CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE
INSTRUCTIONS: Each candidate shall submit numbered written responses to each question

below. The length of all responses to the following questions, including any exhibits and/or
supporting documents, shall not exceed five pages. The Governing Board will not consider any
Candidate Application that does not contain a written response to the questions stated below.
1.

Why do you want to be a member of the Governing Board of the Clovis Unified School District?

2.

Do you have children who previously attended or are currently attending schools within Clovis
Unified School District?

3.

Do you have experience serving on a school district governing board or school committees or
participating in any school activities in Fresno County, California? Please list such prior
experience, including the name of each organization, your role and functions, and the period
in which you served or participated in such board, committees or school activities.

4.

Describe any other community or business activities in which you have participated recently
within Fresno County. Describe your role and functions, the period in which you served or

participated in such activities. Please also indicate whether your work was volunteer or
employment-related.

5.

What do you see as the basic purposes of the public schools of Clovis Unified School District?

6.

What is the role of the Clovis Unified School District Governing Board in the fulfillment of the
purposes that you have stated in response to the previous question?

7.

Describe what your role would be as a Board member on the Clovis Unified School District
Governing Board.

8.

Do you have any relatives who are currently employed with Clovis Unified School District? If

yes, please explain.
9.

Since turning 18 years of age, have you ever been convicted or pled guilty or no contest to a
felony? If yes, please explain.

10. Would you agree to voluntarily submit to a criminal background check, including
fingerprinting?

1 1 . If you are appointed to the Governing Board, would you uphold the laws of the State of
California?
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Candidate Nomination/Application Packet

Page 6

 1)

Growing up in Clovis I was afforded the great opportunity to attend Jefferson & Clovis

Elementary, Clark Intermediate, and Clovis High (from where I graduated in 2009). In addition, I
have two bonus daughters who currently attend elementary school in Clovis Unified. Clovis
Unified shaped who I am today both professionally and personally. I graduated 10 years ago
from Clovis High, which positions me to have a good understanding of the challenges our

students face. In addition, helping raise 2 girls currently in Clovis Unified, helps me identify
challenges that parents face. I believe I can bring a unique and valuable perspective to the board
when making decisions that impacts students, families, and the community. As a former Clovis
Unified student, I feel it's my obligation to help uphold the standards and values that have made
the school district what it is today. Furthermore, we are a growing district that has students and
families with evolving needs, and it is critical we are addressing that head on to ensure we are

doing everything to maximize the success of students and their families.

2)

As previously mentioned, I am an alum of Clovis Unified School District. I currently have two
bonus daughters I am helping raise that attend Liberty Elementary. You are probably asking
yourself what is a bonus daughter? I have been with my partner Karina Torres for over 3 years
now and she has two beautiful daughters (ages 6 and 8) that I play a major role in helping raise.

3)

I am currently a member of the Liberty Parent-Teacher Club and I am currently serving on the
vendor committee for our annual carnival. My responsibility as part of the vendor committee is

to solicit vendors to participate in our annual carnival. This includes contacting past vendors and

potential new vendors for our carnival. This is my first opportunity to see how vital the ParentTeacher Club is at our different school sites in Clovis Unified. One of the challenges our district

faces is inadequate funding - the Parent-Teacher Club does a phenomenal job, although only
scraping the surface, at helping fill this void for the school sites. I have served on the Liberty
Elementary PTC since August 2019.

I have also served as lead mentor for United for the Future. This is a non-profit in its infant
stages with one of its missions to provide mentorship relationships for at risk youth in Fresno

Unified. The program first started with sports, I along with other mentors would spend part of
our Saturday playing sports and developing relationships with at risk youth of Fresno Unified.

We first started this at Lane Elementary. It has evolved to mentors meeting once a week for a
minimum of 30 minutes at Deborah William Elementary to provide at risk students a positive
mentor, be role models, teach them honor, integrity, ethics, morals, and the benefits of
obtaining an education. These students have never met a financial planner, so it was an honor

and a blessing to share with them what I do and give them tips on how to succeed in life. I have
worked with United for the Future since 2015 and this is a volunteer position.

4)

I have served in various leadership roles for Fresno Sunset Rotary. This includes president elect,
president, and past- president. I have served Rotary in leadership roles from 2015-2019. In a

small Rotary club like mine, leadership positions wear multiple hats. Some of my responsibilities
included adopting an annual budget, helping plan fundraisers, growing membership, planning
events, coordinating program speakers, overseeing the application process to apply for local
grants, and initiating new community projects. During my leadership we have completed a

variety of notable projects. Notable projects include fundraising over $25,000 for Angels of
Grace Foster Agency, helping raise funds to build a new playground for Exceptional Parents

Classification: Public

 Unlimited, applying and obtaining a grant to help facilitate the purchase of a van to transport
veterans to and from doctor appointments, and coordinating and participating in an
international project to provide dental services to the needy in Nicaragua. In addition, during my

time as president, I helped facilitate our very first international exchange student from Spain

who graduated from Bullard High in 2018. 1 played a vital role in helping guide the direction of
our Rotary club to ensure all these projects were successful.

The purpose of the Citizens' Oversight Committee for the Clovis Community Facilities District is
to review the expenditures of the tax proceeds of the Community Facilities District (CFD). This is

a volunteer position and I have served on this committee since April 2019. The CFD was formed
to provide funding for police and fire services necessary to meet the demand created by new
growth areas in Clovis. Part of my responsibility as a committee chair is to make sure

expenditures are in accordance with the purpose and intent of the enabling legislation and

approved by the Clovis City Council; and to report its findings to the City Council prior to the
adoption of the annual budget.

I am also involved with the Central California Society of Human Resource Management. I have
served as a volunteer on the board as events coordinator since 2016. One of my roles as events

coordinator is to ensure an appropriate flow of communication to members so they are up-todate on events and what is going on in the organization. I also spearhead logistics for our
monthly luncheons and social events we have throughout the year. In addition, being that most

communication comes from my email, I help filter questions to appropriate board members.
Furthermore, I have developed a program to incentivize members to respond to our feedback
surveys that the board relies on in helping determine appropriate and relevant guest speakers
for our monthly luncheons. Lastly, I am responsible for uploading, maintaining, and reviewing
our scheduled events on our website platform.

5)

I believe the first aim of Clovis Unified School District does a great job of describing the purpose,
and that is to maximize achievement for all students. There are many layers to that statement;

however, I feel Clovis Unified School District does an outstanding job on addressing the different
layers by emphasizing a focus on mind, body, and spirit. The basic purpose of the public schools
of CUSD is to provide a high-quality educational experience for all students with a focus on
mind, body, and spirit in order to maximize their success.

6)

First, the role of the governing board for Clovis Unified School District is to develop and establish
district policies and board bylaws. The district policies and board bylaws then in turn act as a

framework that helps guide the direction of the district. Second, the governing board is also
responsible for overseeing district operations to assure policy implementation and

maintenance. Third, is hiring the superintendent and evaluating his / her performance. I feel
that it is the responsibility of the board to develop the policy which provides the direction of
where they wish the district to move toward, but not to micro manage how the Administration
moves the District in that direction. Finally, the governing board is tasked with adopting an
annual budget, authorizing district expenditures, establishing salary schedules, and approving

capital investments. These roles/responsibilities are intertwined with the main objective of
creating a culture of excellence that supports the on-going success of students in Clovis Unified
School District.

Classification: Public

 7)

As a board member my role is to help guide the strategic direction of Clovis Unified School
District. By the same token it is critical that a board member develops a good understanding of

the priorities, goals and objectives of Clovis Unified School District. I also believe that a board
member should be familiar with applicable state school laws, regulations of the State

Department of Education, and Clovis Unified School District policies. Furthermore, my role
would be to hear the concerns of our community and direct them to the proper district

personnel to ensure their concerns are appropriately addressed. Equally as important as the
items noted previously, a board member needs to act impartially, ethically, and in compliance
with the law in the best interest of the district.

8)

No

9)

No

10) Yes

11) Yes

Classification: Public