Second in a series
Re “A Many-Petaled Flower in the School Board Field”
[img]2124|right|Claudia Vizcarra||no_popup[/img]It is bold to make the following statement in a field that includes an astrophysicist, but Claudia Vizcarra holds one of the most intriguing professional positions among the seven candidates for the School Board.
Between whispers and aloud remarks, some have wondered how smoothly Ms. Vizcarra could make the transition from her day job, working for LAUSD School Board member Steve Zimmer to performing new duties as a School Board member herself in Culver City, an adjacent district.
Ms. Vizcarra spoke the other day about why she has spent 4½ years on Mr. Zimmer’s staff, now as his senior deputy.
“I work for him because we share values,” she said, “about the way in which a Board can create a more collaborative environment and to bring consensus on important policy matters.
“There are so many strong debates by a school board that become oppositional, Steve is known as one who tries to build consensus. That is how I feel about what my role would be here. I want to try and find points of consensus so everyone can be comfortable.
“It is hard to find points of consensus when issues are complicated,” Ms. Vizcarra, mother of two students in Culver City schools, said, “but I believe we can.”
Ironically, perhaps, the heated late spring and summer-long debates over the sidelined bond measure brought her into the School Board race.
Closely watching the bitter 3-2 split on the Board that surprisingly halted the bond campaign on July 1,
A proponent of the measure, Ms. Vizcarra said that “it is important for Board members to be unified so they can be the champions of the bond. They need to be able to help the community make the investment that it takes. When that consensus has not been built, it is premature. We need to be ready to have that conversation when the Board members are ready.”
(To be continued)
