News, statements, and milestones from the campaign trail.
On Thursday I had a chance to participate in the Candidate Forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters, SCEF, and PTA. It was a pleasure to have a chance to present my priorities and to hear from my fellow candidates. You can check out the full video here:
As I have been talking to folks in our community, people are often shocked when I describe the imbalance between the high quality of the San Carlos School District schools and how our funding compares to our peers around the County.
I created these graphics to show this data and to explain why Measure K is so important. Please let me know if this helps to tell that story. What other questions can I help with?
Ballots have arrived in San Carlos mailboxes! If you've received yours, thank you for taking the time to vote. Every voice matters in choosing who will serve our students, families, and teachers.
The past few days have been non-stop. I've been at meet and greets, hearing directly from families about what matters most to them. These conversations have shaped how I think about the road ahead, and I'm grateful to everyone who has shared their time and ideas.
On Sunday I attended the SCEF dinner, which is one of my favorite events both for its mission (raising funds for our schools) and for the community feel that it offers. Our community's commitment to our kids is on display at events like this, and I left inspired to keep working on their behalf.
Then earlier this week I was joined by members of the North Coast States Carpenters Union to knock on doors. Their support in helping me reach more voters is truly appreciated. My favorite was knocking on the door of a 95-year old man who was so excited to hear about the work we’re doing for the kids of San Carlos.
Finally, I am proud to share that Assemblymember Diane Papan has endorsed my campaign. Her years of public service and her commitment to our community mean a great deal to me, and I'm honored to have her support.
If you haven't voted yet, please fill out your ballot and return it before Election Day on November 3. If you have questions about the district or my campaign, I'd love to hear from you.
Thank you for your support.
Join me this Sunday, October 4, for a casual meet and greet. Stop by to say hello, ask questions, and share what matters most to you and your family about San Carlos schools.
When: Sunday, October 4, 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Where: Paris Baguette, 622 Laurel Street, San Carlos
Drop in anytime during the window. No RSVP needed.
Please join me for a San Carlos School District School Board candidate forum.
🗓 Thursday, October 15, 6:30-8:00 PM
📍 Tierra Linda Middle School Learning Commons, 750 Dartmouth Ave, San Carlos
There are 4 candidates and 3 seats. The forum is hosted by SCEF and the PTA and moderated by the League of Women Voters of North & Central San Mateo County. All are welcome. This will be an important opportunity for us to share our vision for San Carlos schools to help everyone make their choices.
Register here: Candidate forum registration form
Submit a question for us: questions@lwvncsmc.org
I hope to see you there!
What a day! I started the morning knocking on doors and hearing from neighbors with our Mayor Pranita Venkatesh. There is no better way to knock on a door than to say that you’re here with the Mayor.
Then in the afternoon I set off again but this time with the Yes on K campaign. I was amazed by how many folks had heard of the measure and were planning to support it. Thank you San Carlos!
And to finish off the day we spent the evening putting up our Halloween decorations with the kids. It’s that time!
As I’ve been talking to folks about my work on the School Board, people are amazed just how much construction we’ve done since the passage of Measure H in 2024. To help spread the word, I created the below summary of the three big projects so far:
Open the full-size facilities graphic.
This work is moving fast and so far what’s been done has come in $3.68 million under budget meaning we can do more with the funding the voters entrusted us with.
Being on the Facilities Steering Committee has been an animating part of my service on the School Board and I’m running for a full term to see these projects through and to take on the next ones we will start soon.
Is there a facility upgrade that you would like to see at your school when we consider updates to the Facilities Master Plan next year? Let me know by sending a message.
Our campaign is entering its next phase, and I'm grateful for the support behind it. Thank you for everyone who has reached out, offered support, put up a yard sign, made a donation, or shared a story.
In recent weeks, I've been honored to earn the endorsement of:
I've also been named a 2026 Gun Sense Candidate by Moms Demand Action.
These endorsements reflect a shared commitment to strong public schools, safe campuses, and a San Carlos community that works for every family. As the campaign moves into this next stretch, I'll keep listening, learning, and showing up.
Tomorrow, the Board holds a study session on the budget. We'll review the District's current financial position and consider the options we'll need to choose from if Measure K passes and if it comes up short. I'm looking forward to a thorough discussion on the way to a budget stabilization plan in October.
Mark your calendars: the League of Women Voters, SCEF, and the PTAs will host a candidate forum on October 15th. More details to come.
Thank you for being part of this. Let's keep going.
I wanted to share some good news. The San Mateo Daily Journal recently published a piece introducing our San Carlos School District Board race and giving readers a look at why each of us is running. I was glad to talk with them about what drew me to the board in the first place: our district's major capital improvement program, and the chance to help us navigate some genuinely uncertain financial times ahead.
The Daily Journal also made their endorsement and I'm honored to say they're backing my campaign. They called me "by far the most knowledgeable and engaged" candidate in the race, someone who "knows the issues the district is facing and is highly capable of continuing to lead." They also pointed to the continuity I can offer a board that's going through some turnover right now.
That means a lot. There's important work ahead on enrollment, facilities, and finances, and I'm asking San Carlos voters for the chance to keep at it.
This week I sat down for two endorsement interviews: one with the San Mateo County Democratic Party and one with the editorial team at the San Mateo Daily Journal. Both were substantive conversations about what our kids and our schools actually need and I appreciated the chance to make the case.
Afterwards, I took off the candidate hat, put on my dad hat and went to Back to School Night. I got to hear directly from our children's teachers about their plans for the year, and to take in the classrooms: the "About Me" walls, every kid's name up on the board, the goals we’re setting for them and that they're setting for themselves. It's a good reminder of exactly who we're doing all of this for.
Then last night, some news that meant a lot: my interview panel from the San Mateo County Democratic Party unanimously recommended my endorsement, and it received overwhelming support from the San Mateo County Democratic Central Committee. I'm grateful for their confidence and more motivated than ever heading into November.
What's touched me most, though, has been closer to home. This week some of the parents from my kids' school have reached out asking for a yard sign and a few of them told me they'd never actively supported a candidate before. That means more than any endorsement. This is why I love our community.
Thank you for being in this with me. 💙
📷 Top: my interview with the San Mateo Daily Journal. Below: Back to School Night at our school.
A few milestones this week that I wanted to share.
First, I was proud to roll out my initial round of endorsements from leaders who represent San Carlos at every level of government. Their support means a great deal to me, and I'm grateful for the confidence they've placed in this campaign. It's an encouraging start, and there's more to come.
I also had the chance to meet Shivani and Megha, two of my fellow candidates, in person for the first time. It was good to connect, hear about their backgrounds, and what drew them to want to serve on the School Board. However this race unfolds, we all share the same fundamental goal: strong schools and the best possible outcomes for San Carlos students. I appreciated the conversations.
Finally, I took part in a Facilities Steering Committee meeting to review our progress and help chart the path forward on implementing Measure H and the Facilities Master Plan. This work is close to my heart since it's what drew me to the board in the first place and it was energizing to dig into where we are and what comes next. Delivering these projects responsibly, on behalf of the whole community, is exactly the kind of work I want to keep doing.
More soon but in the meantime, the Measure K parcel tax campaign is up and running and could use your help. Check out why this is so important and (if you can) donate to help get the word out.
Another busy week is in the books. The highlights: a ribbon cutting on Monday marking the completion of summer construction (see the post below), taking my kids to visit my son's new TK classroom on Tuesday, the first day of school on Wednesday, and some important updates at Thursday's Board meeting.
I'm still over the moon about all the work that happened across our campuses this summer, and getting to cut the ribbon (alongside Trustee Hamirani's son) was a real highlight. But what matters most is what it represents: the first finished Measure H project. These HVAC upgrades reach every one of our schools and go to work for our learners right away. That was the biggest promise we made with Measure H, and it's been fully delivered just two years later. Wow!
Tuesday and Wednesday were full of first-week excitement. It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces, and to be there as our little guy stepped into his new big-boy school. Maybe it's the spruced-up campus, maybe it's the new food vendor, maybe it's something else entirely but the start of school has felt extra joyous this year. I hope you're all feeling it too.
Finally, we held our first Board meeting of the school year last night. Two updates worth highlighting:
1. We're beginning to review last year's results and metrics, and there are some real markers of progress. First, our chronic absenteeism rate (the share of kids who miss more than 10% of the school year) has fallen to 4.6%, below where it stood in 2019 before the pandemic and down from over 9% in 2023. That's a remarkable result at a time when most districts are still wrestling with elevated absenteeism. Second, our work supporting and reclassifying English Learners who are ready for mainstream classes is paying off: our English Learner population did incredibly well on state tests. Both were data-driven priorities we identified last year, and it's amazing to see the focus deliver.
2. We also got an update on the State budget (moderately good news), where we stand financially (mostly precarious, and highly dependent on what happens with Measure K in November), and the road to a Budget Stabilization Plan in October. That will be an important conversation—staff will bring ideas for our medium-term outlook both if Measure K passes and if it doesn't. I'd love to hear from folks as those plans take shape.
More to come next week!
Yesterday, we were joined by our City Council members and Supervisor Ray Mueller to celebrate the ribbon cutting marking the completion of our summer construction projects at White Oaks, Heather, and Brittan Acres.
Over the summer, crews installed new HVAC systems, upgraded doors and windows, replaced roofs, and completed additional improvements across all three campuses. The result: more comfortable, modern, and energy-efficient learning environments that are ready just in time for students to return to school.
The work was completed in just 44 days. We're grateful to Flint Builders for the tremendous effort that made it possible.
None of this would have happened without the San Carlos voters who passed Measure H. Our thanks go out to them, and huge kudos to San Carlos School District staff, Flint Builders, and all of the partners and construction workers who pulled this off.
This week marks the start of my campaign for the San Carlos School Board. I'll use this space to share updates on what I've been up to and to pass along news as I have it. Here's a bit of what happened this week.
On Monday, I had the chance to tour White Oaks, Heather, and Brittan Acres and see the incredible construction work that's taken place over the summer. Thanks to the voters' approval of Measure H in 2024, we've installed new HVAC systems at all of our schools, so students can learn in comfortable classrooms even on the hottest days. This summer we also upgraded the building envelope (windows, doors, and more) so that cool air stays where it belongs.
Later that day, I joined SCEF, the PTA, and District representatives at the White Oaks TK/K Parent Social, where I got to talk about the work the District is doing and swap notes on the parent experience of having a little one starting in TK. This is a big moment for our family (our son starts TK this year) and I loved comparing notes with a mom whose twin boys both begin school next week!
On Wednesday, the filing period closed. There will be four of us on the ballot for three School Board seats, and I'm joined in the race by Richard Wahl, Megha Chawla, and Shivani Tripathi.
I'm excited to share more as the campaign goes on.