School board candidate profiles

Don Keuth - Candidate for Tempe Union High School District Governing Board

Contact info: (480) 598-0787

What is your personal connection to the district, did you, or do any of children attend school here?

I am currently the Vice-president of the High School Board. I have three daughters who graduated from Mountain Pointe.

What will be your first step to improve education for students in the district you're running for?

Prior to the election, making sure that the over ride and bond program passes, depending on the outcome of those issues, the first steps in dealing with student achievement is the potential budget impacts either positive or negative

Are you for or against district unification? Why or why not?

I have no problem with unification. My concern is that the funding formula should have been addressed first so that districts had a better understanding of the fiscal impact and how revenues would be affected.

What is your highest level of education?

I have a BS degree in Civil Engineering

What will you do specifically for teachers in your district?

As part of our District's strategic plan we state that we will recruit and retain a highly qualified and diverse staff. Working towards that end will be my objective.

What is the biggest thing you have done to help your own child's education?

From an early age I encouraged my children to learn. I emphasized the importance of higher education and I funded their undergraduate and graduate degrees.

What were you favorite and least favorite school subjects when you were growing up?

Favorite was math, least favorite was English

Moses Sanchez - Candidate for Kyrene School District Governing Board

Contact info: www.moses4kyrene.org or mosesasanchez@yahoo.com

What is your personal connection to the district, did you, or do any of your children attend school here? 

I have two children, an 8th grade girl and a 6th grade boy who attend Altadena and both attended Cerritos.

What will be your first step to improve education for students in the district you're running for? 

I would sit down with the Superintendent and other board members, review and evaluate Kyrene's standards and expectations for what students should learn and make sure there's a viable curriculum with appropriate resources that teachers can implement.

Are you for or against district unification?

I am opposed to district unification. After taking a close look at Plan A and Plan B for unifying the 3 school districts, Tempe Elementary, Tempe Union, and Kyrene, Kyrene's children stand to gain little in the way of enhanced learning opportunities through these unification proposals. In the absence of substantial, additional financial support from the State, Kyrene's children would actually lose a great deal. Without the financial backing of the state, I am very much opposed to both plans. In a simple phrase, "unfunded mandates" are the main reasons why I'm opposed to unification.

What is your highest level of education?

I am in my final class of my Master's in Business Administration. I have an Associate's in Liberal Arts and Sciences and my Bachelors in Business Management.

What will you do specifically for teachers in your district?

As a former educator I understand many of the challenges they face so I want to make sure they have the resources and autonomy necessary to do their jobs effectively.

What is the biggest thing that you have done to help your own child's education?

I've been actively involved in Kyrene's K-8 Committee and will continue to do so. On a more individual level, I've sat next to my middle school child through the school day when his or her progress wasn't up to par and will do it again if needed.

What were your favorite and least favorite school subjects when you were growing up?

My favorite subjects growing up were Algebra, History, Band and Biology. My least favorite subject growing up was Language Arts.