Oxnard Union High School District Board

Incumbents Steve Hall and Gary Davis are fighting for re-election, with Elizabeth Botello, Geoffrey Crosby, and Janessa Garcia vying for one of the two open spots. All candidates emphasize similar issues: transparency. As no questionnaires have revealed major differences between the candidates, I am voting for the two most qualified candidates: the incumbents. Both Hall and Davis have doctorates in Education, have served on the OUHSD board since 2012, and have been administrators and leaders in local educational institutions for years or decades. Amid a crisis like the pandemic, that kind of experience and stability will serve students well.

Hall has a M.S. in Statistics from San Diego State and a doctorate in Education from Pepperdine, has been a math teacher and administrator at Oxnard College, and was President of Ventura County Federation of College Teachers from 2010 to 2017.

Davis has a doctorate in Education from USC and has served OUHSD as superintendent and in other leadership roles over 40 years.

Botello has been an educator and administrator at Oxnard High School since 2015, and master’s degrees from UC Berkeley and UCLA in Journalism and Education, respectively. She is also well-qualified, but I’m concerned about conflicts of interest from serving on the board while also working as an educator.

Garcia is a student at Cal Lutheran University. She’s running a positive, student-powered campaign, but lacks the experience of other candidates to hit the ground running at a critical time for the district.

Crosby is an executive and business owner. Despite his emphasis on transparency on his website, he did not respond to the VC Star’s transparency questionnaire.