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School Board candidates look to future, revamping schools
by Jason Dietrich
A veteran crew is seeking to hold onto the reins of the Redondo Unified School District, and the more than $50-million dollars of bond money the district will spendi over the coming years.
Last November, voters approved a $52-million dollar bond to repair school facilities. The first $12 million of hit Redondo Unified's bank account this week. Redondo's electorate will decide in the Tuesday, March 6 municipal election if those who campaigned for the bond get to spend it.
Three current board members are running for a four-year term on the board. Valarie Dombrowski and Rebecca Sergeant are looking to extend their two-decade-plus stint while relative newcomer Robin Shaw, with one term under her belt, is running for her second term.
They're challenged by retired Redondo Unified head accountant Helen Sellers and former School Board candidate Judy Swanson.
Ex-city manager Paul Connolly is running unopposed for a two-year term, left open when former school board member Zeke Zeidler resigned to take a position with the Juvenile Court.
Sellers is not exactly the new kid on the block, having been in charge of Redondo Unified's account books for 14 years. She says she brings an expertise in finances that is crucial when dealing with the kind of sums the board will be dealing with over the next several years.
"That amount of money has to be watched very carefully. And I have the background, both in accounting and in service to the district that enables me to do that," Sellers said.
The other challenger, former School Board candidate Judy Swanson, was unavailable for comment.
Dombrowski said she was running again to ensure that the work that has been done over the decades she's spent in office continues.
"I never intended on being here this long, but I've never walked away from a fight. By looking at my record, the voters can see the progress we've made financially. It's difficult to track money through a budget our size, you have to really know it well and I’ve done it all before," she said.
She said that her close inspection of the district's spending, attention to school policies to help avoid legal problems and ability to work with shifting tides of educational policy from Sacramento and Washington will enable her to guide Redondo Unified through the next four years.
Sergeant stressed her years of service to the district and the challenges the district faces, both in terms of replacing aging infrastructure and dealing with changes in the educational system.
"I have the experience in leadership, and my foremost concern has always been the welfare of this district's children," Sergeant said.
Keeping the school district flexible enough to deal with the government's upcoming modifications to the educational system and following up on the projects that were funded by measure E spurred Shaw to seek to re-election.
"We've started so much that we haven't had the opportunity to complete. I want to keep the momentum going in this district. The children are my future and the future of everyone else," said Shaw. ER