Candidate Q&A: Sara Hinds for Carmel Unified School District.

As part of the 2022 election season, the Weekly asked candidates for several offices to answer questions about some of the issues by email. For the Carmel Unified School District, there are two seats up for election this year, with four candidates: incumbents Sara Hinds and Tess Arthur, and challengers Drew Lander and Lawrence Samuels. Hinds' responses are below.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Carmel Unified School District in the next four years, and why are you the best candidate to address them?

Over the next four years there will be challenges facing the Board of Education, and no matter what the challenges are, I am confident we can solve them together. Throughout my next term in office I will continue to bring resilience, tenacity, passion and a collaborative way of leading. I have learned a lot about myself these past four years and I have seen first hand how much love, compassion and strength our teachers and staff have for the students of CUSD.  I have become more resilient and resolute about doing what is best for our district. I have felt the support of parents and community members which is tremendous because they are integral to education. Alongside our parents and community members, we have an incredible leadership team, administrators, staff and teachers who I am proud to support and honor.

I am devoted to making CUSD the best district it can be and I will always make thoughtful decisions with the best interest of our students, teachers and staff in mind. 

Born and raised in Carmel, this community and these schools truly mean so much to me. I will continue to approach this position with an open mind and will continue to infuse the board with my energy and fresh perspective.

What qualifications do you bring to this position?

I was born and raised in Carmel. Attended Carmel schools and come from a family where I was taught the importance of public school education. My mother was a teacher at Monterey High School for 30 years and my father has been in the trades his whole life and is a retired local contractor. After earning a BA in Communications and Media, I worked in Silicon Valley for 15+ years. I started at the bottom in sales and worked my way up to holding management positions in Marketing and Public Relations.

My commitment to CUSD has included being a room parent, volunteering for events on campus, PTA president for two years, vice-president for one year and I was deeply involved and engaged in school fundraising efforts. I was on the River School Site Council for three years, and I received the Outstanding Volunteer Award from Carmel Unified School District. I was also part of the Districts Community Advisory Council, Wellness Committee and Committee for Facilities Master Planning. Currently, I am the Board President for the Board of Education.

I would be honored to be able to continue to give back to this community that has given me so much. I am deeply connected and rooted in this community and as a second term board member I will continue to leverage my professional expertise, school involvement, district understanding and collaborative and thoughtful style to deliver solutions to CUSD challenges. Through my tenure on the Board of Education, I have spent almost two years as Board President. I was able to lead our Board of Education through some very tough times during the pandemic, and a superintendent search. I have demonstrated my collaborative nature and thoughtful leadership through managing and maintaining order in Board of Education meetings, and have continued to build strong relationships with our community, district leadership, administrators, teachers, staff, and ACT and CSEA leadership. 

How often do you currently attend CUSD board meetings, and how would you rate the current board’s performance? 

As a current member of the Board of Education, and the Board President, I am committed to attending each and every regularly scheduled meeting, special meeting and when appropriate attending superintendent committee meetings as a listener and observer. I am a strong believer in visiting all of our sites, engaging with staff and administrators and having conversations with parents and community members. Doing so ensures that during Board of Education meetings I am well educated and informed on the topics to be discussed.

I believe that with time, and with my leadership at board meetings, we have arrived at a place where we are conducting the business of the board in a healthy and productive way. I value the input of community members and as a board; we are able to engage in discussions that are productive. With the help of Dr. Knight, this board has continued to update policies, move forward with budget plans, approve the successful negotiations with our unions, and support our special education students.

What is your vision to help students make up for learning loss after pandemic closures?

When it comes to learning loss and/or achievement gaps I believe a solid educational system can aid in closing this gap. It is important to acknowledge that pre and post pandemic we recognize that there are other factors that account for the gap, such as lack of housing, healthcare, jobs, etc. for some of the students. 

My long-term goal is to ensure that all of our students are lifelong learners and enable them to explore a variety of careers. During my tenure on the board we have accomplished this with the addition of a more robust CTE program, wellness centers on our campuses for support and an educational system which provides all students with powerful experiences and programs. When we enrich students' education and excite them, this is incredibly impactful.

What will you do to support public engagement in school district governance and ensure all voices are heard?

As a board member, I will continue to value all voices, seek out the silent, and make informed decisions that are consistent with our district mission. I continue to stay current in best practices around school governance and attend training, like the CSBA conference this December where I will be presenting to superintendents and school board members from across the state. I will continue to take this role and my fiduciary responsibility very seriously.  

CUSD has taken steps to create a portal for public information and to receive and respond to rumors (“word on the street”). Do you think this is needed? Is it working? What would you do, if elected, to improve the relationship between the district and the community?

Having a strong relationship between our community and the district is critical. I will continue to engage with our community and keep the strong relationships that I currently have. I will continue to expect transparency in areas like posting of CPRAs, word on the street, board briefs, and other communications which have all been initiated under my leadership. I do think this is working, I receive feedback consistently thanking me for how transparent the board and district are.

What is your view on the process for the stadium lights project, and the project itself? Will you support it?

As a member of the Board of Education I am focused on the details and findings in the second DEIR [draft environmental impact report]. I want to ensure that our district is doing a thorough analysis of the issues and concerns and are arriving at mitigation strategies that are well thought out, and comprehensive. I believe community input and feedback are incredibly important on both sides of the stadium lights project and we need to listen and incorporate such feedback into the plan.

For the lights project, I will continue to make decisions in the best interest of students, and mitigate as many concerns as we can.

The district is facing significant legal expenses. Do you think the change of law firm was a good idea? Is there anything else the district can/should do to reduce exposure to litigation? 

As a governing member of the Board of Education, I approved to change law firms. Dr. Knight has done a tremendous job reorganizing the District Office in a way to streamline processes and procedures and be more efficient—this included the decision to change law firms.

The district has improved its transparency in what our legal fees are, how many Public Records requests have been received, which ones have been responded to and which ones are in the queue. I believe being honest with our community around how we are managing these incoming requests is vital to maintaining an open and transparent relationship.

The district has had a lot of turnover in superintendents in recent memory. How is the current superintendent, Ted Knight doing—please grade him, A to F. What will you do to ensure continuity of leadership? 

It is incredibly important to me that we focus on the stability that we have right now, and we continue this stability moving forward. I believe that a strong school board makes a strong community and the best way to continue this momentum is to maintain stability in our governance and leadership team. I will continue to listen to stakeholders, meet with staff and students, and work together with leadership to continue to move our great school district forward. 

Despite the many challenges we have persevered through, we have much to celebrate in CUSD. Relationships are strong, schools have remained open, student and staff morale is high and we are transparently engaging with our community in a positive and productive way. With consistency and stability and working as a team, I know we will continue to accomplish great things! 

Who is your proudest endorsement?

I am incredibly proud of the endorsement I received from our teachers union, ACT (Association of Carmel Teachers). Our teachers are the heart-beat of our schools and I am proud to serve them and continue to build relationships. I have a proven track record in collaborating with the union and will continue to partner with ACT to ensure we are making decisions that are in the best interest of our students. Our teachers are with our children on a daily basis and have a firm grasp on what makes them successful. Supporting our teachers and our students is always on the forefront of my mind.

I have twin boys who are sophomores at Carmel High School and my daughter is in kindergarten at River School. I am the only board member with a child below the high school age and I am committed to championing our teachers in this district for many years to come. I am honored and humbled to receive this endorsement.

Who are you supporting for the other open seat?

I strongly support incumbent Tess Arthur. During our time on the board we have accomplished a tremendous amount and have made progress as a district under our leadership. What Carmel Unified School District needs right now is consistency, stability and strong leadership to support our students, staff, teachers and district initiatives. I believe that our district is headed in a positive direction. The optimism and determination of our teachers and staff is shining through right now! We are also receiving positive praise from parents and community members on the progress we are making.