Meet The Candidate: Kiyomi Kowalski

WEST HILLS, CA — Three candidates are vying for two seats on the Las Virgenes Unified School District Board of Education in Tuesday's election.

Patch asked them to describe their qualifications and visions for Las Virgenes schools. Kiyomi Kowalski, a 41-year-old former Marine and community activist, lists revamping the curriculum, educating about inclusion, and fiscal responsibility — and creativity — as her main policy goals.

Family:

David (partner, 42); Kennedy (son, 13), Moses (son, 5)

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? *

This includes any relatives who work in the government you're running for.

No.

Please include years of experience:

Community Volunteer

Campaign Website:

www.KiyomiKowalski.com

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office:

N/A

The single most pressing issue facing Las Virgenes is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it:

While COVID-19 and its effects on education remains on the forefront of everyone's mind, this moment in history will pass. We must look forward to how we improve the education of our students once we return to campuses. Diversity, equity, and inclusion has been and remains an issue for every student on LVUSD campuses. Every LVUSD student deserves an excellent education no matter their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, mental or physical ability, or socio-economic status. It is evident based on the matrices in California Dashboard (a district/ school grading system produced by the California State Board of Education) that many policies within the LVUSD are not addressing the unique academic and self-esteem needs of many students in this district--- we can and must do better. To meet the goal of having every LVUSD student feeling seen and valued on every campus, every LVUSD student should be able to see themselves in their educators, administrators, and curriculum. To that end, we must (1) Diversify our hiring practices and hire outside of our typical hiring pool; (2) We must retool our curriculum to include varying perspectives in all subjects; and (3) Provide regular anti-bias and anti-racist professional development for every teacher and administrator in the district.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

From my time as an enlisted active duty U.S. Marine, to my advocacy work with LAW Project of Los Angeles, to my Anti-bias/ Anti-racist Education work, I have a lifelong record of being involved in social justice initiatives, advocacy work, and public service. I am different from the other candidates because none of the challengers bring the perspective and experience that I have to the table. And, this perspective and experience is long over due on this school board.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)?

I am not sure what policy initiatives Linda has championed within the district, but I have observed a quiet school board member that appears to uphold the status quo. The status quo isn't working for about half of our students, so we must bring new voices to the table if we want to improve the LVUSD for everyone.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

Three main campaign platforms:

1) Relearning Education—We must ensure that no student is left behind during distance learning by keeping students connected to campus and community, offering virtual career training, supporting special education students, continuing to focus on mitigating the achievement gap utilizing technology as an equalizer to access.

2) Community Inclusion- Every child should be able to see themselves in their teachers, administrators, and curriculum. Existing LVUSD programing must be recalibrated to address the unique self-esteem needs of every child in this community. We can make sure that every child is seen and valued on our campus.

3) Fiscal Accountability- Fiscal responsibility requires fiscal creativity. These are some unprecedented times and we need to ensure that our budget shortfalls are addressed creatively so we can make the difficult and necessary budget cuts without undermining our educational goals. Making sure the community remains invested in our community even after they leave our schools.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

I am committed to eradicating racism in my community and beyond through lifelong anti-racist education. In response to the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, I initiated the Anti-racism Task Force at Valley Outreach Synagogue where I serve as a community organizer on the Board of Jewish Education. I gained partnerships with the USC Casden Institute, Jewish Center for Justice, and Hebrew Union College to produce multiple panels and lectures on systemic racism in an effort to engage my local community in this conversation. Recently, I began a local synagogue speaking tour discussing my personal experiences with racism both within and outside of the Jewish community. I am a community builder and I deeply believe that a school board member needs to know how to successfully bring people together to meet a common goal and this work is just one example of my work.

Why should voters trust you?

Voters should trust me because I am a straight forward person and voters will get what they see-- I am an open book, I am approachable and, most importantly, I am accessible. I deeply believe that elected officials work for the populations they serve and must be accountable and accessible to them at all times. Policy necessities change year to year, however, when a voter votes for me, they are casting their vote for a candidate who is committed to fairness, innovation, and representation in every decision she makes.

If you win this position, what accomplishment would make your term in office a success?

If I win this position, the first thing I will get started on is working with Ryan Gleason to reimagine the curriculum council with a goal to achieve cultural competence in all aspects of education. I will also consider my first term a success if we begin to hire from diverse candidate pools.

What are your views on fiscal policy, government spending, and the handling of taxpayer dollars?

Far too often candidates talk about fiscal responsibility in a trite way. Being a responsible steward of funds is certainly critical, but we must also be extremely thoughtful when we make funding adjustments so as not to undermine our educational goals. Fiscal decisions we make have the potential to disproportionately negatively impact the student populations who need the most support, so we must make necessary cuts with that in mind. We must also be creative about filling in the gaps left by funding cuts. Fiscal creativity will require that we leverage community partnerships and relationships so we can continue to offer programs without raising the budget. In addition to being creative and responsible with tax dollars, we must be accountable to our constituents by being overly transparent. Meaningfully engaging the community when making fiscal decisions will be necessary for us to pass future bond measures. If we want the voters to care about what happens in our schools even after they have left the district, voters must feel like a valuable part of the process when we make fiscal decisions.

Is there any reason you would not serve your full term of office, other than those of health and family?

No.

The best advice ever shared with me was...

"Be you. They'll adjust."

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I am a Marine Corp veteran with a law degree, but I choose to stay at home to support my family and serve our local schools and community. I became an active duty Marine in 1997 and achieved the rank of Corporal. After my honorable discharge in 2001, I attended the California State University of Northridge, where I earned a Bachelor’s in political science. In 2012, I earned a Juris Doctorate with Public Service Distinction from Southwestern University School of Law. My commitment to public service did not end in law school. I am also a board member and staff advocate at LAW Project of Los Angeles, a non-profit organization that assists individuals with obtaining post-conviction remedies, as well as advocates for system-involved families and youth. I am also an active member of the San Fernando Valley chapter of Mocha Moms, Inc., a national organization, where I help organize events and meetings about issues that impact mothers of color.

I stay actively involved in LVUSD schools where I serve as Secretary on the Parent Faculty Club and on the Las Virgenes School District Curriculum Council. I have also served on the School-site Council and the Measure V Bond Committee.