My name is Donna Kandel, and I am asking for your vote to continue my work as the Lucia Mar Governing Board Trustee for area 7 in Nipomo.
I have been a resident of Nipomo for 40 years. My husband Herb and I raised our two daughters here, and they both attended Lucia Mar Schools. We have been active volunteers in the community for many years.

I have a degree in Mathematics from Cal Poly SLO, and teaching credentials in Math and Art. I taught AP Calculus, Algebra, Geometry, and Precalculus at Nipomo High School in Lucia Mar from 2003 until I retired in 2019. I advised numerous student clubs, including Mock Trial, GSA, and environmental clubs.

I also served as a site rep and executive board member in the Lucia Mar Unified Teachers Association for most of my career, including 7 years as Association President from 2012-2019. In this capacity, I was a strong advocate for supporting educators and improving working conditions in Lucia Mar. Currently, salaries in Lucia Mar are now ranked at #1 or #2 in SLO County, up from at or near the bottom when I started my tenure. I am proud of my former colleagues, who have consistently advocated for policies that would attract and retain the best educators on the Central Coast. This was no small feat, and the work continues. It is my belief that we best serve our students when exemplary educators are in the classroom, serving alongside exemplary support staff and administrators all across the district.

My experience as a teacher and teacher leader in Lucia Mar gives me a unique perspective and skill set as a Trustee. I know how decisions made in the boardroom impact students in the classroom every day.

I provide context to fellow board members when we are making decisions about programs, facilities, and working conditions for our employees. I respect the diverse skills each board member brings to the work, but I believe that my particular perspective is uniquely relevant when we make decisions that affect not only employees, but students as well.

This election is critical for maintaining and expanding a student-centered majority on the board. Lucia Mar has become a target for extreme minority views in the community, including demands to ban books and target the most vulnerable students in our community. I know from experience how this kind of discrimination and prejudice impacts vulnerable students. I have been an ally for LGBTQ+ students throughout my career, and I know how critical it is that we protect and support EVERY student in Lucia Mar.
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As a public school district, we accept all students, we welcome all students, we educate all students, and we strive to create a school environment where every student is cared for, acknowledged, kept safe, and supported to become the best that they can be. As a teacher, I never asked, and it didn’t matter, whether a student was a citizen, an immigrant, documented, undocumented, rich, poor, cisgender, or part of the LGBTQ+ community. It is my goal as a trustee to make sure that every student has a chance to succeed in our schools, to feel a sense of belonging, and to leave our care knowing that they were challenged, inspired, and cherished as part of their school community, and prepared for any future they can dream for themselves.