Candidates Forum

How long have you lived in the Poway district you are seeking to represent?

3 years

List your specific personal and/or professional experience (i.e., schools your children attend(ed), volunteer roles in PUSD, profession, etc.) that are important qualifications for serving on the Poway Unified School District Board of Education.

My son is a first grader at a public elementary school in PUSD, and my daughter is in preschool. Here are some of my key community roles:

• Family Health Centers of San Diego: Primary care physician and medical director of City Heights clinic, leader for multiple community initiatives including a new pathway for treatment of alcohol use disorder and a refugee health task force
• PQ Rec Youth Soccer: Coach
• Canyon View Elementary: Member of Dad's Club
• Medi-Cal Contract Drug Advisory Committee: One of two physicians statewide advocating for coverage of medicines for 15 million Californians who have Medi-Cal
• California Academy of Family Physicians: Member of the Legislative Affairs Committee Indian classical music: Vocal musician with recent performances at public libraries and local temples

Why are you seeking this office?

PUSD is struggling with the recent firing of a superintendent, a mental health crisis among our students, and a budget shortfall. We need a fresh voice who will listen to community input, be guided by doing the right thing, and not be swayed by ulterior political motives.

As a family medicine physician who provides primary care for all ages and leads a community clinic, I believe I can be that ethical voice for PUSD. My professional experience gives me the balanced perspective that this moment demands. Because I have young children, I am also invested in long-term success of our school district and I will do the work it takes to make PUSD an outstanding place to work and learn.

My background and experience as a community health center physician equips me to understand and respond to the needs of our students, especially those from diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. I bring 10+ years of policy and advocacy experience in healthcare, including serving as one of two physicians statewide on a key Medi-Cal committee that determines medication coverage for 15 million Californians.

Because of this experience, I am comfortable navigating complex healthcare systems to deliver results for my patients, and I will use these skills on the PUSD school board to deliver for students, teachers, and community members. Our campaign is endorsed by more than 100 PUSD community members including current Area A Trustee Dr. Darshana Patel.

What do you think the relationship between the School Board and the Superintendent should be?

The school board must work towards a collegial relationship while holding the superintendent accountable for the success of PUSD. Our last superintendent was appropriately fired, and I am hopeful that the current national search process will yield an outstanding superintendent.

With this new individual, I would maintain open communication lines, and support a regular feedback and assessment process to ensure our superintendent maintains the highest standards for PUSD. The superintendent should work with each board member to select a key priority area of action, such as mental health or special education, and show demonstrable steps to serve PUSD in that area.

What do you consider the primary role of a PUSD School Board member to be?

A PUSD school board member must continuously serve three groups: students (our primary constituents), district employees including teachers, administrators and classified staff, and community members including parents and taxpayers. This is a delicate balance that fundamentally requires careful management of taxpayer dollars to fairly compensate PUSD employees and create a welcoming, nurturing classroom environment that drives success for all students.

With my background as a medical director of a clinic, I believe that I am uniquely poised to strike this balance and serve our PUSD community. I am committed to regularly visiting school sites, and I would visit all the schools in Trustee Area A within 6 months of starting my school board term. I will work with PUSD to regularly ask for feedback from the community, and be present at community events so I am consistently aware of how to better serve our students, teachers, and community members.

List your top priorities as a PUSD School Board Member:

1. Budget shortfall: PUSD will struggle with a budget shortfall for the next several years. As a medical director of a large clinic with 35,000 patient visits per year, I have the financial understanding to manage a complex budget.

PUSD is a very large district, with annual revenue and expenditures of $550 million. Because the State of California requires school districts to report their budget before the official state budget is released, we must prioritize having sufficient reserves during each budget cycle. PUSD had adequate reserves this past fiscal year and we were able to weather the current budget shortfall without letting go of any staff.

In addition to maintaining reserves, we must always look five years ahead and anticipate future challenges. We should refinance bonds to secure more favorable interest rates and sell unused parcels of land to generate revenue for PUSD. We must learn from history and never repeat the “billion dollar bond” financial fiasco of 2011. We should continuously exercise fiscal responsibility in our decision-making.

2. Student mental health: We need to rethink our approach to mental health, especially around social media and screen time. I support increasing the frequency of community sessions to educate parents about how to manage social media and screen time at home. I also support curricular development that teaches children about how to build healthy relationships with technology. If elected, I would be a champion for existing parental efforts to create mental health crisis response teams across middle schools and high schools in PUSD.

3. Teacher pay and benefits: I am very concerned about the challenges our teachers face in affording to live and work in PUSD. As a young person with a young family, I am acutely aware of the perfect storm of student debt, astronomical housing costs, and high childcare costs. I advocate that teachers are paid fairly, and that they receive outstanding benefits that ameliorate the difficult circumstances of today’s economy. I want PUSD to be more creative with approaches to supporting our teachers, including expanding childcare options for PUSD employees, and increasing administrative support so that our teachers are not bringing so much work home.

How long have you lived in the Poway district you are seeking to represent?

33 Years

List your specific personal and/or professional experience (i.e., schools your children attend(ed), volunteer roles in PUSD, profession, etc.) that are important qualifications for serving on the Poway Unified School District Board of Education.

I have 7 children who attended Garden Road and Midland Elementary Schools, Twin Peaks Middle, Poway and Westview High Schools. I am a software engineer in the aerospace industry. I have been a coach, Scoutmaster, mentor and advisor to youth in the community for 33 years. I am a member of a PUSD Parent advocacy group.

Why are you seeking this office?

For some years now our school board has approved policies, curriculum and budgets that have led the community to mistrust them, students to flounder and taxpayers to rebel. Transparency, communication and budgetary discipline must be restored. Parents and students need a board to hear and respect them. Experimental, controversial and unproven curricula must be eliminated in favor of purely academic and artistic curricula and proven teaching methods. Budgetary management must be courageous and disciplined in order to recover from the debt and deficit we currently face.

What do you think the relationship between the School Board and the Superintendent should be?

The Superintendent is the only hire the School Board makes. It is an employee/employer relationship. That employee should be financially incentivized to perform to the standards and goals articulated by the employer. Goals should include academic progress, teacher and staff satisfaction and budgetary soundness. Historically this position has had a guaranteed salary that is quite high. I believe that a lower base salary should be established and incentives put in place to encourage progress toward these goals.

What do you consider the primary role of a PUSD School Board member to be?

Hire the Superintendent and hold them accountable for performance. Approve budgets, curriculum and policy. Keep open communication with the community and be a voice and advocate for parents and students.

List your top priorities as a PUSD School Board Member:

Increase academic excellence, support parents and students and restore fiscal responsibility.

How long have you lived in the Poway district you are seeking to represent?

List your specific personal and/or professional experience (i.e., schools your children attend(ed), volunteer roles in PUSD, profession, etc.) that are important qualifications for serving on the Poway Unified School District Board of Education.

I've been living in this neighborhood for 14 years, and my wife and I have been actively involved in the local schools, including classroom volunteering, involvement with the school foundations, fundraising, and athletics. All of my children either attended or currently attend schools in PUSD. I have also served on the Board of one of the largest HOAs in the area with more than 1300+ homes for more than 9 years.

I am currently a consumer advocate attorney working for a nonprofit organization, and I advocate on behalf of utility customers against large utilities in California. For example, I currently represent all SDG&E customers to fight against the large rate increases proposed by SDG&E for 2025. Prior to becoming an attorney, I held finance related leadership roles in Fortune 500 companies for 15 years, including experience with managing $400 million of annual spend.

I received a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from UC Irvine, a Masters in Business Administration from Yale University, and a Juris Doctor from University of San Diego.

Why are you seeking this office?

I’m running because Poway Unified can do much better, and our children deserve better. Poway Unified used to be the envy of other school districts. Sadly, we’re now known as the district with the scandals; our test scores have been declining, and we have a $28 million budget shortfall. As you’ll see on my candidate statement, I’ve pledged to give back 100% of any compensation I receive as a board member back to PUSD because I know cutting costs is a painful process for everyone, and I want to lead by example. I have no political aspirations -- this is not a stepping stone to a political career for me. The public school system has greatly helped me and my children, and serving on the board is my way of giving back.

A top-tier school district benefits our children’s future, boosts the local economy, and enhances property values. But this is only possible if we have effective leadership at the Board level. Given my experience and education, I am confident that I can provide the leadership that PUSD needs during this challenging time. I hope to have the privilege of serving our community and our children.

What do you think the relationship between the School Board and the Superintendent should be?

What do you consider the primary role of a PUSD School Board member to be?

List your top priorities as a PUSD School Board Member:

1) Increase Teacher Pay

We must pay our teachers more in order to attract and retain quality teachers. For the 2024-2025 school year, Poway Unified teachers did not receive a cost-of-living adjustment. In other words, all teachers received a pay cut when accounted for inflation. Instruction is Poway Unified's core offering, and instruction affects student performance more than anything else. Therefore, we must invest more in instruction, not less.

2) Increase Transparency

The public school system belongs to the public. As such, crucial information must be publicly available. For example, even though the 2024-2025 budget is 150 pages long, it does not contain information about the spending breakdown for individual programs. Without that information, it is impossible for the public (or even the Board) to know the effectiveness of the programs. To successfully balance the budget, cost effectiveness of each program must be studied.

3) Increase Public Engagement

For anyone that has attended PUSD board meetings in recent years, it seems obvious that the Board is not receptive to public comments. In fact, the Board doesn't even seem interested in hearing them! Public comment has been cut to 30 minutes total regardless of how many members of the community are willing to take the time to provide feedback. This is not how public comment is supposed to be received, and this is not common practice in many school districts. I practice in front of the California Public Utilities Commission, and the five Commissioners routinely spend hours listening to public comments -- there are no restrictions for how many speakers are allowed to provide feedback.

4) Increase Accountability

How long have you lived in the Poway district you are seeking to represent?

List your specific personal and/or professional experience (i.e., schools your children attend(ed), volunteer roles in PUSD, profession, etc.) that are important qualifications for serving on the Poway Unified School District Board of Education.

Why are you seeking this office?

What do you think the relationship between the School Board and the Superintendent should be?

What do you consider the primary role of a PUSD School Board member to be?

List your top priorities as a PUSD School Board Member:

Rebuilding Trust. In 4 years, schools shut down, teaching and learning reimaged, schools reopened, and life slowly began returning to campuses. Programs are once again flourishing. While there is so much good happening in schools, I am fully aware that there are significant events weighing heavily on our district that has impacted the larger communities trust in the administration. I will continue to strive to improve relationships in our district and rebuild trust that may have been lost.

School Safety. Our student’s safety and well-being are of utmost importance. Students are feeling a stronger sense of community and connectedness within their schools. This is critical to our students feeling safe at school. Students need to be protected from any internal or external threats that may put their safety in question.

Collaboration. Parents, teachers, staff, administrators and the community need to continue to collaborate to bring common goals to fruition. We are stronger when we work together.