San Rafael school board race: 3 candidates, 2 seats

San Rafael High School District - Board Member
Board Member — San Rafael High School District
Get the facts on the California candidates running for election to the Board Member — San Rafael High School District
Find out their top 3 priorities, their experience, and who supports them.
News and links
Learn more about this contest
Candidates
Natu Tuatagaloa
- Student Achievement ("Learning") in our District by...
- Attracting and retaining high quality staff and teachers...
- Fiscal Responsibility. Maintaining a positive certification...
Rachel Kertz
- Increase community collaboration and support achievable,...
- Keep financial discipline while always keeping the...
- Improve classroom parity
Jon Marker
- Improving communication between the school district...
- Expanding partnerships across San Rafael including...
- Use of data to determine what initiatives are working...
My Top 3 Priorities
- Student Achievement ("Learning") in our District by supporting teacher professional development that insures a connection and relationship of trust between students and teachers. When students feel cared for, the learning begins.
- Attracting and retaining high quality staff and teachers to support the top priority, Learning.
- Fiscal Responsibility. Maintaining a positive certification of the Budget for the current year and three additional years.
Experience
Experience
Education
Community Activities
Biography
With the support of the community, and working collaboratively with staff, we successfully emerged from the financial crisis, maintained our positive District certification, modernize our schools and continued to strengthen our educational program ---for ALL students. Over 17 years on the San Rafael Board of Educaiton (as President, Vice President and Trustee), I've focused on raising overall achievement, strengthening our community partnerships, and ensuring comprehensive teacher support.
My wife and I are proud San Rafael High School Alumni. Now watching our daughters attend and graduate from San Rafael City Schools and San Rafael High School, I'm filled with gratitude, and committed to ensuring that every student has the opportunity and resources to succeed.
I would be honored to continue to serve our community.
Thank you for your consideration and our vote.
Who supports this candidate?
Organizations (3)
- IBEW Local 551
- Teamsters Local Union 665
- Marin Builders Exchange
Elected Officials (19)
- Mary Jane Burke
- Brad Honsberger
- Rachel Kertz
- Maika Llorens Gulati
- Jared Huffman
- Mike McGuire
- Marc Levine
- Damon Connolly
- Katie Rice
- Judy Arnold
- Gary Phillips
- Kate Colin
- Andrew McCullough
- Maribeth Bushey
- John Gamblin
- Robert Doyle
- Patty Garbarino
- Marilyn Nemzer
- Greg Knell
Individuals (13)
- Alicia Klein
- Francis White
- Jenny Callaway
- Jon Loberg
- Gary Anspach
- Tom Kordick
- Tony Smith
- Susie Woodall
- Rich Woodall
- Robert Marcucci
- Andy Bachich
- Lou Bartollini
- Bob Herbst
Candidate Contact Info
My Top 3 Priorities
- Increase community collaboration and support achievable, comprehensive goals that clarify priorities
- Keep financial discipline while always keeping the students' success first
- Improve classroom parity
Experience
Experience
Education
Biography
Rachel Kertz joined the Board in 2013. She was elected by her fellow trustees to serve as Vice President for 2014 and President in 2015 and again in 2016. Rachel has been active in the community for many years and a strong education advocate, particularly focused on ensuring equity and parity across classrooms.
She was an active classroom volunteer in the Dixie School District and helped to facilitate many classroom technology-based projects. She joined the Board of Dixie Children’s Fund in May 2006 after serving on the Dixie Business Development Committee. Most recently, Rachel served on the Steering Committee for the successful passage of the Measures A & B campaign to continue funding for local schools. She is currently dedicated to making sure that those funds are well-spent, and that there continues to be an inclusive dialogue in how we move projects forward.
Who supports this candidate?
Featured Endorsements
- Marin Independent Journal
Organizations (1)
- Marin County Democratic Party
Elected Officials (4)
- Mary Jane Burke, Marin County Superintendent of Schools
- Jared Huffman, Congressman
- Damon Connolly, District 1 Supervisor
- Gary Phillips, Mayor City of San Rafael
Candidate Contact Info
My Top 3 Priorities
- Improving communication between the school district and the community.
- Expanding partnerships across San Rafael including 1. Expanding co-enrollment in classes with College of Marin, 2. Career and Technical programs with the local businesses. 3. Nonprofit housing partners building teacher housing at school sites.
- Use of data to determine what initiatives are working across our district and which are initiatives we need to reevaluate to ensure equity for all of our students.
Political Beliefs
Political Philosophy
I believe in inclusive leadership. Every day at Youth Leadership Institute, where I serve as CEO, we are working to elevate youth voices because we believe that those who are closest to inequities should play a critical role in developing solutions to the problems we face. I also believe that it is critical to review data and explore what is working across our district in hopes of replicating it in a deeper way at other school sites. My hope is that I can bring that lens to our board in order to engage more students, parents, families, community members in the changes we want to see.