Vicki Pulsifer: I would like to thank all that attended our recent candidate’s night. I feel it is crucial to have community involvement and it was encouraging to see such a strong presence. I come from a long educational background. My father started as a teacher and worked his way to County Superintendent (18 years, Yuba Co.) My mother took great pride in being a grade school teacher, 30+ years. A fun note, my candidate signage replicates my dad’s first campaign slogan, “PIC VIC.” In remembrance of my parents, pursuing a seat on the board for Colusa Unified School District is such an honor. I look forward to the opportunities while continuing our legacy and passion in public education. I am anxious to represent your desire to improve communication between the school system and our parents while being an advocate towards a brighter tomorrow. I pride myself in positive reinforcement through collaboration. Presently, I am a Facility Manager with WJUSD and take great pride in the safety and management of our facilities throughout our entire district for our children, staff, and community. I would consider this opportunity an honor and privilege to represent our community as a member of the Colusa School Board.
Roberta James: I am seeking a seat on the Colusa Unified School Board because I am highly interested in quality education. I have spent most of my career working in Colusa schools and I care deeply about their success. This position is best served by someone who understands public education and feels a commitment to meet the academic needs of ALL our students. After over 30 years working with Colusa students, teachers, and administration, I believe I have the skillset, time, and experience to do the job well. I have worked extensively in three of our five schools, and held many leadership roles beyond the classroom. During my years at Chico State University, I taught courses in the Department of Education and supervised student teachers. I have a wealth of knowledge about our District, broad teaching experience, and a genuine respect for our students. My husband Jon was born and raised in Colusa, and we raised our two daughters here. All three of them have gone through our Colusa school system. I am both founder and supporter of community activities and organizations in Colusa. I am a community-minded and student-centered educator.
Chris Mcallister: I am running for my second term on the CUSD Board of Trustees. I have lived in Colusa since fall of 2000, and Colusa County my entire life. I am married with three children. My daughter graduated from CUSD in 2021. I have a son in 10th grade at CHS and another son in 7th grade at Egling. The reason I decided to run for the board of trustees is because I would too often hear, see, and feel that not all students and parents were being represented. I often heard, and personally experienced, the lack of communication from the district regarding important issues and concerns that were brought forth. I can’t promise to give the answer everyone wants to hear but I will always give an honest, no BS response. I feel that everyone deserves the right to be heard and take into consideration their concerns, no matter who or where they come from. I believe every student should have equal chances to succeed, no student should be left behind. As a district, our primary obligation is the education of all students and to prepare them for life outside of the public education grasp. My desire is for all students to have the skills and knowledge to tackle any endeavor they embark on when they leave CUSD.
1) What attributes and behaviors are essential for school board members – and what sets you apart from other candidates or current board members?
Vicki Pulsifer – As a member of the school board, I feel it is crucial to provide the support and stability for our students, families, and staff while maintaining an open mind and being objective to change with a positive approach. The need to listen, make sound choices, and provide follow up is imperative to build trust and confidence within our school district and our families. My current experience working within Woodland Joint Unified School District provides a platform of knowledge to the inner district workings that are essential in making sound and educated decisions. I feel it is imperative to perform your due diligence when making choices that can affect our families and community as a whole.
Roberta James – As an elected official, it is necessary to consider all sides of an issue and keep academic goals constantly in focus as we serve the varied needs of our students and families. This position requires strong leadership, sound decision-making skills, and the ability to function as part of a larger board. It is essential for a trustee to act with respect, fairness, and confidentiality. Something that sets me apart from other candidates is that I am an educator with experience in a variety of schools, grade levels, and leadership positions. I am familiar with many of the daily challenges of working in classrooms and with our students. I also have longevity in the District that gives me a unique perspective of Colusa Unified.
Chris Mcallister – I think you always must have the best interest of ALL students in mind, rather it be 500 students or one student. As a single board member, you really don’t have much power, however, with that being said, I feel you must always have dedication, commitment, and above all integrity. If you believe something isn’t right or students are not being held as top priority then you have to hold your ground and do what is right for students, even if you are on the losing side of the vote. This is why I feel I am a good candidate, I will not rubber stamp or go along with things that are not in the best interest of students and families.
2) Is there a particular issue that motivates you to serve on the school board?
Vicki Pulsifer – My motivation and passion to be on the school board comes from my current work experience with Woodland Joint Unified as a Facilities Project Manager, and knowing the importance of providing achievable goals towards safe and secure educational settings for our children. Colusa’s infrastructures are failing, our security is minimal, and our students are seeking schools that make them feel inclusive and protected. It is important as a School Board that we stay informed of available State and Federal funding programs while taking full advantage of these opportunities. Commonly overlooked, our schools infrastructure is imperative, coupled with the importance of formulating a master plan for our District addressing our aging facilities.
Roberta James – There is no particular issue that motivates me to serve. In general, educational issues have been part of my work, thoughts, and conversations for nearly four decades. As I previously stated, I am highly interested in quality education, and in the success of our schools and students. I have attended school board meetings routinely throughout my career. I have experienced first-hand the effects of board decisions, and the benefits of positive governance. I have a good idea of what is entailed, and I want to do the work. I see this as a new way to continue my work serving both children and community.
Chris Mcallister – I would like to be able to improve student engagement in our district. By this I mean when they leave CUSD they can look back and say “I truly enjoyed going to school in Colusa.” I think to do this we need to be a more “personable” district, so when students have a problem they have a place they can work them out. Rigor and Academics are key to student success, but sometimes a simple “chit-chat” from a teacher or staff is more valuable than the lesson being taught that day. This to some may not be a pressing issue, but I feel now, more than ever, students need support and guidance. COVID-19 took a toll on many students and left a scar that may never be removed.
3) What can be done to improve student achievement and ensure everyone who graduates can read, participate in their civic duties, get a job, go into the military, or continue their education through college?
Vicki Pulsifer – To assure student achievement, graduates can read, obtain a job, and contribute to our society, as a community, this will require a joint effort between the board, our parents/families, and our educational staff. This is achievable through assessment and outreach to strategize and contribute with our community to provide improved student achievement. It is essential that we have the ability to continue to educate our youth, providing ALL available resources, assuring technology curriculum is current, providing employment options within our community, teaching life skills to include organization, communication and interaction while having extensive collaboration and participation, giving us the ability to EDUCATE to ELEVATE our youth in school and at home! Our youth’s future depends on us!
Roberta James – To specifically answer this question, it is necessary to know why students aren’t achieving these goals. Do we have graduates who are not participating in their civic duty because they don’t know how to read? Or because they don’t understand what it is? Or because they don’t think it is important? Each reason requires a different intervention (reading intervention vs. improved curriculum vs. quality instruction) and the wrong intervention may not help us reach our goal. Giving poor readers new or additional Civics curriculum may not address their inability to access the material. To answer this question generally: We must keep these goals constantly in focus and take time to thoroughly think things through when making decisions and setting expectations that affect our students.
Chris Mcallister – I think to improve student achievement and ensure that every student is prepared for life after graduation, we need to find a way to add more in-class help to teachers in the lower grade levels to get kids caught up. One of the problems we see, due to COVID-19, school shutdowns, distance learning, and online connectivity issues is that we have 70-80 percent of our students 1-2 grade levels behind. It is so hard for a teacher to pull aside 4-5 students that are behind and continue teaching the rest of the class. One person per class can only do so much. In upper grade levels we need more support classes and credit recovery options. Empathy is key to student success.
4) As a board member, what are your budget priorities and where would you look to make cuts if you were faced with a deficit?
Vicki Pulsifer – The importance of maintaining staff is decisive to success within our educational programs and we need to be diligent and consistent in our efforts to provide resources to our students, staff, and families to eliminate these needs and/or concerns. Our district presently has in place LCAP (local control and accountability plan) to achieve set goals with measurable outcomes. Before any consideration of cuts, I would review our current budgetary status and assure that all resources have been thoroughly explored and exhausted with a thorough assessment and detailed summary provided with full transparency. As a board, I feel this is the most crucial task, being proactive, diligent, and thorough in all decisions that so critically affect our district and our children’s educational outcomes.
Roberta James – Academic, staffing, and facility needs are essential priorities. If faced with a deficit, I would draw on my experiences, especially during the economic crisis in 2008 when our District stayed solvent as many were facing closure. I would suggest a hiring freeze or retirement incentives so that attrition would be able to absorb some of our costs, and we could avoid layoffs. I would examine routine maintenance expenses that could be deferred, or spending schedules that could be expanded over a longer span of time. As with any budget, there are always items that can be tabled for a short time—it just takes more work to find those items than it does to simply cut a big-ticket item. I would willingly do the work.
Chris Mcallister – My budget priority would be to maintain classrooms fully staffed, with all materials needed to do their job. While maintaining food services, transportation, and facility upkeep all a close second. This is a theoretical question and to provide a fair answer is hard because the severity and longevity of the deficit is unknown. If a budget cut had to be made, I would cut out the lead counselor/test coordinator position which was just recently created about a year ago. By eliminating this position, those responsibilities would fall back to the departments where they were in previous years. This would allow us to save (2) salaries for more important services.
5) How would you convince your constituents to invest in building new facilities as the population of Colusa continues to grow?
Vicki Pulsifer – I feel with my experience presently working within a school district, coupled with experience in facility management, bond measures and budget management, I would bring an asset with insight and familiarity to the board that our district may utilize to make sound and practical budget decisions. Through public forum, inclusivity, and community interaction, I feel we can educate our constituents through transparency, honesty, and involvement to our continued educational needs while accommodating our growing population. Collaboration, honesty, and dedication to our youth, coupled with community involvement, is imperative for a positive educational outcome. Whether you presently have children in school, in the near future, or you are a grandparent as I, our youth is our future.
Roberta James – I do believe we need to invest in our facilities. We have over 30 portables, and buildings that are deteriorating. Before meeting with constituents, however, I would consult with our maintenance director, superintendent, and other appropriate sources to make sure I have the facts to support my opinions. I believe there would be little convincing needed once the voters understood what is at stake. We all benefit from having good schools. They attract quality teachers, as well as new families to our community. Providing quality education includes providing safe, modernized facilities for our students. It is a way of investing in our children, who, as we know, have no voice in the matter. It is our responsibility to act on their behalf.
Chris Mcallister – I think the constituents realize that if we want growth and opportunities in our community, we need to have the school facilities to handle the expansion. If you look on most real estate websites, most list the nearby school and some even rank them. To have a positive rating and to be able to accommodate the expansion of the community, one of the focus points has to be our schools. As it stands now, even without tremendous growth, we have almost outgrown our schools. We have roughly 400 students at Birchfield, 600 students at Egling, and 400 students at CHS. Sooner than later we need to start the process of expanding and upgrading our school sites.