Editorial: O’Neill, Bonini, Love for Board of Education

Trustee Area 4, 5 and 6 are seeing contested races, with 5 and 6 left open by Jim Cannon and Ted Lempert, respectively. Incumbent Chelsea Bonini is defending her seat in Area 4. Incumbent Hugo Torres of Trustee Area 7 is running for reelection unopposed. 

In Trustee Area 5, which largely represents Pacifica, Millbrae and Burlingame, the two candidates are Maurice Goodman and Mike O’Neill. Both have previous significant experience on school boards, O’Neill in Pacifica and Goodman in South San Francisco and the San Mateo County Community College District.

It is Goodman’s experience on a countywide education board that provides him with an immediate edge, along with his reputation for standing up for what’s right at all times. He proved that reputation in Millbrae when he refused to sign a letter in opposition of the county buying a hotel for homeless housing that led to his recent recall. However, Goodman is a little light on specifics when it comes to this particular job, however, we know he could bring himself up to speed quickly.

O’Neill is ready for the position now, and has the specific policy plans with him. He has a focus on three items: equity, AI and the trades. For the trades, he wants to see if there is a way our districts can create more substantive programs so our youth can be successful here right out of school. For AI, he wants the Office of Education to lead the way on artificial intelligence protocol in schools, which makes a ton of sense since it’s a mighty topic and one that faces all districts now and into the future. Doing the work at a regional level will help all districts that may be contending with other day-to-day matters. And for equity, O’Neill wants to work on making funding more equitable to address the staggering differences between the lower funded districts in the county compared to those with abundant community-funded dollars.

This is also a focus for Bonini in Area 4, who gets into even more specifics, suggesting a countywide tax to support children and youth education should be further considered.

Bonini also has a history of being well-prepared, inquisitive and intent on creating a system that is equitable to all while ensuring the board’s oversight of community schools ensures the school-to-prison pipeline doesn’t find its way to anything on her watch. Area 4 covers mainly San Mateo, which is at the core of Bonini’s area of experience as she was a longtime trustee for the San Mateo-Foster City School District board.

In Area 6, which covers Area 6, Patricia Love, executive director for Strategy and Communications for the Office of Education, has nearly seven years of experience working within the office alongside the board. If elected, she could no longer hold her Office of Education position. While that would be a loss, her experience with the very issues the board contends with every day would be a true asset. Focusing on support for the community and court schools would be key, along with emphasizing early literacy.

In areas 4 and 6, Bonini and Love are clear choices. In Area 5, the choice is less clear as both candidates are highly capable. However, specifics matter, and O’Neill is focused, ready and able.