Association of Essential School Employees Endorses Barrera for Superintendent of Public Instruction
(San Diego) The 250,000 members of the California School Employees Association (CSEA) have chosen Democrat Richard Barrera as their endorsed candidate in November’s race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. CSEA represents essential classified school staff, including those who work in food services, maintenance and operations, office and technical services, transportation, as paraeducators and in a host of other key roles at TK through twelve schools and community colleges.
Association President Adam Weinberger praised Barrera. “As School Board President at San Diego Unified, Richard Barrera has consistently championed our members, who are the backbone of our schools and a vital part of every student’s day. He understands that students learn best when the adults around them are supported, and he has been an essential partner in ensuring that the school employees who care for our students with special needs, who feed our students, who transport them safely to and from school, and who keep our campuses clean, safe, and organized are able to support their own families with living wages and full family healthcare. He knows that a well-supported workforce is what allows classrooms to thrive. At the same time, he has worked tirelessly to make San Diego’s schools, which many of our members’ children attend, world class. Essential school workers and their students in every part of the state can be confident they will have a champion in their corner with Richard as State Superintendent.”
Richard Barrera said, “CSEA’s members are the connective tissue that makes all the other parts of the school community work. I am proud to have earned their support in my race to become the next Superintendent of Public Instruction and I look forward to working in partnership with them throughout the state.”
Barrera, who currently serves as President of the San Diego Unified School District Board of Trustees, outpaced a large field of other Democratic candidates in the June primary to advance to November’s general election. Over more than two decades on the San Diego school board, he led a reform movement that took a struggling district to first place in reading and math among large urban school districts. He has also championed increased pay and full family health benefits for school staff and has been a trailblazer in the current statewide drive to convert under-utilized school properties into affordable homes for district employees. As Superintendent of Public Instruction, Barrera will be a voting member of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges.
In endorsing Barrera, CSEA joins the wave of support for Barrera from all elements of the education community, including the California Teachers Association; California Federation of Teachers; California Charter School Advocates; current Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond; former Superintendent Jack O’Connell; Deputy Secretary of Education in the Biden administration Cindy Marten; and educators, district superintendents, school board trustees and community college board members from throughout the state. A complete list of those endorsing Barrera can be found at https://www.barreraforedu.com/641677865886 .
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Barrera is available for one-on-one interviews. Learn more about him at https://www.barreraforedu.com/
For more information contact Dale Kelly Bankhead, 619.549.3140, dkbankhead@yahoo.com