Mother, librarian, and self-described public servant, Jeanette Contreras is running for a seat on the Capistrano Unified School Board on Nov. 8.
“I understand the value and benefits of public education. I believe that I can be a voice for parents, students, volunteers, and community members who may not have been well represented on the school board,” Contreras told The Epoch Times in an email.
Contreras is running against incumbent Judy Bullockus, for Trustee of Area 7, which includes schools in Rancho Santa Margarita, Mission Viejo, and Coto de Caza.
According to Contreras’s website, her experience includes working as a library director for Placentia Library District for 14 years. As such, she said she has managed financially-sound budgets, contracts, negotiations, public policies, capital improvement projects, and community partnerships.
She has also served as a board member for several community service groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, Boys & Girls Club in Orange County, and the Homeless Intervention of Orange County, which runs programs to assist the homeless or those at risk of becoming so.
If elected, according to her campaign website, she wants to work to provide safe school environments with violence and bullying training for students and staff and increase accessibility to mental health services.
Contreras also wants to balance the district’s budget while hiring a more qualified teaching staff and lowering the student-to-teacher ratios.
Contreras arrived in the United States from Vietnam with her family when she was 8. She attended public schools and ultimately received her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from California State University–Fullerton and a master’s degree in Library Science from San Jose State University.
She and her husband have lived in Mission Viejo for 14 years and have three children—two of which attend district schools, where both parents volunteer.
Contreras is endorsed by several organizations and elected officials, including Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), Assemblyman Phillip Chen (R-Yorba Linda), Placentia Unified School District Board President Carrie Buck, the Capistrano Unified Education Association, and the Democratic Party of Orange County.
