San Marino Unified School District schedule to fill Seat #2

The San Marino Unified School District has received seven timely applications for Ms. Julie Chan Lin’s vacant Board seat. Six Candidates agreed to be interviewed. During a special open session meeting held on Monday, June 8, 2021, the Board of Education voted to establish a sub-committee comprised of less than a quorum to screen the applications to determine eligibility. Mr. C. Joseph Chang and Mrs. Jane Chon were nominated to serve on the committee. Eligibility screening took place as planned for the second vacant seat on June 21, 2021. As previously announced, the District is presenting the names of those invited to be interviewed on June 22, 2021 and their candidate statements, in alphabetical order, to the public for review as follows:

1. Cynthia Ary
I have a proven track record of leadership. I can engage with local community members and understand the history of San Marino. My mother still lives in San Marino, and I know and understand the older demographics that dominates in San Marino.

2. Susan Flanagan
I have been a resident of San Marino for 47 years and have dedicated my professional life of 30 years to education. Now that I am retired, I would like to give back to the San Marino School District serving our students, teachers, administrators, parents, and community. Our students deserve an excellent education.

A large part of my life has been committed to community and volunteerism as well as education. I earned my B.S. and Master's Degree from USC's School of Education. I have taught 2nd Grade at Carver for 23 years and 3rd Grade for 7 years at Hugo Reid in Arcadia. I have also been a member of the Westridge School for Girls Board of Trustees for 10 years. I have had experience overseeing the school's budget and financing, dealing with collective bargaining, setting educational policies and procedures, as well as, reviewing and evaluating the Headmistress's effectiveness and capability of running the school. I was Westridge Alumni President for 2 years and Westridge Parent Council President for 2 years (PTA). Over the years I have volunteered for numerous charitable organizations including but not limited to The Huntington Library, National Charity League of San Marino, USC Town and Gown, The Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, The Boy and Girl Scouts of America, as well as, many school and community events. In 2005, while at Carver, I created and continue to endow the J.P. Blecksmith Award for Citizenship and Patriotism given to a boy and girl graduating from 5th Grade at both Carver and Valentine. I also started the Veteran's Day and Memorial Day Flag Ceremonies at Carver.

My expertise is having spent my entire professional life in the classroom. I know education and I know what works. As a teacher I developed grade level curriculum while at Carver and at Hugo Reid which I believe was fundamental to my students' success. We must never lower our standards, but continue to raise them while giving our students the foundation to achieve those high standards. We must challenge, motivate, and inspire each child to reach their full potential. All students deserve a balanced, well rounded education with an excellent curriculum including sports, the arts, and special interests. San Marino is fortunate to have skillful and dedicated teachers, gifted students who desire to learn, and the support of parents, the administration, and the community. One of the most important decisions to be made is the hiring of the new Superintendent. Throughout my teaching career, I have served under five different superintendents which has given me first-hand knowledge of what makes a Superintendent successful. I feel I understand the qualifications necessary to ensure an effective and quality leader is chosen. As a parent, lifelong community volunteer, and a committed and dedicated educator, I feel I will bring a unique and fresh perspective to the complex issues needing to be addressed by the School Board. If selected, I look forward to making a difference.

3. Luyi Khasi
I have a B.A. degree in communication/public relations and a M.S. degree in Teaching English as a Second Language. I taught ESL at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut for a year prior to becoming a News Anchor/U.S. Correspondent at ETTV, a Mandarin-speaking TV station headquartered in Taiwan. I am now a CEO of a small business in DTLA with knowledge in management, human resources, finances and marketing.

During the year I taught ESL at Mt. SAC, I won a competition for designing an innovative curriculum among my colleagues. I have creative ways to make learning more engaging and meaningful while operating under a restricted budget and environment. Before COVID, I volunteered as First LEGO League coach for three years at Valentine and HMS and successfully led teams into winning regional awards. These teaching and coaching experiences are applicable across subject matters and age groups.

I started my news reporting career following Arnold Schwarzenegger around during his gubernatorial election in 2004. While working in a fast-pace news environment, on a daily basis, I had to quickly learn different national/state/local policies, grasp the key concepts, summarize what’s important in layman’s terms and produce the news in Mandarin. Through the constant exposure to a wide range of issues, I understand public policies and what it meant to serve in a public capacity. News production skill set is also relevant in communicating important school policies to the SMUSD community, especially in bridging the gap to new immigrant families. In the last 5 years, I consistently attend to the Chinese WeChat groups at Valentine and HMS as liaison answering questions, translating documents, and conveying important school-related messages. Through that constant connection, I build trust and bring people together.

At my current role as a CEO of a private business, I have more than ten years of experience managing projects and staff members. Dealing with the law, contracts, finances, and human resources are the basic required skills that I am comfortable with. And, I am at a point where I have a healthy and strong support team to allow for my scheduling flexibility to commit as a school board.

4. Michael Killackey, Esq.
If appointed, I will dedicate myself to SMUSD’s success in providing a world class education to every child in our District with sound policies ensuring an institution which identifies and achieves every child’s maximum potential.

I have the skills to be an effective Board member:
As a parent, volunteer, San Marino Schools Foundation (SMSF) Trustee, attorney and small business owner with decades of experience in complex negotiations, conflict resolution and risk management, my skills in analytical reasoning, critical thinking, strategic planning and working to achieve short term goals while preserving long term success on a tight budget provide me a firm foundation for a position on this Board and to assist in policy making and long term strategic planning decisions for SMUSD. My ability to assess, analyze and understand policy, statutes, rules, limitations and obstacles while creatively developing and implementing strategic plans which embrace integrity, process, procedure, transparency, credibility and stability will promote proper sound governance of SMUSD.

As a dedicated volunteer, I understand the issues facing SMUSD:
As a SMSF Trustee I have focused my time, energy and skills on maximizing fundraising as an Annual Campaign Co-Chair and ensuring accountability, and transparency to our community’s donors as the Vice President of Grants. In addition, through attending School Board meetings for the past three-plus years, I have an in-depth understanding of the District, as well as the structure, limitations and challenges of public school financing faced by SMUSD. This working knowledge and hands on introduction to public school finances, and more importantly our District’s specific limitations, will assist with shortening the learning curve anticipated of a new Board member.

As a current HMS and SMHS parent, I am vested in the success of our District:
Our District needs Board Members who are vested in the success of our District in the most fundamental and paramount way — by sending their children to San Marino public schools. My wife Stefanie and I have sought out and engaged in every opportunity to build up and support our public schools. Our District’s current circumstances demand stakeholders across our community work together to identify the real challenges and dedicate time, energy and financial resources to solving those challenges for the benefit of all our children and their futures. As a Board member this moral compass will guide my decisions.

I understand the importance of Board governance and my role on the Board: As a Board member, I will respect the roles of the Board, and my only agenda is to dedicate myself to the unified success of the Board in its governance of the District. Further, I will not seek to work on my own, but rather collaboratively as a team member in a cohesive unit to hold the Superintendent accountable and provide the support needed for successful District administration. I will respect the legal responsibilities, limitations, and rules of confidentiality, while being as transparent and communicative as the law allows.

5. Alfred “Win” Mordecai
I graduated from San Marino High School in 2016 -- only five years ago. In those five years, SMUSD has endured a constant barrage of challenges. Since my graduation, our district has suffered a precipitous drop in enrollment, a large budget cut to its visual and performing arts programs, frequent leadership changes at the board and administrative levels, and a global pandemic which deprived students of in-person learning for over a year. And, now, we are at risk of losing dozens of teachers and administrators if we do not renew our parcel task. If appointed to the school board, I would be the board’s only member to have attended San Marino schools, and I would carry the extra benefit of having graduated only five years ago. I understand the culture of our school district, I know the strengths and weaknesses of its teachers and administrators, I have spent hundreds of hours as a student with dozens of the teachers that are still employed at our schools, and I understand how San Marino both succeeds and fails at preparing its students for a rigorous college education.

San Marino is unique from many other public-school districts in that it seeks to prepare its students to receive elite college educations. Who better to advise our school district on education policy than someone who matriculated from San Marino high school into an elite college? Having a graduate of our district on the school board is imperative, and as a recent graduate, I know the culture and staff of our school better than any other potential board member.

6. Jingdong Zhu
Passion to our community, financial planning knowledge and skill, management skill from my previous role as a director in regulatory affairs, bilingual, Ph.D in genetic engineering, open and flexible mind, curious to new ideas.