Six candidates emerge for LCUSD school board race

With great parents and great students, Koeppen said, the LCUSD already has a recipe for success. Koeppen said he opposed the parcel tax because it did not go far enough in detailing how the district would go about securing the additional revenue sources.

“I know at the end of the day, it was about something is better than nothing,” Koeppen said. “But it was not answer, it was stop cap. I felt we could do a little bit more.”

Millard, who reinstated his candidacy after the other new candidates emerged, is a lawyer who represents several prominent charter schools and serves on the board of The Alliance for College-Ready Public Education, a top charter school in the Los Angeles area. He said it was unfortunate the parcel tax was necessary but he chose to support it. The district now needs to look at alternative sources of funding, he said.

“La Cañada has a great school district,” Millard said. “Needless to say, we have to maintain classrooms that are well supplied, teachers who are well paid and students who are well educated. But to do that, in this day and age, we need to find and adopt create ways to finance what is necessary.”

Seeking his third term on the board, Tracy said the LCUSD is as strongly positioned as possible given the severe financial constraints of the district.

“One of my primary objectives as a board member has been to improve board governance and the district’s financial and operation efficiency,” Tracy said. “Since my professional career has centered on private sector finance and investment management-related activities at a senior level, I have been able to provide leadership to the board and superintendent that has been constructive and well received.”

Boyd, who is seeking her second term on the board, said she is very proud of what the school board has accomplished during the past four years. Among its accomplishments, she noted, was the implementation of the STEP program, as well as the completion of several major construction projects.

“The district has implemented a standardized and quantitative staff and teacher evaluation process that specifically identifies goals and criteria for monitoring performance,” Boyd said. “The management tool is already proving beneficial for us.”

Peterson, currently serving as school board president, was unavailable for comment.