Introducing the School Board Candidates
On November 3, 2022, the election for the Conejo Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) board members will take place. This year, CVUSD will use a By-Trustee Area Election System to conduct the voting and placement of each elected board member. There are four different areas for each candidate to run for, and those six candidates include Sophia deDomenico, Cindy Goldberg, Bill Gorback, Joelle Macuso, Karen Meyer and Lisa Powell.
Bill Gorback
Q: Why are you running for school board? How do you hope to represent your area’s concerns?
A: I’m running because I believe I feel that in the Conejo Valley that our students are our most important asset. I’ve been a teacher for many years and after that as a school counselor for many years. And so I wanted to see the school policy from this perspective. I’ve been on the board for four years.
Q: What are some goals/plans that you would like to accomplish if you win this election?
A: Our theme has been diversity, equity and inclusion so I want to help that continue to grow. I also want the best for our students as far as academically as far as socially, and emotionally. I think our schools reflect our community. I want to make our community as good for our students and our families as possible.
Q: How do you plan on promoting equity and inclusion on our school sites?
A: I believe that some people are saying well let’s work on our core subjects. Let’s work on our standards. Our testing scores are not as important as each and every child feeling engaged on their campus.
Karen Meyer
Q: How do you plan on promoting equity and inclusion on our school sites?
A: In the past year, our District has made major improvements to equity and inclusion. Adding two new Directors, building SEL into class times, and forming DAC committees to get input from parents were just a few of the changes made in the last few years.
Q: Do you have any plans to further boost the influence of student voices in our district? If so, what specifically do you plan to do?
A: I know we have a student DAC, and there are various clubs on campuses that support different cultures and interests. This is something I would have to discuss with students throughout the District. Maybe a student “town hall meeting” would be a way to gather ideas from the student population.
Q: What are some goals/plans that you would like to accomplish if you win this election?
A: I would like to improve school security to prevent vandalism and potential threats. I will also be inspecting fiscal expenditures to avoid issues I have witnessed in the past where money was wasted because decisions were made hastily. And I would like to establish informal town hall meetings.
Lisa Powell
Q: Why are you running for school board? How do you hope to represent your area’s concerns?
A: It’s been something that I’ve thought about for a while and I think it never had seemed like maybe the right time. I really see it as a way for me to use my skills, and my abilities to serve my community and just keep making our public schools strong, even stronger awnd better.
Q: How do you plan on promoting equity and inclusion on our school sites?
A: I think there’s a number of different pieces to it. I think we continue with the involvement of a wide range of partners on these issues. We’re also seeing movement on this front that I’m very supportive of the work that they’ve been doing so far.
Q: Do you have any plans to further boost the influence of student voices in our district? If so, what specifically do you plan to do?
A: I think it’s a very important role. I know that we have SDAC. And I think that making sure that that is still is a voice in our district is important. That is providing input into decisions which is also really important.
Joelle Mancuso
Q: Why are you running for school board? How do you hope to represent your area’s concerns?
A: I am running for school board to give parents and teachers a voice in our public schools.
Q: What are some goals/plans that you would like to accomplish if you win this election?
A: I would like to support the families in Conejo Valley by being responsive to their concerns. I’d like to create a more effective communication “bridge” by offering informal town hall-style meetings for my area. The current board rarely responds to public comments which has created high frustration in the community.
Q: Do you have any plans to further boost the influence of student voices in our district? If so, what specifically do you plan to do?
A: I would like to see more opportunities for students to be mentored by local leadership so they can learn through experience. High school is a time for exploring interest and we have many industries in Conejo Valley that would like to work with our students.
Cindy Goldberg
Q: What are some goals/plans that you would like to accomplish if you win this election?
A: I want to continue some of the great things that we have been doing over the past, providing new opportunities for students to be their best selves. One of the things that I’m really excited about that we have started doing, what I would consider a little bit better, is communicating all those different options to students and their families.
Q: Why are you running for school board? How do you hope to represent your area’s concerns?
A: You guys actually represent why I am running for the school board. I have been involved as a parent, and then in a former professional capacity, trying to make the lives of students better, since I got here in the Conejo Valley. So I hope to continue to be able to help students and parents.
Q: How do you plan on promoting equity and inclusion on our school sites?
A: So by making it a priority, right, I think schools are doing that naturally. I think your generation is naturally more inclusive, or tends to skew that way, because you think about things differently. I want to encourage that across the board.
Sophia deDomenico
Q: What are your thoughts on social and emotional learning in the classroom, also known as teaching self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision-making?
A: I think that anytime we can bolster skills of emotional intelligence and mature decision making is a good thing.
Q: What are some goals/plans that you would like to accomplish if you win this election?
A: I would like to get back to prioritizing our student’s needs above anything else. Right now our students are struggling both academically and emotionally. If we haven’t done our best to prepare students academically for their individual path forward after high school graduation, we’ve failed them.
Q: How do you plan on promoting equity and inclusion on our school sites?
A: All students deserve to feel included in every way on our campuses and through our programs. I want to work with schools to have a diverse representation on each school committee. While racial representation is important there are also other aspects we need to include.
