Bonsall, Vallecitos candidates speak

Six candidates are running for three seats on the Bonsall Union School District Board of Trustees. They include Bill Bryant, Timothy J. Coen, Wendy Cwiklinski, Lou Riddle, Robert M. Turner and Keith Way. Coen, Riddle and Turner are incumbents. The board is responsible for governance over Bonsall Elementary and Sullivan Middle School located in Bonsall, Bonsall West Elementary in Oceanside and Vivian Banks Charter School in Pala.

Bill Bryant prioritizes resolving the dispute between the teachers and the administration at the top of his list, if elected. He is also concerned that the district provide adequate space for children who will live in the new housing planned near Lake Rancho Viejo and that these children and all students in the Bonsall district schools have the resources they need to learn in a 21st century environment. Bryant believes planning for the future by unifying the district and getting a high school built is paramount. He also says “making safety at our schools for our children a top priority.” Bryant has been involved with K-12 districts throughout San Diego

County for 17 years, providing them with their technology needs. His children attend Bonsall Elementary School.

Timothy J. Coen, incumbent, did not respond to requests for candidate information.

Wendy Cwiklinski addresses increasing collaboration among parents, teachers and other community members as her number one priority for serving on the board. “It is my firm belief that the education of our children is a collaborative effort between parents, schools and other community members.” She says the board is there to represent parents of students in the district and the community; therefore, clear communication between all parties involved must be established.

Cwiklinski is a dedicated parent volunteer on behalf of educational excellence. She has a BA in music and conducted weekly music programs for children at Bonsall Elementary School for three years. She is the 2006-2007 school year vice president, Bonsall West PTA, a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), San Diego Children’s Task Force and Community Advisory Committee (CAC) parent representative for Fallbrook High School District at North County Coastal Consortium for Special Education.

Lou Riddle is an incumbent who believes the goal of the district is to put student interests first. It is his top priority. “The Bonsall Union School District is at a crossroads. Our district, which until recently has been small and rural, is being pulled into the 21st century,” he says. Factors that face the board include balancing the decline of state and federal funding against the need for newer facilities and higher wages and increased health benefit costs for its employees. Riddle has three children enrolled in the district.

Robert M. Turner, incumbent, did not respond to requests for candidate information.

Keith Way would prioritize fighting for children’s right to “not just an education, but an excellent education.” To accomplish this he proposes a threefold program. First, implementation of programs in Bonsall schools that will increase their ability to educate children such as a magnet program. Programs like this can also increase school funding. Increased funding and the ability to offer a better education are key elements in his platform.

He maintains that the second way to enable Bonsall schools to provide an excellent education is to provide a stable learning environment for children. Unhappy teachers and a high turnover in teaching staff, he says, create an unstable learning environment. To keep high-caliber teachers in Bonsall classrooms, he will utilize his professional experience of troubleshooting to find solutions that provide a competitive compensation package for teachers, thereby providing a stable environment for children.

The third step, Way says, is to get parents involved in their children’s education. He says parental involvement in a child’s education is integral to success. To enable these changes, Way says he will use his experience in the information technology field to assist in implementing new age technologies that will bring Bonsall schools into the New Age of Technology. An example is a Web-based program parents can access to monitor homework requirements.

Way is a computer engineer who troubleshoots and finds solutions for his clients particularly at the enterprise level, which means finding answers to questions that haven’t been asked before. He has also served on School Site Councils, in PTA organizations, on Parent Advisory Boards and as a president of the Camp Pendleton Youth Soccer League.

Vallecitos Board

The Vallecitos School District Board of Trustees consists of five members. It governs two schools: Vallecitos Elementary School for class levels pre-school through eighth and the Rainbow Advanced Institute for Learning, which serves the needs of students who travel or are unable to come to the physical site. The Vallecitos School District is located in Rainbow and employs 15 teachers, including several educational specialists.

Candidates for the board’s three full-term seats are appointed incumbent Michelle LaLonde, Craig Ohlson and incumbent Sandy Wells. Candidates for the one short-term seat are John L. Sliffe and Kerri J. Smith. The candidates for the full-term seat will be appointed because there is no contest for their positions and therefore their names will not be on the ballot. In the interest of information, the Village News is profiling all candidates.

Michelle LaLonde did not respond to requests for information.

Craig Ohlson says, “I am currently the president of our board and my goal as president is to continue to support Dr. Cartas and his great teaching staff in putting the Vallecitos students first in our decisions…” As his primary objective, Ohlson cites improving the student learning environment at Vallecitos School to encourage hard work that yields a rewarding education. Ohlson is a real estate broker with offices in Rainbow.

Sandy Wells’ number one priority is “to ensure a continued excellent education” for all the students in Vallecitos schools. Wells often investigates and prepares independent research of topics coming before the board for discussion. She says her involvement with the district since 1995 enables her to make well-informed decisions about the future of the schools and students. Originally a parent volunteer, Wells became the Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent and Business Manager in 1996. She continued volunteer activities with the PTO, School Site Council, Strategic Planning Committee and Budget Committee and, after attaining an accounting degree in 2000, left the school’s employment for a career in finance and accounting.

John L. Sliffe did not respond to requests for information.

Kerri J. Smith did not respond to requests for information.