Time for Change

Last week, Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools challenger and teacher Christy Lozano got in a kerfuffle with the League of Women Voters over splitting hairs about what she would and would not be allowed to say in the forum. Christy wanted to refer to the incumbent’s record. She wanted a civil but honest conversation.

Pointing out the failings of the current Superintendent of Schools is the reason Christy is challenging this office for the first time anyone has in four decades.

Christy is a parent and teacher who saw her educational world drifting from the values of love, discipline, and high expectations. These are her stated reasons for running. “I couldn’t sit back and watch this and do nothing.”

Educating our children is not a partisan job, and Christy doesn’t lean hard left or right, but she is courageous and bold.

Our schools are failing at teaching our kids the fundamental basics, and they aren’t willing to be held accountable. If one asks our current superintendent how things are going, she’s been known to say, “Things are going great!” However, that statement, my dear friends, and neighbors, is not true.

We can do better.

Someone needs to shake up an administration that is okay with 60+ percent of countywide students not achieving the minimum standard for math and reading. According to Ed Source (https://www.ed-data.org/county/Santa-Barbara), only 34 percent of the county students are proficient in math and 47.5 percent are proficient in English.

This is unacceptable.

I’m sure the current superintendent has many fine qualities and is a very nice person, however, educational outcomes in our local public school classrooms are not “great!”

Christy is in a unique position to understand the problems and provide real solutions for the sake of our kids and our collective future.

It’s time for a change.