The Independent has endorsed the four incumbents running to remain on the Santa Barbara County Board of Education, something entirely within its prerogative.
As one of the challengers, I have difficulty with some of the points in the Independent’s narrative. The first is labeling all the challengers “ideological, right-wing conservatives” and stating that we want to cause “confusion” and “mischief.”
It is regrettable the Independent feels the need to politicize these school board races. I realize we’re running in a presidential year where partisan politics dominate media coverage. We must not allow national politics to get entangled with the problems confronting our schools, obscuring the real issues and challenges facing them. Perhaps one of the reasons we can’t improve school performance is that we allow partisan politics to divide us, so genuine reforms and solutions take a back seat to name-calling and incessant partisanship.