Candidate Statement
Michelle de Werd Parent/Agriculture Small Business Owner/Community Volunteer
Why am I running?
I am a 21-year Los Olivos resident, married for 29 years, and mother of two children. I passionately support quality public education, student engagement and learning opportunities for all. I believe that fiscally responsible and accountable decisions made today create a sustainable education system for future students.
I earned a B.A. Degree in Economics, from UCLA. I was a Division 2 NCAA All-American swimmer at California State University, Northridge. I spent my career after college working in investment management specializing in municipal bond finance and wealth management.
Currently, I serve as Chair of the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School Bond Measure K 2016 Citizens Oversight Committee (COC), a designated member of the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association. Our COC committee monitors expenditures for school bond projects, ensuring the public funds are used as intended by the voters. I also co-founded and serve as President of the non-profit Academic Booster Club (ABC+), providing financial assistance to enhance academic achievement and fund scholarships.
I will bring a fresh set of eyes, ears and ideas with an orientation towards new solutions for today’s ever-changing environment. I will work collaboratively, foster greater transparency regarding budgeting and spending, emphasizing programs that will help develop creative constructive thinkers, responsible citizens, and future leaders. I humbly ask for your vote.
Additional Notes
Many Santa Barbara County schools continue to perform poorly, the achievement gap is widening and math and English proficiency scores are in decline. The pandemic will only make matters worse. I am particularly concerned about the vulnerable students, the at-risk, special-education and lower socio-economic students. Each day that these children do not receive in-person instruction, they fall further behind. The SBCEO serves approximately 70,000 students. I want to know how the SBCEO serves our students, how the public’s money is budgeted and allocated to our county’s school districts. I am very excited and will focus my time and energy on bringing all voices to the table and discuss changes to a 50+-year-old bureaucracy. Educational spending is an investment in our youth. I will dissect the issues and, at the end of the day, take action. It is never going to be perfect, but I believe we need to focus on new solutions for today’s everchanging environment without abandoning the fundamentals which are reading and math. Education is an equalizer, the more you have, the more doors will open.
Most of our family members are beneficiaries of a public-school education system. I am a parent and guardian of two Santa Ynez Valley Union High School graduates, who are now college graduates. I have always had an interest in the behind-the scenes of the high school my daughter and niece attended. I was always active, volunteered, and started attending school board meetings. The more I learned about the school board, the budget, and how they operated, I felt compelled to attend. Even after my daughter graduated in 2012, I continue to attend and participate in school board meetings and I rarely miss a meeting. I regularly make public comments and have become a familiar face, among board members, administrators, teachers, and staff. My focus has always been fiscal responsibility, how the school board spends “other peoples’ money”, student safety, and improving educational outcomes.