Meet the Candidates Running for the Santa Barbara Unified School Board

Seven candidates, including two incumbents, are vying for three seats on the Santa Barbara Unified School Board. Some are former educators who have been in the district’s crayon-colored trenches, and some are parents eager to influence their child’s education. Others simply want to have a positive impact on developing minds.

This past year was anything but peaceful for the district’s current Board of Trustees, whose leadership was questioned throughout the year. Not only did they face contentious contract negotiations with two unions and emotional — sometimes accusatory — pleas from teachers regarding wage increases amid strike threats, they also had to make tough decisions on staff layoffs, the first in three years.

In between those heated moments, the board adopted a highly anticipated, and highly scrutinized, new literacy curriculum in hopes of raising students’ low reading scores. They also commissioned a racial climate report in response to anti-Black incidents in schools.

But each candidate claims to be up to the task.

Although some candidates are completing at-large terms, all seats will now be based on Trustee Areas. Trustee Areas 2, 3, and 5 are up for election. For Trustee Area 2, the candidates are Sunita Beall and John Robertson; for Area 3, William Banning, Chris Wichowski, and Phyliss Cohen; and for Area 5, Celeste Kafri and Jason Lekas.

Two candidates — Wichowski and Kafri — have secured endorsements from the teachers’ union, which emphasized their “stake” in the district as parents with school-aged children and the need for improved relations between district employees and administration.

Regardless of endorsements, all candidates share goals around fostering open communication, enhancing student performance, and ensuring fiscal responsibility.

Trustee Area 2

Sunita Beall

Appointee Sunita Beall joined the board in January as an at-large trustee to fill the vacancy left by Virginia Alvarez’s sudden resignation in November. She is a parent in the district and a UC Santa Barbara physician.

Beall, who secured an endorsement from the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party, resides in Trustee Area 2, encompassing areas along Foothill, Sycamore Canyon, and East Valley roads.

When Beall — a parent of two recent graduates from district high schools — joined the board, she said she felt “very vested in” the negotiations with the Santa Barbara Teachers Association (SBTA), stressing that “teachers need to have a living wage.”

After six months on the board, she said her perspective has not changed, and she “still feels very strongly” about the many people who work in Santa Barbara but cannot afford to live in the area, adding that the housing situation needs a remedy for the community and its teachers.

However, when she started, negotiations with the SBTA shifted into mediation very quickly. There was already “a fair amount of hostility” between the district and the union, she said, and “there wasn’t a way to turn back the clock and have clear, trustworthy communication from the get-go.” She added that there were “misunderstandings” around the budget and district reserves, which she wished to help iron out, but felt those efforts were cut short.

“When people spoke at public comment, I felt it was my job to listen,” Beall said. “And now that it’s settled, it’s time to move forward, and change the culture with an emphasis on transparency and communication.”

Although she has learned much about school finances and how the board operates in her six months, she said, she is “still learning” and wants the opportunity to apply that knowledge. Prior to her time on the board, Beall served as a Trustee on the Board of Santa Barbara Middle School and participated in the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) Parent Advisory Committee, which focuses on how district funds should be spent to support students, particularly those with special needs.

Her top priority has been focusing on literacy efforts and the district’s adoption of teacher training and instructional materials backed by the science of reading. And, at the same time, she wishes to increase student engagement so students “want to learn and be at school.”

“I really want to make sure that literacy is really high on the district goals, because if our students are not literate, then we’ve failed as a district,” she said.

Beall is not a former educator, but she called herself a “quick learner” who was able to pick up her role on the board and understand the budget without much difficulty, drawing on her experience owning a medical practice.

When asked if she is running to help preserve the current board’s makeup — one that voted unanimously on many decisions in the past year — she said the board ultimately “shares goals, but does not agree on everything.”

“I for sure feel that we do need to change the way the board operates so we are responsive in a way that is different from the district,” she said. “I do think we are individuals and have personal goals on how the district should evolve, so that should be where it gets interesting” come January, when the election dust has settled.

John Robertson

John Robertson retired from teaching two years ago, sharing similar experience with some of his fellow candidates for school board. He’s not ready to leave public education.

“Education is what I know,” Robertson said. “I want to give back to the community, and the school board is the most obvious place to do it.”

In another capacity, Robertson gives back by volunteering for the free program Immigrant Hope, teaching students English on Tuesday evenings. He said he’s been searching for ways to continue to do more education-related work in the community, with a teaching methodology that encourages hands-on learning and supports multilingual learners — an area that the district has zeroed in on in recent years, hoping to improve English proficiency for struggling students.

When asked about the divisiveness witnessed in the school community over the past year, Robertson said he has been busy teaching English as a Second Language at City College and UC Santa Barbara, so he has not been very knowledgeable about that situation.

“What has concerned me,” he said, “was the lockdown, Zoom instruction, and how many students have fallen behind in math and literacy skills, and socialization. I’m keenly interested in bringing students back up to speed.”

Robertson emphasized the challenges on students’ acquisition of literacy and math skills, as well as the concerns he has about social media, saying he wants to reinforce the high schools’ new “cell hotel” policy throughout the district. Additionally, he said he is interested in keeping campuses safe, respecting parents’ voice in their children’s rights and education — as a parent himself — and keeping the district “fiscally responsible.”

He is also one of this year’s three candidates endorsed by the Santa Barbara County Republican Party.

“There is room for all kinds of board members to participate productively,” he said. “But my hope is that as a career-long educator — having a person who spent his last 40 years in the classroom — that would be unique for me to offer.”

Trustee Area 3

William Banning

Appointee William Banning said he had no intention to challenge Board President Wendy Sims-Moten for what is currently her seat at the dais in Trustee Area 3, covering areas of the Mesa toward Hollister Avenue and along Highway 217. However, when Sims-Moten announced she wouldn’t be running this November, he changed his tune.

“My entire career is based on public service and public education,” Banning said. He’s worked in education since he was 22 years old, starting as a music teacher and retiring as the Goleta Union superintendent. “Do I have the interest and the energy in continuing? Absolutely.”

Banning, who has the endorsement of the Democratic Party, entered the picture to replace Laura Capps for the remainder of her at-large term following her election to the County Board of Supervisors in 2023. He has spent nearly two years on the board, joining right before the tumultuous contract negotiations began.

He said his experience on the board has not always been “fun,” but he is “proud of the work” that they accomplished, from increasing teacher wages to addressing equity. Should he be elected in November, he said he would like to provide “leadership continuity” and keep the board “cohesive.”

He wouldn’t come in with any single, particular issue in mind, he said, but would “help the board develop sustainability in policy and actions” such as through leadership evaluations and goal-setting, and create “comprehensive and cohesive guidelines to keep that stability.” His main commitments include transparency and accountability, equity, and “balancing fair wages and fiscal responsibility.”

“I want to say that the difficulties of the past year have been a really important piece for me,” he said. “I am absolutely a supporter of our teachers. When they say it’s expensive to live here, they’re absolutely right. They deserve fair compensation. There were disagreements on how to get there, and it was hard, but the board is very much in support of teachers, and we will work hard to continue that.”

His two years of service could turn into another four, should he win the seat against his two opponents.

“You might be surprised to hear this, but I’m enjoying my time on the board. We’re all on the same team,” he said. “I feel like I’m lending my voice to important causes and helping this board do the work that needs to be done.”

Chris Wichowski

Although Banning was on the board for this past year’s strenuous negotiations, former special education teacher Chris Wichowski is the candidate with the Santa Barbara Teacher Association’s endorsement for this trustee area.

His biggest emphasis during our conversation was on truth and transparency, as well as on student proficiency scores in the district, which are low everywhere, but especially for students with disabilities.

“Those are kids who aren’t getting served,” he said.

Wichowski worked in the district for about eight years before feeling the need to “take a step back,” saying he “cared too much” and was coming home “tired and beat up” after long days at school.

Now, he is a stay-at-home dad who says he is ready to “go in and tackle issues” on the board after being “in the trenches” of public education.

Wichowski wants to “build bridges rather than burn them,” he said. But when trying to implement and expand a guitar-building program at San Marcos High School, he said he faced “every roadblock imaginable.” If elected, he wants to foster more enrichment opportunities for students, such as reviving the guitar-building project.

Students built, customized, and painted every part of their guitars, which Wichowski saw as combining music and physics in one project.

“A lot of teachers with great ideas have left, because, let’s face it, you can’t be exceptional; you can’t go outside of your box,” he said. “And how is that best for the students? Like, we want to evolve, we should be evolving constantly, and if a teacher has a great idea that we can figure out how to support it, we should support it.”

He added that he can handle the stress of being on the board, and with his education and experience, he expects to “identify gaps” in students’ learning and figure out “what students are missing.” Should he be elected, he wants to support initiatives toward making early education “more holistic” with better emotional and academic supports, increasing students’ reading and math proficiency rates, addressing diet and nutritional needs at school, and increasing outreach and community among parents.

He said that having the support of the SBTA “means a lot,” and he hopes it tells the community that he is “competent.”

Phyliss Cohen

Phyliss Cohen seems to be the most fun of the Trustee Area 3 candidates.

Cohen has been an educator for 40 years and an artist for just as long, if not longer. She has taught kindergarten through high school in Santa Barbara for the past 17 years and is currently a substitute teacher at Franklin Elementary, only leaving her position to focus on her campaign. In her free time, she creates floats and costumes for the Summer Solstice parade.

“I think it’s time for me to step up, take charge, and bring innovation to the district,” she said. “I give the children an opportunity to be the best they can — I want to nurture the genius within each child.”

She wants the district to carve out more time for students’ creative pursuits, including project- and play-based learning, similar to her time as a teacher. She said she’s created cookbooks with students, and encouraged storytelling through avenues such as student newspapers. At the same time, she said she supports high standards of education, content-rich curriculums rooted in traditional disciplines, parent involvement, and practical solutions like vocational leadership programs.

“It’s about having fun and creating happy memories,” she said. “I want to bring excitement to the board, and bring more creative arts activities to the children. EQ is equally as important as IQ.”

Alongside supporting and promoting opportunities for “more play and creativity” that fosters positive self-esteem and character development, she said she is also interested in integrating more programs for multilingual students, and fielding feedback when it comes to issues within the community, such as tensions between the board and teachers. Cohen, alongside John Robertson and Trustee Area 5 candidate Jason Lekas, is also endorsed by the Republican Party.

“I want to bring harmony and peace to our community so the district can be a model for others,” she said.

Trustee Area 5

Celeste Kafri

Similar to other board candidates, Celeste Kafri was motivated by the low test scores produced by local schools, particularly in Goleta Union, where her son went to kindergarten. She found out that only 40 percent of students were reading at grade level, and co-founded an advocacy group of parents pushing for a shift in instruction toward the science of reading.

“Goleta made a switch; now, a year later, they’re seeing higher reading levels,” she said, including increases by 15 percent at a few schools.

“Through advocacy work, I learned that school boards are incredibly important — they set a student-focused direction for the district, make clear goals, and drive transparency and accountability,” Kafri said.

She now hopes to represent Goleta, Trustee Area 5, on the Santa Barbara Unified School Board, and she has some next steps in mind, including setting “clear goals for the district” that are student-centered. The linchpin of her plan, she said, is setting these measurable, attainable goals for increasing student proficiency scores and college attendance rates.

She also said she would like to increase avenues for family, teacher and staff input, and “rally the community around the district” by linking with nonprofits and other stakeholder groups, as well as connecting the district to more citywide initiatives.

“There’s a ton of knowledge in our community; if we increase feedback loops, we can figure out what is and is not working, to benefit students’ education,” Kafri explained.

Kafri also has the backing of the SBTA, as well as the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party, and Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee. Her mom is a teacher, she said, adding that the “number-one factor of high-quality education is high-quality teachers.” She said she and the union are “aligned in ensuring high expectations for students,” direction for the district, and avenues for feedback.

When asked what she would do to support educators moving forward, she said she would “ensure our budget is really clear and understandable, and presented in a narrative format to make sure everyone is on the same page,” promote clear communication, and work toward “building trust among all parties.”

Jason Lekas

Kafri’s opponent, Jason Lekas, was not available for an interview prior to publication. However, according to his campaign webpage, Lekas, a banker and businessman with a Republican Party endorsement, has an especially strong focus on fiscal responsibility, “and the crucial role a Board plays in holding leadership accountable to our mission of ‘Every Student, Every Chance, Every Opportunity.’”

“I believe that money misspent is money not used to create positive outcomes for students, which demands a different kind of board supervision,” he adds.

Lekas, a father of three and Santa Barbara resident since 2006, has experience on nonprofit boards, as well as 10 years of experience as the director of San Marcos Christian Camp.

“My goal is to create a school system that celebrates merit, fosters intellectual growth, and prepares students to be thoughtful, engaged citizens,” he says.