical race theory?

Hiteshew answered this question first and said it “is not being taught at all and it’s not going to be taught.”

McCoy countered Hiteshew by saying “it’s not a myth” and that it’s something “people are dealing with.”

However, she added that she would prefer the district “just leave it alone” because “there’s no need to put our children against each other.”

Arend said that critical race theory was a key issue he had to address on the school board. He drafted a resolution in August 2021 that allows the theory to be taught in Paso Robles schools, if “such instruction focuses on the flaws in Critical Race Theory.”

The adopted resolution directly contradicts school district policy, which allows controversial issues to be taught so long as “all sides of the issue are given a proper hearing.”

Triggs said he was grateful the school board passed that resolution.

Byrne said that anytime “diversity, equity and inclusion” are mentioned in a classroom, “you’re talking about critical race theory.”

He added that the board should further investigate whether it’s being taught in Paso Robles schools.

Cogan and Williams both said that critical race theory is not something being taught in the schools.

How as a trustee can you improve the sensitivity to issues related to racism and LGBTQ on campus?

The best way to do this was to listen, and “acting upon what’s being asked with the best interest of not just that specific class but the best interest of all the children,” McCoy said.

“We have to take a very firm view as an administration, that intolerant activity against anybody because of extraneous factors will not be tolerated,” Arend said.

Arend also noted that the district should strictly enforce its nondiscrimination policy and that it should not be involved or worry about students’ “sexual preferences.”

“This issue about LGBTQ is brought on by outside media sources, by the internet, by pressure from people about something that doesn’t really exist,” Byrne said. “I don’t particularly care ... what persuasion (people) are, LGBTQ, whatever. But they should leave the children out of it. Leave the children alone.”

Cogan answered next, saying that it was important for the board to not insult LGBTQ+ or non-white people in the district. He added that the district should not bring forth any more resolutions that could negatively impact marginalized groups.

“Racism is disgusting. We fought a Civil War and that didn’t stop racism,” Triggs said. “I think we’ve made great progress in our nation, and there’s more that can be done.”

He also added that he doesn’t think “the school is a place for teachers, administrators to be talking to my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren, about sex.”

Williams answered by saying the district needs to acknowledge it has a problem with racism and anti-LGBTQ hate. She noted that when hateful incidents happen, the students should receive counseling to dig into the “deep-rooted problems” and “have hard conversations.”

Hiteshew finished by saying the district needs to work to build a “healthy community and celebrate our differences.”

Do you support Spanish translation at board meetings being mandatory?

Arend was the first to answer this question. He noted that the board had problems in the past when members of the public who “spoke perfect English” would instead address the school board in Spanish.

However, he said he believe that the board should indeed have translation services available.

Byrne disagreed and said he didn’t think “it’s up to the school district or the government to provide translators.”

Cogan countered, noting that “we actually are required by law to provide translation for anyone who wants to come in and speak to the board, and we should absolutely do that.”

Agreeing with Cogan were Triggs, Williams, Hiteshew and McCoy.

Will you support the completion of the aquatics complex on the high school campus as planned?

All of the candidates answered “yes” to this question.

Some expressed their disappointment that the aquatics complex is now planned to be a smaller version than what was originally expected.

However, they noted that the complex is extremely important for the high school athletes and could provide community benefit as well.

“I don’t want to just build a pool, though. I want to build a pool that we can afford, and that we can continue to maintain,” Williams said. “And I believe that we are at a point now that we have come up with a solution to do just that. And I’m excited.”

Should the district use Measure M funds to renovate George Brown Elementary in north Paso Robles?

The district has already set aside millions in Measure M funds to renovate Georgia Brown Elementary School.

The decision on whether to renovate the school or abandon it, however, was a controversial decision made by a 4-3 vote in February by the board. Triggs was one of the dissenting votes on the decision.

All of the candidates except Triggs and Byrne answered “yes” to spending Measure M funds on renovating the Georgia Brown campus.

Most noted that the idea of a neighborhood or community school at the campus was an exciting prospect that could provide much-needed resources to families in that area.

Triggs stood by his February vote and said that the district has declining enrollment so it didn’t make sense to him for the district to keep the school open.

Byrne said he didn’t support the idea of a community school, which he said was a “socialist attempt to get people in the system and away from their parents.”

Community schools are specially designated campuses, often in low-income or disadvantaged areas, that can receive extra funding from the government to provide public school educational services along with free meals, health care, tutoring, mental health counseling and other tailored services for students and their families.

What are your thoughts on requiring parent consent for students to participate in high school clubs?

The Paso Robles school district recently began enforcing a long-unenforced rule that students must obtain a parent’s signature to participate in school clubs. The decision was not brought to the board before it was implemented because it was an existing rule.

Triggs, Byrne, Arend and Cogan each explicitly said they support enforcing the rule as long as it was enforce equally across all clubs and that students who had concerns could speak to school administrators or counselors.

Williams and Hiteshew both said that they do not think it is necessary to enforce such a rule for school clubs.

“I ... trust that when those groups are formed, that our school wouldn’t put something dangerous in front of our children,” Williams said. “I would expect that they would be held to the highest accountability and standards and won’t create a situation where I wouldn’t allow my child.”

Hiteshew also noted that there is a club on campus that supports LGBTQ+ students. Students who may partake in that club may not be openly LGBTQ+ to their parents, so requiring a signature for that club may endanger the student, Hiteshew said.

McCoy said she couldn’t answer the question.

How do you intend to continue increasing student involvement and feedback on board discussions and decision making?

Williams, Hiteshew, McCoy, Arend, Triggs and Cogan each generally said that the board members need to go to the students in order for the students to feel comfortable voicing their opinions.

This includes going to school events, sports games and student meetings as well as responding to any emails or calls they receive from students, they said.

“If we show up for the students, they’ll show up for us by coming to these board meetings and speaking and sharing their hearts and their needs and their concerns,” McCoy said.

Cogan specifically gave a shoutout to the board for establishing a student representative on the school board, which he said was a great step for involving the student voice in their decision making process.

Byrne said that students “should be home studying, but if they want to come up and talk to the board, I think that’s fine.”

And Triggs largely agreed with the other candidates that the trustees need to be involved with the students by going to classrooms and events.

However, he added that “we need to remember that the decisions have to be made, and need to be made, by the adults in the room.”

Paso Robles student forum scheduled

Another candidate forum is set to be hosted by Paso Robles High School students on Nov. 3.

This student-only event will allow them to ask the board members about topics of their concern. Students hosting the forum will be mentored by The League of Women Voters.

The League’s Sept. 28 forum is available online at www.youtube.com/c/PRJUSDBroadcasts.