Veronica Williams, the incumbent, has sat on the school board for eight years. She has a background in mathematics and computer science and is currently the chief technology officer for a research company. In addition to her career, she has two sons with the district who attend CHS.

During her two terms on the board, Williams says her priorities have been safety, student success, and saving taxpayers money. Safety, a relevant issue for many voters due to many recent high-profile school shootings, is very important to Williams.

“As a district that is one of our priorities, to make sure that students are safe in the classroom,” Williams said. “I’ve always been an advocate, for not just safety in the classrooms, but also creating an environment for students to be creative in the classroom, to be able to communicate in the classroom, just an environment where students can thrive. On top of that we have increased our SRO’s which are school resource officers, along with conducting our district wide safety audits.”

Williams also emphasizes student success. She believes in the importance of preparing students for life beyond high school. This goal ties in with her career and her work on the board.

“One thing my business does is look at the workforce and the economy,” Williams said. That’s another strong priority that I have, making sure that we are preparing students for the future world of work. I was looking at our career pathways and making sure they are relevant because of job volatility, since many jobs are going to be automated in the future. I’m always looking ahead and saying ‘Is that job going to be there in the future? Are we preparing our kids for the actual world of work?’ “

Lastly, Williams says she wants to save taxpayers money.

“Saving taxpayers [money] is one of my top three priorities and to make sure we are investing money wisely, looking at every dollar,” Williams said. “Since we are one of the least funded [districts] in San Diego County, we’ve been really good since I’ve been on the board of using our money wisely, of using less, of doing more with less.“

Williams believes she has helped the board achieve all these goals and wants to help continue them. She has stressed her experience and these achievements in her campaign. Along with the aforementioned priorities, during her tenure on the board, the district opened Sage Creek High School on time and under budget, saved taxpayers $11 million, increased graduation rates to 94 percent and received recognition on the College Board’s AP Honor Roll three times, according to Williams.

“I’m trying to continue a record of success,” WIlliams said. “We are on that trajectory. You want someone with a proven track record to be on the school board.”