2005 CSBA officer candidate statements 

Following are the candidates put forward by CSBA’s Nominating Committee for 2005 President-elect and Vice President of the California School Boards Association. Election of officers takes place during the December CSBA Delegate Assembly meeting in San Diego. Statements appear exactly as received by CSBA.

Kathleen E. Kinley (Kathy)
President-elect

I believe in CSBA’s vision of ”a state where the public schools are widely recognized as the foundation of a free and democratic society where local citizen governing boards are fully vested . . . and where the futures of all children are driven by their aspirations, not bounded by their circumstances.”

California’s public schools are facing many challenges: accountability, the achievement gap, lack of adequate funding, declining enrollment, rapid growth, increased state and federal mandates, and attempts to erode local control. I am committed to improving student achievement through strong local governance teams.

As CSBA president-elect, I will advocate for district and county board members as we meet these challenges together.

First elected to Delegate Assembly in 1984, I joined the Board of Directors in 1996, representing Inyo and San Bernardino Counties. I have served on the Annual Conference, Legislative, and Nominating committees. I chaired the Welfare Reform, Coordinated Compliance Review, By-laws, and Budget committees. An experienced trainer of new Delegates, I have represented CSBA on Department of Education committees and in testimony before the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

I believe that my knowledge of CSBA, my over 21 years as a local school board member, my Ed. D., and my professional experiences as a teacher, public information officer, and school administrator have provided me with a solid background. It would be an honor to be elected President-elect of CSBA and use my knowledge and leadership skills to achieve our vision for students, public schools, and local governance.

Paul H. Chatman
Vice President

I am pleased to take this opportunity to run for Vice President of CSBA. I have been a board member for 16 years, 5 years as a delegate from Region 11 and 4 years on the Board of Directors. During that time I have been appointed to and served on 13 committees and have had the opportunity to chair the 2001 Annual Conference Committee. Those that know me know that my agenda is that all children be exposed to the same rigorous curriculum and have the same opportunity to compete in a global economy.

Our future as a country depends on you and I molding an education system that is challenging and focused on student success not failure. At the same time we must not succumb to those that advocate these one-size-fit-all solutions for multi-sized problems. The structure of CSBA is well positioned to move the public education agenda and set the pace for the rest of the country.

As Vice President of CSBA, you have my commitment that I will continue to keep the needs of all of California’s children as our priority. We will refuse to allow the light of hope, and the dreams of prosperous futures to be dimmed because they lack the education and caring to compete.