The audience got schooled on the issues facing students and teachers at tonight’s Visalia Unified School District (VUSD) forum put on by the League of Women Voters Tulare County.
Kenneth DeJonge and Megan Casebeer Soleno answered questions from the panel and audience for more than an hour in the boardroom at the Visalia Unified School District’s office.
Soleno and DeJonge are running for VUSD Area 5.
The night started with opening statements where both candidates spoke about their backgrounds and qualifications for being on the board.
DeJonge says he is a lifelong Visalian and public employee working for the Terra Bella school district. He is a father, student and educator with three kids attending Visalia schools.
In his line of work he hears a lot about other school districts throughout the state, some great and sometimes not so great. What DeJonge has learned is that successful districts need accountability and transparency – and that is a top issue for him.
Soleno’s family background is in education but she decided to go into law. Her mother was a teacher and her grandparents were college professors. Her husband is a teacher and a Visalia native. Because of her husband and the fact that Visalia was hiring public defenders the couple decided to raise their family here.
After her kids started school, Soleno noticed that none of the VUSD board members had school aged kids and she wanted to change that. She also thought the board, made up of educators, could use a new perspective.
DeJonge expressed gratitude that this country allowed for local control over schools and the boards that run them. “I want to improve the lives of students. That’s my goal.”
The remainder of the night was filled with the questions for which the community wants answers. The candidates talked about how they would handle another potential pandemic, the importance of transparency, bullying, book banning, discipline in classrooms, and if teachers are being trained on how to deal with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence.
Soleno told the audience that once a student hits ninth grade the First Amendment kicks in. Restricting books to this age group and older is a violation of their right to free speech. Neither DeJonge or Soleno were in favor of banning books.
In terms of AI, DeJonge said it could be a valuable learning tool. “You can either ban it or embrace it, and I’m for embracing it.”