WEBVTT
00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:06.400
You're listening to Flor Unmuted. I'm Flor, and
00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:10.740
every week we're talking power, politics, cultura,
00:00:11.300 --> 00:00:13.919
and the people getting left behind. Let's get
00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:19.879
into it. Most people probably couldn't tell you
00:00:19.879 --> 00:00:22.600
what the Kern County Board of Education actually
00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:25.679
does. And honestly, before I started paying more
00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:28.660
attention to this race, I had questions to...
00:00:28.489 --> 00:00:32.350
But this board has very real responsibilities.
00:00:32.549 --> 00:00:35.590
It deals with students who can end up at the
00:00:35.590 --> 00:00:38.990
county level through things like expulsions and
00:00:38.990 --> 00:00:43.420
transfer appeals. It oversees county education
00:00:43.420 --> 00:00:47.380
programs, makes budget decisions, and serves
00:00:47.380 --> 00:00:50.000
some of the students most likely to be overlooked
00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:54.679
when systems get stretched thin. My guest today
00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:58.619
is Anastasia Hopper. She's a candidate for the
00:00:58.619 --> 00:01:02.399
Kern County Board of Education, and she's running
00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:07.099
for trustee in area three. Anastasia and I talked
00:01:07.099 --> 00:01:10.719
about what this board actually controls. who
00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:13.739
trustees are supposed to be making decisions
00:01:13.739 --> 00:01:17.719
for. Special education, student outcomes, the
00:01:17.719 --> 00:01:21.079
role ideology has started playing in local school
00:01:21.079 --> 00:01:24.620
governance and why she believes it's time for
00:01:24.620 --> 00:01:29.400
a change after more than three decades of the
00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:33.329
same representation in this seat. I also ask
00:01:33.329 --> 00:01:37.450
her what happens when a trustee's personal beliefs,
00:01:37.969 --> 00:01:40.370
the loudest people in the room, and the best
00:01:40.370 --> 00:01:43.409
available evidence all point in different directions.
00:01:44.069 --> 00:01:47.209
If you want to learn more about Anastasia, follow
00:01:47.209 --> 00:01:50.989
her campaign, volunteer, or contribute, I've
00:01:50.989 --> 00:01:54.109
included her links in the episode description.
00:01:54.670 --> 00:01:57.709
Here's my conversation with Anastasia Hopper.
00:02:03.799 --> 00:02:06.620
Anastasia Hopper, thank you so much for joining
00:02:06.620 --> 00:02:11.080
me on Floor Unmuted. Now, before we get into
00:02:11.080 --> 00:02:14.979
all of the things, can you please tell me the
00:02:14.979 --> 00:02:18.039
official name of the race and the district or
00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:21.199
area that you're running in? Absolutely. I am
00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:24.300
running for the Kern County Board of Education.
00:02:25.099 --> 00:02:29.500
The county board oversees KCSOS, the Kern County
00:02:29.500 --> 00:02:33.330
Superintendent of Schools. which covers 7 ,000
00:02:33.330 --> 00:02:36.129
students throughout Kern County. It oversees
00:02:36.129 --> 00:02:39.569
the charter schools and the county schools. The
00:02:39.569 --> 00:02:43.449
area I'm running for is area three, so I would
00:02:43.449 --> 00:02:46.289
be trustee area three on your ballot. I want
00:02:46.289 --> 00:02:49.710
to do something for the audience that I had to
00:02:49.710 --> 00:02:52.050
do myself when I started looking at your race.
00:02:52.550 --> 00:02:56.969
Can you tell me And I'm a parent somewhere in
00:02:56.969 --> 00:03:00.009
Kern County. So can you tell me what decisions
00:03:00.009 --> 00:03:04.050
the Kern County Board of Education can make that
00:03:04.050 --> 00:03:07.789
might eventually touch any corner of Kern County?
00:03:08.229 --> 00:03:11.650
Absolutely. Any student has the opportunity to
00:03:11.650 --> 00:03:14.389
go into the Kern County Superintendent of School
00:03:14.389 --> 00:03:18.909
system. That is because it manages expulsion
00:03:18.909 --> 00:03:21.969
appeals. So if you were expelled from a school
00:03:21.969 --> 00:03:24.689
in Frank County, one of the other 43 districts,
00:03:25.250 --> 00:03:28.710
you would end up in the KCSOS system if you're
00:03:28.710 --> 00:03:32.250
appealed enough. It manages inter -district transfer
00:03:32.250 --> 00:03:35.490
appeals. So if you're looking to change schools
00:03:35.490 --> 00:03:38.849
within your district or area and it gets denied.
00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:41.780
You can go to the county board and say, hey,
00:03:41.939 --> 00:03:44.580
I really need this, this is why, and it killed
00:03:44.580 --> 00:03:47.280
that decision. It affects the budget spending
00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:50.879
for KCSOS. That's the biggest one. The budgets
00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:55.740
right now are fluctuating greatly. Grants and
00:03:55.740 --> 00:03:58.439
various sources of funding are drying up, and
00:03:58.439 --> 00:04:00.599
the board is going to have to make some really
00:04:00.599 --> 00:04:03.120
tough decisions in the coming years and really
00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:06.919
prioritize our students' learning. Well, this
00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:11.000
board manages a lot of our disadvantaged youth.
00:04:11.580 --> 00:04:14.719
The juvenile court school, the community learning
00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:18.480
programs, and many of those students are either
00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:22.279
special education students or are facing a challenge
00:04:22.279 --> 00:04:25.519
such as homelessness. And things like four in
00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:29.319
ten of our oldest students aren't having great
00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:31.519
attendance rates. They're having chronic absenteeism.
00:04:31.870 --> 00:04:35.389
But they also aren't getting the necessary rides
00:04:35.389 --> 00:04:37.790
to and from school that they're legally entitled
00:04:37.790 --> 00:04:40.709
to because that funding is already sparse and
00:04:40.709 --> 00:04:43.750
now it's going away, which means that absenteeism
00:04:43.750 --> 00:04:46.509
could get worse instead of better. We don't figure
00:04:46.509 --> 00:04:50.250
out how to fix it. Okay. I am still researching
00:04:50.250 --> 00:04:53.430
as far as California budgeting goes and hopefully
00:04:53.430 --> 00:04:56.230
there is some opportunity there. Right now what
00:04:56.230 --> 00:04:58.490
I'm concerned about is happening in Washington.
00:04:58.750 --> 00:05:02.129
with the Board of Education being dismantled,
00:05:02.670 --> 00:05:05.370
with special education being moved into Department
00:05:05.370 --> 00:05:09.930
of Health, with the McKinney -Vento funding being
00:05:09.930 --> 00:05:12.970
cut. Things like that disadvantage our Title
00:05:12.970 --> 00:05:15.769
I schools, our Title VII schools, and everything
00:05:15.769 --> 00:05:18.810
in between, because the federal funding is what
00:05:18.810 --> 00:05:22.410
is drying up in our community. OK. OK. Now, Area
00:05:22.410 --> 00:05:24.990
3, if we're looking at a map together, can you
00:05:24.990 --> 00:05:28.410
just tell our listeners the makeup of your district
00:05:28.410 --> 00:05:32.290
in Area 3? Yeah, absolutely. I live in Oildale.
00:05:32.550 --> 00:05:35.009
So I live really close to North High, the Walmart.
00:05:35.269 --> 00:05:37.209
You can kind of picture where I'm at from there.
00:05:37.480 --> 00:05:40.480
I'm in Standard School District. So just east
00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:43.019
to me is Beardsley School District. I'm sorry,
00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:45.399
just west to me is Beardsley School District.
00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:48.519
Just east to me is Bakersfield School District,
00:05:48.740 --> 00:05:51.639
City School District. And that runs through East
00:05:51.639 --> 00:05:55.240
Bakersfield and kind of into the downtown areas
00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:57.800
in Southeast Bakersfield. All of those schools.
00:05:58.060 --> 00:06:02.939
are under this trustee area. That's 28 ,000 students
00:06:02.939 --> 00:06:07.399
alone. And then the northeastern three school
00:06:07.399 --> 00:06:10.819
districts are Lake Linsposso Valley Flat. And
00:06:10.819 --> 00:06:13.379
it goes out through Lake Isabelle, Kernville,
00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:16.750
into the northeast corners of our county. It
00:06:16.750 --> 00:06:18.910
actually runs a little bit into Tulare County
00:06:18.910 --> 00:06:23.129
in one district. Wow, that's interesting. Now,
00:06:23.629 --> 00:06:26.689
I want to ask you this question for area three.
00:06:27.149 --> 00:06:31.329
If elected, who exactly are you making decisions
00:06:31.329 --> 00:06:34.430
for? Are you making decisions for the loudest
00:06:34.430 --> 00:06:37.230
people who come to the board meetings, parents,
00:06:37.790 --> 00:06:40.350
district administrators, teachers, taxpayers?
00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:44.160
or maybe students who can't vote. How do you
00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:47.680
rank those responsibilities when those are conflicting?
00:06:48.100 --> 00:06:50.699
The very first responsibility is to our students.
00:06:51.060 --> 00:06:53.339
They're going to school for an education and
00:06:53.339 --> 00:06:55.480
they deserve that education and they deserve
00:06:55.480 --> 00:06:58.339
every resource for getting the highest quality
00:06:58.339 --> 00:07:02.399
education possible. After that, it is the citizens
00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:05.319
of the county and the teachers. Public school
00:07:05.319 --> 00:07:09.350
is not necessarily about what every parent wants
00:07:09.350 --> 00:07:11.370
individually. It's about what's good for the
00:07:11.370 --> 00:07:14.649
community. It's about building civic leaders,
00:07:15.069 --> 00:07:17.829
critical thinkers, people that will become our
00:07:17.829 --> 00:07:20.589
doctors, our lawyers, our nurses, our future
00:07:20.589 --> 00:07:24.810
teachers. And we have to think about what is
00:07:24.810 --> 00:07:27.579
good for the community as a whole. in public
00:07:27.579 --> 00:07:30.560
education, not just what every single parent
00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:33.139
wants individually. Thank you. And I want to
00:07:33.139 --> 00:07:36.579
shift a little bit about ideology entering school
00:07:36.579 --> 00:07:39.279
governance. We've seen that a lot nationwide
00:07:39.279 --> 00:07:43.240
and particularly on the Kern County Board of
00:07:43.240 --> 00:07:46.259
Education. School boards all over the country
00:07:46.259 --> 00:07:49.339
have become places where national political movements
00:07:49.339 --> 00:07:53.779
show up under labels like parental rights, curriculum,
00:07:54.120 --> 00:07:58.939
transparency. vaccine skepticism, gender policy,
00:07:59.139 --> 00:08:03.079
and so on. Where do you think legitimate parental
00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:07.079
oversight ends and then where does the ideological
00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:11.000
governance begin? Public schools are about access
00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:14.079
to information and an education. I don't think
00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:16.680
ideology belongs in our schools at all. It doesn't
00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:18.959
belong in our boards at all. The fact that right
00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:21.000
now we have board members whipping out Bibles
00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:24.310
during their public comment. is offensive and
00:08:24.310 --> 00:08:28.269
inappropriate. We have a freedom of and from
00:08:28.269 --> 00:08:30.949
religion. There is a separation of church and
00:08:30.949 --> 00:08:33.549
state for a reason. Please teach your children
00:08:33.549 --> 00:08:35.929
your religion, your thoughts, your beliefs at
00:08:35.929 --> 00:08:38.210
home. I want them to know it. Please get them
00:08:38.210 --> 00:08:42.070
reading their Bible or their Torah or their Quran
00:08:42.070 --> 00:08:44.350
or whatever it is because that's reading and
00:08:44.350 --> 00:08:47.049
that's awesome. But it doesn't belong in our
00:08:47.049 --> 00:08:48.929
schools and it doesn't belong in our school boards.
00:08:49.230 --> 00:08:53.350
All of the cultural performance is not benefiting
00:08:53.350 --> 00:08:56.009
our students. And the board just needs to be
00:08:56.009 --> 00:08:59.549
redirected back to making good financial decisions,
00:08:59.710 --> 00:09:02.470
supporting every student, and making sure that
00:09:02.470 --> 00:09:06.730
there's a wide array of educational choice in
00:09:06.730 --> 00:09:09.409
that parents going to different schools, whether
00:09:09.409 --> 00:09:11.909
that's Valley Oak Charter, whether that's going
00:09:11.909 --> 00:09:14.590
into a community learning center, whether that's
00:09:14.590 --> 00:09:17.649
staying in one of the other 43 school districts
00:09:17.649 --> 00:09:20.169
in the county. They all need equality. I want
00:09:20.169 --> 00:09:23.690
to ask a follow -up question on there. Does personal
00:09:23.690 --> 00:09:26.509
information or a personal belief system that
00:09:26.509 --> 00:09:30.370
a trustee might share on the board matter if
00:09:30.370 --> 00:09:33.970
it doesn't appear, let's say, directly on an
00:09:33.970 --> 00:09:36.970
agenda that they might have at that meeting or
00:09:36.970 --> 00:09:41.009
whatever it might be? If it pertains to forwarding
00:09:41.009 --> 00:09:45.830
the education, to improving the budget, to being
00:09:45.830 --> 00:09:49.360
something that the board can control. Absolutely.
00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:54.940
Does a tangent or a hissy fit about things happening
00:09:54.940 --> 00:09:57.620
in our culture belong in those meetings? Absolutely
00:09:57.620 --> 00:09:59.580
not. Tax dollars are paying for those meetings.
00:09:59.659 --> 00:10:01.200
They should be about getting something done.
00:10:01.340 --> 00:10:05.360
Yeah. Okay. And then just a follow up on the
00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:09.340
Bible and, you know, the board members pulling
00:10:09.340 --> 00:10:13.019
out a Bible during these meetings. Can you, for
00:10:13.019 --> 00:10:15.960
the listeners who might not understand, you know,
00:10:16.100 --> 00:10:19.710
maybe they're... aligned with whatever religion
00:10:19.710 --> 00:10:22.389
the Bible or you know, whatever Bible they brought
00:10:22.389 --> 00:10:24.610
out, right? So maybe some of our listeners are
00:10:24.610 --> 00:10:27.909
Catholic or Christian or aligned with the religious
00:10:27.909 --> 00:10:31.549
values of those specific board members. But can
00:10:31.549 --> 00:10:34.450
you tell us a little bit more about why that
00:10:34.450 --> 00:10:38.250
might be disrespectful? Because we have such
00:10:38.250 --> 00:10:41.720
a wonderfully diverse population. And we don't
00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:45.240
all believe the same things. We have students
00:10:45.240 --> 00:10:47.919
of many faiths. We have Christian students. We
00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:49.980
have Jewish students. We have Muslim students.
00:10:50.120 --> 00:10:52.980
We have Hindu students. We have agnostic or atheist
00:10:52.980 --> 00:10:57.139
students. And how those students' spiritual worlds
00:10:57.139 --> 00:11:00.980
are shaped, it should be happening at home. It
00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:02.659
should be happening with their religious leaders.
00:11:02.700 --> 00:11:05.200
And it should be happening on their own private
00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:08.220
sector time. It's not about what's happening
00:11:08.220 --> 00:11:12.320
in education. In education, we're teaching children
00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:16.019
how to critically think, how to read and understand
00:11:16.019 --> 00:11:19.740
and respond to what they read. Right now, we
00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:21.960
need to be worrying about teaching children how
00:11:21.960 --> 00:11:27.139
to understand and evaluate real and fake because
00:11:27.139 --> 00:11:30.080
of AI. There's so much false information and
00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:33.450
false... pictures and videos and trickery out
00:11:33.450 --> 00:11:36.330
there now. Having critically minded students
00:11:36.330 --> 00:11:38.970
is more important than ever. And I want to shift
00:11:38.970 --> 00:11:41.909
gears here and talk about some of the kids that
00:11:41.909 --> 00:11:45.429
the county politics might overlook. Can you tell
00:11:45.429 --> 00:11:49.389
me which children are easiest for a system this
00:11:49.389 --> 00:11:52.149
large to overlook? Absolutely, that is right
00:11:52.149 --> 00:11:55.129
now our Hispanic students, hands down. Our Hispanic
00:11:55.129 --> 00:11:58.769
students are having the most trouble as far as
00:11:58.769 --> 00:12:01.690
educational outcomes. And there is no wonder.
00:12:01.830 --> 00:12:04.970
Right now, they are living in fear and in trauma,
00:12:05.690 --> 00:12:09.169
in housing shortages, in food shortages. Our
00:12:09.169 --> 00:12:11.809
farm workers are practically under attack within
00:12:11.809 --> 00:12:14.610
our own county at this point. And their children
00:12:14.610 --> 00:12:18.269
are feeling the brunt of that. And then when
00:12:18.269 --> 00:12:21.559
there's not enough resources, to make sure that
00:12:21.559 --> 00:12:23.899
stuff is going home in the correct languages
00:12:23.899 --> 00:12:26.820
or that there's interpreters at meetings like
00:12:26.820 --> 00:12:29.360
the board meetings. The children also have to
00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:33.100
bear translating in adult situations. It's not
00:12:33.100 --> 00:12:36.480
fair to them. And you talked a little bit about
00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:41.820
special education. What have you seen that has
00:12:41.820 --> 00:12:44.539
convinced you that the current system isn't doing
00:12:44.539 --> 00:12:47.519
enough? I'm a special education mom myself. My
00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:51.029
son has been in the system up in Modesto and
00:12:51.029 --> 00:12:54.149
then down here in Kern County. And we've seen
00:12:54.149 --> 00:12:58.830
when educators are focused on him and his goals
00:12:58.830 --> 00:13:03.509
and on doing right by him, he has thrived. But
00:13:03.509 --> 00:13:07.389
we've seen more often burnt out, overworked SPED
00:13:07.389 --> 00:13:11.019
teachers, burnt out, overworked admin. burnt
00:13:11.019 --> 00:13:15.320
out, overworked everyone, so busy surviving that
00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:17.779
they're no longer able to serve our students
00:13:17.779 --> 00:13:21.559
in the best way possible. And the tribe has disappeared.
00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:24.139
The admin and the parents and the teachers are
00:13:24.139 --> 00:13:26.200
no longer working together. They're too busy
00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:28.879
blaming each other. And our students are getting
00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:31.600
left behind in that. And so I pulled my son so
00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:34.100
that he'd get the education he deserved and so
00:13:34.100 --> 00:13:37.000
that he would feel safe and so that he wouldn't
00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:41.769
have trauma regression. And I now am ready to
00:13:41.769 --> 00:13:44.669
go fight for other kids and other sped parents
00:13:44.669 --> 00:13:46.509
to make sure they're getting the resources that
00:13:46.509 --> 00:13:49.429
they deserve and that the law requires. And can
00:13:49.429 --> 00:13:52.409
you tell me more about the burnout that some
00:13:52.409 --> 00:13:55.629
sped teachers might be facing and why the village
00:13:55.629 --> 00:13:59.669
kind of is no longer there, or if it ever was
00:13:59.669 --> 00:14:02.750
there, why it's no longer? This is a really complicated
00:14:02.750 --> 00:14:07.970
question, honestly. I'm a sped mom too, so...
00:14:08.550 --> 00:14:12.330
Yeah, so I love our teachers. I want to make
00:14:12.330 --> 00:14:14.870
sure they have every resource possible. Right
00:14:14.870 --> 00:14:17.149
now they're understaffed. Right now they're still
00:14:17.149 --> 00:14:19.610
trying to hire more staffing for this year that
00:14:19.610 --> 00:14:23.889
they don't have yet. The teachers have ratios
00:14:23.889 --> 00:14:27.070
that are way too big, not enough staff per child.
00:14:27.269 --> 00:14:30.570
The children that need one -on -one aids aren't
00:14:30.570 --> 00:14:33.789
able to get them, even if it is in their 504
00:14:33.789 --> 00:14:37.389
or IEP, because there's simply not enough staff.
00:14:37.529 --> 00:14:41.330
And then when everyone is overworked, when everyone
00:14:41.330 --> 00:14:45.250
is overburdened, they lose the love that they
00:14:45.250 --> 00:14:48.210
had for the job and the reasons why they were
00:14:48.210 --> 00:14:50.409
there in the first place because they're too
00:14:50.409 --> 00:14:52.169
busy worrying about whether or not they're going
00:14:52.169 --> 00:14:54.149
to pay their bills, whether or not they need
00:14:54.149 --> 00:14:57.610
a second job, whether or not a student that needs
00:14:57.610 --> 00:15:00.649
more support is going to be a danger to them,
00:15:00.950 --> 00:15:03.389
whether or not a danger is going to enter the
00:15:03.389 --> 00:15:06.429
classroom. It's stress on top of stress on top
00:15:06.429 --> 00:15:09.350
of stress. And if we don't break that, we're
00:15:09.350 --> 00:15:14.429
not going to have any teachers left. Kern County
00:15:14.429 --> 00:15:17.710
isn't, obviously, it's not just one school system.
00:15:17.889 --> 00:15:21.669
We have tiny rural districts. We have urban districts.
00:15:21.809 --> 00:15:24.909
We have mountain communities, farm worker communities,
00:15:26.190 --> 00:15:30.970
and neighborhoods like Seven Oaks. educational
00:15:30.970 --> 00:15:34.610
equity actually look like across a county with
00:15:34.610 --> 00:15:40.649
such a variety? We don't have it. That's the
00:15:40.649 --> 00:15:42.710
story. We don't have educational equity in our
00:15:42.710 --> 00:15:46.509
county at all. There is a wide array of money
00:15:46.509 --> 00:15:49.889
being spent per student countywide, where it
00:15:49.889 --> 00:15:53.090
ranges anywhere from 6 ,000 below the state average
00:15:53.090 --> 00:15:56.970
to 10 ,000 above the state average. The way that
00:15:56.970 --> 00:16:01.299
the schools are funded through the property and
00:16:01.299 --> 00:16:05.279
through how much property is worth is inherently
00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:07.279
inequitable. And that's not something the board
00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:10.179
has the chance to fix. We just have to work with
00:16:10.179 --> 00:16:12.679
the resources we have. That's a much higher level
00:16:12.679 --> 00:16:15.860
of government that needs to come in and fix that.
00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:20.279
All right. Now, I want to ask you why you chose
00:16:20.279 --> 00:16:24.440
to run. Sorry, I'm so passionate about it. There
00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:27.620
are so many things to talk about. There are so
00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:30.279
many places where we're failing our kids and
00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:34.639
our future that it's hard to focus in on one.
00:16:34.940 --> 00:16:38.000
The systemic problems. No, absolutely. No, and
00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:41.200
Dahl, I mean, this is amazing. It's great to
00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:44.159
have a candidate that is so passionate about
00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:46.980
all of the things and all of the initiatives
00:16:46.980 --> 00:16:49.940
that should happen to fill those gaps. Because...
00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:52.059
There are many and you're just one, you know,
00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:54.779
we're all just one person, right? So talking
00:16:54.779 --> 00:16:58.879
about this is, is very crucial. So I do, you
00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:00.860
know, the first time I met you, you came into
00:17:00.860 --> 00:17:03.519
the room, you were ready, you were prepared,
00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:07.059
you were asking people for support. And I remember,
00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:10.500
what I remember was you weren't coy about it.
00:17:10.500 --> 00:17:13.680
And, and that really stood out. You had done
00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:15.579
your homework, you got in front of the room,
00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:19.140
you talked about funding, you threw numbers out
00:17:19.140 --> 00:17:23.759
there. And you asked people directly to support
00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:26.480
you. And that happened then the second time that
00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:29.940
I saw you, you were doing the same thing. Where
00:17:29.940 --> 00:17:32.680
does that come from? Absolutely my parents. Oh
00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:35.660
my gosh. 100 % my parents. My parents are my
00:17:35.660 --> 00:17:42.299
heroes. My dad is a Navy veteran and an engineer,
00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:46.279
and is one of the smartest people I know. And...
00:17:46.299 --> 00:17:49.140
Books and education have always been important
00:17:49.140 --> 00:17:51.700
in our household. And it didn't matter what you
00:17:51.700 --> 00:17:53.819
wanted to learn, just that you wanted to learn.
00:17:54.019 --> 00:17:56.640
And my mom said, if you can read, you can do
00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:59.599
anything. And that's right. There is a book about
00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:03.319
everything. There's books for free about everything.
00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:05.680
You can go to a library and learn a new career
00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:08.420
easily. There's people in prison learning how
00:18:08.420 --> 00:18:11.380
to be lawyers through their library. If you can
00:18:11.380 --> 00:18:14.890
read, you can do anything. I was a drama student.
00:18:15.089 --> 00:18:18.430
I've always been outgoing and extroverted, but,
00:18:18.589 --> 00:18:21.009
you know, my parents are involved in the community.
00:18:21.329 --> 00:18:25.549
My dad retired from Livermore Laboratory, LL
00:18:25.549 --> 00:18:28.769
&L, up in Livermore, California, where he was
00:18:28.769 --> 00:18:31.650
working on the nuclear fusion program and was
00:18:31.650 --> 00:18:34.289
part of it when they first did that. I mean,
00:18:34.569 --> 00:18:38.509
in, I think it was 2021 or 2022, it all runs
00:18:38.509 --> 00:18:41.160
together, but it's... I've always been part of
00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:43.799
exciting things and seeing my parents thrive.
00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:46.119
My mom went back to college when I was in high
00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:49.359
school and got all A's. And she got mad at me
00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:51.559
because I took her to college with me once because
00:18:51.559 --> 00:18:56.559
I was afraid of chemistry. And she went to chemistry
00:18:56.559 --> 00:18:59.640
with me and it was the first C she's ever gotten
00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:01.539
in her life. She still hasn't forgiven me. I
00:19:01.539 --> 00:19:08.109
think that was in 2012. Now I have to ask, when
00:19:08.109 --> 00:19:11.690
did running stop being an idea and become like,
00:19:11.809 --> 00:19:15.670
no, I'm actually doing this. I'm actually filing
00:19:15.670 --> 00:19:18.769
to run. The idea was first presented to me in
00:19:18.769 --> 00:19:21.809
April and my initial reaction was hell no. I
00:19:21.809 --> 00:19:25.650
don't think I want to be that public of a personality.
00:19:26.009 --> 00:19:29.809
But as I started researching the reasons why
00:19:29.809 --> 00:19:32.990
people thought I would be a good candidate for
00:19:32.990 --> 00:19:35.799
this, I agreed with them. And then it felt like
00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:39.059
a responsibility. And then I wasn't sure I could
00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:42.480
do it, but I wanted to, and it was kicking around
00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:44.799
in my head. I was really wrestling with it. And
00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:48.059
then I, in June, I went to the Democratic Women
00:19:48.059 --> 00:19:51.660
of Current Meeting. I'm a club member. And there
00:19:51.660 --> 00:19:55.420
were presentations about where the literacy stats
00:19:55.420 --> 00:19:58.359
of Kern County are. And seeing... that the problems
00:19:58.359 --> 00:20:01.279
I was encountering with my own kids were actually
00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:04.559
systemic problems and were countywide problems
00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:07.359
and that so many kids were being failed by the
00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:10.160
system. It clicked in that meeting and I went
00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:12.079
home and started researching how to do it the
00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:14.720
next day. Yeah. And you're challenging someone
00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:19.000
who first took the seat in 1994. What made you
00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:23.500
look at a 32 -year incumbent and think this is
00:20:23.500 --> 00:20:25.960
winnable? There are multiple reasons why I think
00:20:25.960 --> 00:20:29.710
it's winnable. First and foremost, 32 years is
00:20:29.710 --> 00:20:32.569
amazing. Honestly, I may not agree with her,
00:20:32.910 --> 00:20:36.990
but to serve in a civic position for 32 years
00:20:36.990 --> 00:20:39.930
is impressive and wonderful. But please step
00:20:39.930 --> 00:20:42.890
aside for the millennial mom that is parenting
00:20:42.890 --> 00:20:45.829
now and facing the problems now and understands
00:20:45.829 --> 00:20:49.170
what our kids are going through. Because in 1994,
00:20:49.509 --> 00:20:52.990
when she first took office, there were no lockdowns.
00:20:52.990 --> 00:20:55.250
There were no school shootings. There was no
00:20:55.250 --> 00:20:58.549
COVID. There was no homeschooling and distance
00:20:58.549 --> 00:21:02.130
learning and Zoom classes. There was no social
00:21:02.130 --> 00:21:05.609
media. There was no fentanyl crisis. The things
00:21:05.609 --> 00:21:08.430
affecting our kids today are not things that
00:21:08.430 --> 00:21:12.289
I think she is a part of. And it's time to allow
00:21:12.289 --> 00:21:15.369
the next generation to come in and do what needs
00:21:15.369 --> 00:21:18.029
to be done for our kids right now. Yeah. There's
00:21:18.029 --> 00:21:21.230
a saying about elected office that Sometimes
00:21:21.230 --> 00:21:25.950
serving well also means knowing when it's time
00:21:25.950 --> 00:21:31.369
to let the next guy go and go in and you retire
00:21:31.369 --> 00:21:34.089
your political seat. So I think we're seeing
00:21:34.089 --> 00:21:36.970
the consequences of people not following that
00:21:36.970 --> 00:21:39.569
throughout all levels of local, state, and federal
00:21:39.569 --> 00:21:44.960
government. Thank you, Boomers, but bye. Yeah,
00:21:45.140 --> 00:21:50.339
exactly. People are tired of the board being
00:21:50.339 --> 00:21:53.700
so culturally minded these last two years, four
00:21:53.700 --> 00:21:56.240
years have been the worst of it because of the
00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:59.039
COVID things, because they were trying to put
00:21:59.039 --> 00:22:01.539
10 commandments in our schools illegally for
00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:04.579
a year because they were attacking trans athletes.
00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:08.180
She only won by less than 1 % of the vote last
00:22:08.180 --> 00:22:11.160
time. I think there's a clear indication people
00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:14.220
are ready to move on and there's never been a
00:22:14.220 --> 00:22:17.259
better time to do it than now when we have such
00:22:17.259 --> 00:22:19.960
great leaders stepping up everywhere through
00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:22.660
these midterms to change the course of where
00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:25.740
democracy is flowing right now. Yeah, no, absolutely.
00:22:26.509 --> 00:22:29.789
Can you give me just three things that you would
00:22:29.789 --> 00:22:32.869
try to change in your first year that are actually
00:22:32.869 --> 00:22:35.430
within the jurisdiction of the board? Absolutely.
00:22:35.589 --> 00:22:39.309
I went to the last two board meetings actually
00:22:39.309 --> 00:22:42.769
because I want to be sure I'm learning what they're
00:22:42.769 --> 00:22:44.630
doing and how the flow of the meetings go so
00:22:44.630 --> 00:22:47.210
I'm ready to step right in. At the last meeting,
00:22:47.410 --> 00:22:50.569
the August meeting, there were two resolutions
00:22:50.569 --> 00:22:54.819
that were passed. They passed a September attendance
00:22:54.819 --> 00:22:58.799
awareness month, and they passed the approval
00:22:58.799 --> 00:23:01.039
of a sale of a property that's worth three plus
00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:04.339
million dollars that KCSOS owns. I went in with
00:23:04.339 --> 00:23:07.319
three immediate suggestions that, one, part of
00:23:07.319 --> 00:23:09.740
the proceeds of those sales, which would go into
00:23:09.740 --> 00:23:11.819
construction and classment improvement funds,
00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:15.480
be directed immediately into our community learning
00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:19.700
centers to put UVC air filters in to classrooms
00:23:19.700 --> 00:23:22.859
and public spaces. I think that awareness of
00:23:22.859 --> 00:23:24.940
our attendance problems is great, but action
00:23:24.940 --> 00:23:28.400
is better. We can improve the health of our teachers
00:23:28.400 --> 00:23:31.119
and our students in those old buildings with
00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:35.119
these filters. It would cost maybe $50 ,000 is
00:23:35.119 --> 00:23:37.299
where I'm estimating it right now. I am writing
00:23:37.299 --> 00:23:40.980
a full proposal and it has already improved attendance
00:23:40.980 --> 00:23:43.519
outcomes in other areas of California, like in
00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:46.279
San Francisco. Improving attendance approves
00:23:46.279 --> 00:23:48.920
educational outcomes. It's that easy. Spend a
00:23:48.920 --> 00:23:51.000
little money, invest in our kids' health. and
00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:53.480
they'll show up better and more ready to learn.
00:23:53.900 --> 00:23:56.799
Amazing, amazing. Other than that, I would also
00:23:56.799 --> 00:24:00.559
really love to see the board add a standing agenda
00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:04.180
item to make sure that we are tracking attendance
00:24:04.180 --> 00:24:07.230
and tracking educational outcomes. Without the
00:24:07.230 --> 00:24:09.430
data, we can't measure if we're improving. And
00:24:09.430 --> 00:24:11.529
the third thing that I would change in the first
00:24:11.529 --> 00:24:14.029
year, an audit of making sure that all of our
00:24:14.029 --> 00:24:16.990
students are getting the busing or transportation
00:24:16.990 --> 00:24:19.349
that they're entitled to. Bussing and transportation,
00:24:19.390 --> 00:24:21.910
has that been an issue on the Board of Education?
00:24:22.230 --> 00:24:25.190
That goes back to what I was saying earlier about
00:24:25.190 --> 00:24:29.369
the McKinney -Vento funding and other federal
00:24:29.369 --> 00:24:32.779
funding drying up. that is supposed to be helping
00:24:32.779 --> 00:24:35.579
our students get to classes. Not all of them
00:24:35.579 --> 00:24:37.980
are getting it right now, and now even less of
00:24:37.980 --> 00:24:41.460
them are going to get it. I know in BCSD, which
00:24:41.460 --> 00:24:44.460
is in my voter area, but not the jurisdiction
00:24:44.460 --> 00:24:47.220
of this board, and I always want to make sure
00:24:47.220 --> 00:24:50.059
that that's clear, only 10 of the 44 schools
00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:53.380
are getting that funding to help students. So
00:24:53.380 --> 00:24:56.019
they're already majorly lacking, and they're
00:24:56.019 --> 00:24:58.000
probably going to lose it. How many people are
00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:01.119
on the ballot for this seat? There are three
00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:03.240
people on the ballot for this seat. There is
00:25:03.240 --> 00:25:05.720
another Democratic challenger. I know that her
00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:08.039
name's Regina, and I really don't know much else
00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:12.720
about her. I wish her some luck, of course, because
00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:18.000
I want to see democracy succeed. But I know that
00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:21.140
I am going to be amazing in this seat, and I
00:25:21.140 --> 00:25:24.140
am already operating as if it is mine by creating
00:25:24.140 --> 00:25:28.410
these proposals to save the board money. Are
00:25:28.410 --> 00:25:31.930
you concerned with both of you competing for
00:25:31.930 --> 00:25:34.630
roughly the same universe of voters that maybe
00:25:34.630 --> 00:25:38.910
it could make it easy for the incumbent to survive?
00:25:39.210 --> 00:25:43.509
That is a concern in every race like this across
00:25:43.509 --> 00:25:45.930
the ballot. I would be stupid not to be concerned
00:25:45.930 --> 00:25:47.890
about that. Name something people who support
00:25:47.890 --> 00:25:51.990
you are going to disagree with you about. Ooh,
00:25:52.289 --> 00:25:55.920
something. So people would support me but disagree
00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:58.519
with me? Yeah, like anything that you can say
00:25:58.519 --> 00:26:01.400
that, you know, you might, you might maybe lose,
00:26:01.559 --> 00:26:04.359
not lose a supporter, but something that a supporter
00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:06.220
might say, well, I don't really agree with you
00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:08.720
on that. And like, how would you, how do you
00:26:08.720 --> 00:26:11.700
challenge it or how would you overcome? I think
00:26:11.700 --> 00:26:15.039
that charter schools and vouchers and homeschooling
00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:18.359
are wonderful options for parents because students
00:26:18.359 --> 00:26:21.819
learn in a variety of settings. And I know that
00:26:21.960 --> 00:26:24.720
A lot of people have come out and told me, don't
00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:27.500
tell people that you homeschool. But that's a
00:26:27.500 --> 00:26:30.279
strength of mine. I'm an administrator. I'm going
00:26:30.279 --> 00:26:33.440
through it. I'm going through the curriculum.
00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:36.599
I'm willing to step up to that challenge. And
00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:38.420
then I'm willing to take what I've learned and
00:26:38.420 --> 00:26:41.680
help other people. I don't find it to be a weakness
00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:43.940
at all. I think that I'm a homeschooling mom
00:26:43.940 --> 00:26:46.619
is absolutely a strength. Maybe I have a different
00:26:46.619 --> 00:26:49.079
perspective of some parents like you might. in
00:26:49.079 --> 00:26:52.299
that same regard, because when the environment
00:26:52.299 --> 00:26:54.799
isn't right, not having an option to change the
00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:57.240
environment would put us in a terrible position.
00:26:57.460 --> 00:27:00.380
What would it make you vote against a proposal
00:27:00.380 --> 00:27:03.559
brought forward by maybe like people that helped
00:27:03.559 --> 00:27:07.079
to elect you? I think every decision just has
00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:10.400
to be made with the lens of will this improve
00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:14.079
educational outcomes and is it financially feasible?
00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:16.960
Everything else? becomes culture after that.
00:27:17.259 --> 00:27:19.119
It's, does it help our kids? Can we afford to
00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:21.519
do it? If we can't afford to do it, how do we
00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:23.660
afford to do it if it will help our kids? And
00:27:23.660 --> 00:27:27.339
it really just comes down to those numbers. I
00:27:27.339 --> 00:27:30.299
want to see those numbers up 10 % in four years.
00:27:31.059 --> 00:27:34.740
I am appalled at the rates of where our county
00:27:34.740 --> 00:27:38.099
is right now and where our nation is right now.
00:27:38.259 --> 00:27:41.359
Reading and literacy is so important to our future.
00:27:41.980 --> 00:27:46.779
And I want to ask you this. I've tracked Mary
00:27:46.779 --> 00:27:51.880
Little for a little bit. She's made posts questioning
00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:57.380
the moon landing and believes in chemtrails.
00:27:58.380 --> 00:28:03.799
So a lot of, as a parent, lots of things that
00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:07.019
are concerning with those. Can you tell me, if
00:28:07.019 --> 00:28:09.720
anything, what Mary Little has gotten right?
00:28:09.849 --> 00:28:13.250
on the board. Still going through board minutes
00:28:13.250 --> 00:28:16.890
for years and years reading through them. I think
00:28:16.890 --> 00:28:20.690
that she has the best of intentions. I think
00:28:20.690 --> 00:28:23.269
that she's a loving and caring person. I heard
00:28:23.269 --> 00:28:25.630
at the last meeting she used to work at the Dream
00:28:25.630 --> 00:28:29.250
Center and I just absolutely admire that. I think
00:28:29.250 --> 00:28:31.470
that there's love and good intentions in her
00:28:31.470 --> 00:28:36.369
heart and how she expresses that or her intent
00:28:36.369 --> 00:28:40.460
to put her personal views as policy. it's just
00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:42.400
not meshing with how the board's supposed to
00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:44.460
operate right now. What do you want a parent
00:28:44.460 --> 00:28:48.619
who might not follow politics, maybe has never
00:28:48.619 --> 00:28:51.299
watched a board meeting, what do you want them
00:28:51.299 --> 00:28:54.680
to know about why you're asking for this job
00:28:54.680 --> 00:28:58.019
and why you're the best candidate for this position?
00:28:58.400 --> 00:29:01.660
I am asking for this job and I am the best candidate
00:29:01.660 --> 00:29:04.759
for this position because of exactly what I've
00:29:04.759 --> 00:29:06.519
been saying. I'm willing to do the reading and
00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:09.190
the research. I'm willing to clarify the reading
00:29:09.190 --> 00:29:11.309
and the research if I don't understand it the
00:29:11.309 --> 00:29:16.130
first time. Coming from a place that every child
00:29:16.130 --> 00:29:19.190
in this country, every less than 18 -year -old
00:29:19.190 --> 00:29:22.230
youth in this country, regardless of who they
00:29:22.230 --> 00:29:25.450
are, what zip code they were born in, what gender
00:29:25.450 --> 00:29:29.670
they are, what disability status they have, what
00:29:29.670 --> 00:29:33.150
past behavior problems have challenged them,
00:29:33.470 --> 00:29:36.640
what language they speak. If they identify as
00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:39.200
something other than how they were born, all
00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:41.660
of those things, all of those kids, every child
00:29:41.660 --> 00:29:44.000
deserves the same amount of respect and the same
00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:48.059
amount of possible success. And I am in that
00:29:48.059 --> 00:29:51.200
room for my children. I am in that room for your
00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:55.700
children. And I am in that room because our community
00:29:55.700 --> 00:29:59.880
needs leaders who know how to lead. And Anastasia,
00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:03.579
when And I'm asking this because of the makeup
00:30:03.579 --> 00:30:07.059
of the board. We've seen some of the positions
00:30:07.059 --> 00:30:10.480
that have been taken previously. So when your
00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:13.460
personal beliefs, the loudest parents in the
00:30:13.460 --> 00:30:17.759
room, and the best available evidence point in
00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:20.619
three different directions, how do you decide?
00:30:21.980 --> 00:30:24.099
That's an easy one. We need to look at the evidence.
00:30:24.539 --> 00:30:28.240
Belief is not what belongs in a boardroom. It's
00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:31.680
decisions that improve outcomes. and give that
00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:34.779
board fiscal accountability is absolutely the
00:30:34.779 --> 00:30:37.200
deciding factor on every single thing. Will it
00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:39.819
help the kids? Can we afford it? What I believe,
00:30:40.079 --> 00:30:42.599
what other board members, the six other board
00:30:42.599 --> 00:30:44.779
members believe, what the parents come in believing,
00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:48.380
those things all matter. But the bottom line
00:30:48.380 --> 00:30:50.720
is, are you trying to hold a child back with
00:30:50.720 --> 00:30:52.960
your belief or are you trying to push them forward?
00:30:53.160 --> 00:30:57.039
And if your belief holds any child back, discludes
00:30:57.039 --> 00:31:00.519
any child, keeps any child from thriving, then
00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:02.779
it doesn't belong in that room. Is there anything
00:31:02.779 --> 00:31:05.819
else that you want to say that maybe you didn't
00:31:05.819 --> 00:31:09.039
say or you were touching on just to wrap up and
00:31:09.039 --> 00:31:12.140
anything you want the audience to know about
00:31:12.140 --> 00:31:18.640
you? I am a working family mom. I had a business
00:31:18.640 --> 00:31:22.539
pre -COVID that I owned and ran. COVID closed
00:31:22.539 --> 00:31:25.700
it down. We moved counties and I was unable to
00:31:25.700 --> 00:31:30.119
restart it. My husband supports us. We're so
00:31:30.119 --> 00:31:32.779
blessed that he is able to support our family
00:31:32.779 --> 00:31:34.859
of four and that we're able to do this on one
00:31:34.859 --> 00:31:37.660
income right now. We've fallen a little behind,
00:31:37.660 --> 00:31:40.180
I think, as many other families have, partly
00:31:40.180 --> 00:31:42.920
because I became disabled in the last few years.
00:31:43.380 --> 00:31:45.599
Like, I have overcome challenges and challenges
00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:49.880
and challenges and find ways to make things grow
00:31:49.880 --> 00:31:53.720
and be beautiful anyway. And that's what I'm
00:31:53.720 --> 00:31:56.569
here for. I could use help. I can't do it alone.
00:31:56.769 --> 00:31:59.950
It's very grassroots. I could use your $10, $15,
00:31:59.990 --> 00:32:03.930
$20. I could use volunteers. I'm putting a literacy
00:32:03.930 --> 00:32:06.789
fair together on September 12th. I can't do it
00:32:06.789 --> 00:32:09.349
alone. If you care about education, please come
00:32:09.349 --> 00:32:12.170
join me. Where can people find you? You can find
00:32:12.170 --> 00:32:16.490
me the most easily on Instagram at Anastasia
00:32:16.490 --> 00:32:21.650
Hopper, F -O -R -K -C -B -O -E 3. So Anastasia
00:32:21.650 --> 00:32:26.119
Hopper 4. KCBOE3, current Tally Board of Education,
00:32:26.299 --> 00:32:28.680
trustee area three. I'm also on Facebook under
00:32:28.680 --> 00:32:31.660
my name. I believe I gave you a link to my current
00:32:31.660 --> 00:32:34.740
landing page. I am working on a better web page,
00:32:34.859 --> 00:32:37.460
but I'm online and you can call me directly.
00:32:37.500 --> 00:32:43.079
You can text me 209 -914 -2374. I grew up in
00:32:43.079 --> 00:32:46.079
Tracy. That's a Tracy area code, Central Valley
00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:50.339
still. And yeah, I'm here for everything. Tell
00:32:50.339 --> 00:32:52.059
me what you think. Tell me what's important to
00:32:52.059 --> 00:32:55.259
you. I'm trying to just be there for the kids
00:32:55.259 --> 00:32:59.700
of every parent in the county and non -partisan
00:32:59.700 --> 00:33:02.619
app, non -partisan race, non -partisan everything.
00:33:02.940 --> 00:33:05.380
We got to make it about our kids again and nothing
00:33:05.380 --> 00:33:05.680
else.
00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:06.400
You're listening to Flor Unmuted. I'm Flor, and
00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:10.740
every week we're talking power, politics, cultura,
00:00:11.300 --> 00:00:13.919
and the people getting left behind. Let's get
00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:19.879
into it. Most people probably couldn't tell you
00:00:19.879 --> 00:00:22.600
what the Kern County Board of Education actually
00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:25.679
does. And honestly, before I started paying more
00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:28.660
attention to this race, I had questions to...
00:00:28.489 --> 00:00:32.350
But this board has very real responsibilities.
00:00:32.549 --> 00:00:35.590
It deals with students who can end up at the
00:00:35.590 --> 00:00:38.990
county level through things like expulsions and
00:00:38.990 --> 00:00:43.420
transfer appeals. It oversees county education
00:00:43.420 --> 00:00:47.380
programs, makes budget decisions, and serves
00:00:47.380 --> 00:00:50.000
some of the students most likely to be overlooked
00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:54.679
when systems get stretched thin. My guest today
00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:58.619
is Anastasia Hopper. She's a candidate for the
00:00:58.619 --> 00:01:02.399
Kern County Board of Education, and she's running
00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:07.099
for trustee in area three. Anastasia and I talked
00:01:07.099 --> 00:01:10.719
about what this board actually controls. who
00:01:10.719 --> 00:01:13.739
trustees are supposed to be making decisions
00:01:13.739 --> 00:01:17.719
for. Special education, student outcomes, the
00:01:17.719 --> 00:01:21.079
role ideology has started playing in local school
00:01:21.079 --> 00:01:24.620
governance and why she believes it's time for
00:01:24.620 --> 00:01:29.400
a change after more than three decades of the
00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:33.329
same representation in this seat. I also ask
00:01:33.329 --> 00:01:37.450
her what happens when a trustee's personal beliefs,
00:01:37.969 --> 00:01:40.370
the loudest people in the room, and the best
00:01:40.370 --> 00:01:43.409
available evidence all point in different directions.
00:01:44.069 --> 00:01:47.209
If you want to learn more about Anastasia, follow
00:01:47.209 --> 00:01:50.989
her campaign, volunteer, or contribute, I've
00:01:50.989 --> 00:01:54.109
included her links in the episode description.
00:01:54.670 --> 00:01:57.709
Here's my conversation with Anastasia Hopper.
00:02:03.799 --> 00:02:06.620
Anastasia Hopper, thank you so much for joining
00:02:06.620 --> 00:02:11.080
me on Floor Unmuted. Now, before we get into
00:02:11.080 --> 00:02:14.979
all of the things, can you please tell me the
00:02:14.979 --> 00:02:18.039
official name of the race and the district or
00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:21.199
area that you're running in? Absolutely. I am
00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:24.300
running for the Kern County Board of Education.
00:02:25.099 --> 00:02:29.500
The county board oversees KCSOS, the Kern County
00:02:29.500 --> 00:02:33.330
Superintendent of Schools. which covers 7 ,000
00:02:33.330 --> 00:02:36.129
students throughout Kern County. It oversees
00:02:36.129 --> 00:02:39.569
the charter schools and the county schools. The
00:02:39.569 --> 00:02:43.449
area I'm running for is area three, so I would
00:02:43.449 --> 00:02:46.289
be trustee area three on your ballot. I want
00:02:46.289 --> 00:02:49.710
to do something for the audience that I had to
00:02:49.710 --> 00:02:52.050
do myself when I started looking at your race.
00:02:52.550 --> 00:02:56.969
Can you tell me And I'm a parent somewhere in
00:02:56.969 --> 00:03:00.009
Kern County. So can you tell me what decisions
00:03:00.009 --> 00:03:04.050
the Kern County Board of Education can make that
00:03:04.050 --> 00:03:07.789
might eventually touch any corner of Kern County?
00:03:08.229 --> 00:03:11.650
Absolutely. Any student has the opportunity to
00:03:11.650 --> 00:03:14.389
go into the Kern County Superintendent of School
00:03:14.389 --> 00:03:18.909
system. That is because it manages expulsion
00:03:18.909 --> 00:03:21.969
appeals. So if you were expelled from a school
00:03:21.969 --> 00:03:24.689
in Frank County, one of the other 43 districts,
00:03:25.250 --> 00:03:28.710
you would end up in the KCSOS system if you're
00:03:28.710 --> 00:03:32.250
appealed enough. It manages inter -district transfer
00:03:32.250 --> 00:03:35.490
appeals. So if you're looking to change schools
00:03:35.490 --> 00:03:38.849
within your district or area and it gets denied.
00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:41.780
You can go to the county board and say, hey,
00:03:41.939 --> 00:03:44.580
I really need this, this is why, and it killed
00:03:44.580 --> 00:03:47.280
that decision. It affects the budget spending
00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:50.879
for KCSOS. That's the biggest one. The budgets
00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:55.740
right now are fluctuating greatly. Grants and
00:03:55.740 --> 00:03:58.439
various sources of funding are drying up, and
00:03:58.439 --> 00:04:00.599
the board is going to have to make some really
00:04:00.599 --> 00:04:03.120
tough decisions in the coming years and really
00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:06.919
prioritize our students' learning. Well, this
00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:11.000
board manages a lot of our disadvantaged youth.
00:04:11.580 --> 00:04:14.719
The juvenile court school, the community learning
00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:18.480
programs, and many of those students are either
00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:22.279
special education students or are facing a challenge
00:04:22.279 --> 00:04:25.519
such as homelessness. And things like four in
00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:29.319
ten of our oldest students aren't having great
00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:31.519
attendance rates. They're having chronic absenteeism.
00:04:31.870 --> 00:04:35.389
But they also aren't getting the necessary rides
00:04:35.389 --> 00:04:37.790
to and from school that they're legally entitled
00:04:37.790 --> 00:04:40.709
to because that funding is already sparse and
00:04:40.709 --> 00:04:43.750
now it's going away, which means that absenteeism
00:04:43.750 --> 00:04:46.509
could get worse instead of better. We don't figure
00:04:46.509 --> 00:04:50.250
out how to fix it. Okay. I am still researching
00:04:50.250 --> 00:04:53.430
as far as California budgeting goes and hopefully
00:04:53.430 --> 00:04:56.230
there is some opportunity there. Right now what
00:04:56.230 --> 00:04:58.490
I'm concerned about is happening in Washington.
00:04:58.750 --> 00:05:02.129
with the Board of Education being dismantled,
00:05:02.670 --> 00:05:05.370
with special education being moved into Department
00:05:05.370 --> 00:05:09.930
of Health, with the McKinney -Vento funding being
00:05:09.930 --> 00:05:12.970
cut. Things like that disadvantage our Title
00:05:12.970 --> 00:05:15.769
I schools, our Title VII schools, and everything
00:05:15.769 --> 00:05:18.810
in between, because the federal funding is what
00:05:18.810 --> 00:05:22.410
is drying up in our community. OK. OK. Now, Area
00:05:22.410 --> 00:05:24.990
3, if we're looking at a map together, can you
00:05:24.990 --> 00:05:28.410
just tell our listeners the makeup of your district
00:05:28.410 --> 00:05:32.290
in Area 3? Yeah, absolutely. I live in Oildale.
00:05:32.550 --> 00:05:35.009
So I live really close to North High, the Walmart.
00:05:35.269 --> 00:05:37.209
You can kind of picture where I'm at from there.
00:05:37.480 --> 00:05:40.480
I'm in Standard School District. So just east
00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:43.019
to me is Beardsley School District. I'm sorry,
00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:45.399
just west to me is Beardsley School District.
00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:48.519
Just east to me is Bakersfield School District,
00:05:48.740 --> 00:05:51.639
City School District. And that runs through East
00:05:51.639 --> 00:05:55.240
Bakersfield and kind of into the downtown areas
00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:57.800
in Southeast Bakersfield. All of those schools.
00:05:58.060 --> 00:06:02.939
are under this trustee area. That's 28 ,000 students
00:06:02.939 --> 00:06:07.399
alone. And then the northeastern three school
00:06:07.399 --> 00:06:10.819
districts are Lake Linsposso Valley Flat. And
00:06:10.819 --> 00:06:13.379
it goes out through Lake Isabelle, Kernville,
00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:16.750
into the northeast corners of our county. It
00:06:16.750 --> 00:06:18.910
actually runs a little bit into Tulare County
00:06:18.910 --> 00:06:23.129
in one district. Wow, that's interesting. Now,
00:06:23.629 --> 00:06:26.689
I want to ask you this question for area three.
00:06:27.149 --> 00:06:31.329
If elected, who exactly are you making decisions
00:06:31.329 --> 00:06:34.430
for? Are you making decisions for the loudest
00:06:34.430 --> 00:06:37.230
people who come to the board meetings, parents,
00:06:37.790 --> 00:06:40.350
district administrators, teachers, taxpayers?
00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:44.160
or maybe students who can't vote. How do you
00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:47.680
rank those responsibilities when those are conflicting?
00:06:48.100 --> 00:06:50.699
The very first responsibility is to our students.
00:06:51.060 --> 00:06:53.339
They're going to school for an education and
00:06:53.339 --> 00:06:55.480
they deserve that education and they deserve
00:06:55.480 --> 00:06:58.339
every resource for getting the highest quality
00:06:58.339 --> 00:07:02.399
education possible. After that, it is the citizens
00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:05.319
of the county and the teachers. Public school
00:07:05.319 --> 00:07:09.350
is not necessarily about what every parent wants
00:07:09.350 --> 00:07:11.370
individually. It's about what's good for the
00:07:11.370 --> 00:07:14.649
community. It's about building civic leaders,
00:07:15.069 --> 00:07:17.829
critical thinkers, people that will become our
00:07:17.829 --> 00:07:20.589
doctors, our lawyers, our nurses, our future
00:07:20.589 --> 00:07:24.810
teachers. And we have to think about what is
00:07:24.810 --> 00:07:27.579
good for the community as a whole. in public
00:07:27.579 --> 00:07:30.560
education, not just what every single parent
00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:33.139
wants individually. Thank you. And I want to
00:07:33.139 --> 00:07:36.579
shift a little bit about ideology entering school
00:07:36.579 --> 00:07:39.279
governance. We've seen that a lot nationwide
00:07:39.279 --> 00:07:43.240
and particularly on the Kern County Board of
00:07:43.240 --> 00:07:46.259
Education. School boards all over the country
00:07:46.259 --> 00:07:49.339
have become places where national political movements
00:07:49.339 --> 00:07:53.779
show up under labels like parental rights, curriculum,
00:07:54.120 --> 00:07:58.939
transparency. vaccine skepticism, gender policy,
00:07:59.139 --> 00:08:03.079
and so on. Where do you think legitimate parental
00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:07.079
oversight ends and then where does the ideological
00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:11.000
governance begin? Public schools are about access
00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:14.079
to information and an education. I don't think
00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:16.680
ideology belongs in our schools at all. It doesn't
00:08:16.680 --> 00:08:18.959
belong in our boards at all. The fact that right
00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:21.000
now we have board members whipping out Bibles
00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:24.310
during their public comment. is offensive and
00:08:24.310 --> 00:08:28.269
inappropriate. We have a freedom of and from
00:08:28.269 --> 00:08:30.949
religion. There is a separation of church and
00:08:30.949 --> 00:08:33.549
state for a reason. Please teach your children
00:08:33.549 --> 00:08:35.929
your religion, your thoughts, your beliefs at
00:08:35.929 --> 00:08:38.210
home. I want them to know it. Please get them
00:08:38.210 --> 00:08:42.070
reading their Bible or their Torah or their Quran
00:08:42.070 --> 00:08:44.350
or whatever it is because that's reading and
00:08:44.350 --> 00:08:47.049
that's awesome. But it doesn't belong in our
00:08:47.049 --> 00:08:48.929
schools and it doesn't belong in our school boards.
00:08:49.230 --> 00:08:53.350
All of the cultural performance is not benefiting
00:08:53.350 --> 00:08:56.009
our students. And the board just needs to be
00:08:56.009 --> 00:08:59.549
redirected back to making good financial decisions,
00:08:59.710 --> 00:09:02.470
supporting every student, and making sure that
00:09:02.470 --> 00:09:06.730
there's a wide array of educational choice in
00:09:06.730 --> 00:09:09.409
that parents going to different schools, whether
00:09:09.409 --> 00:09:11.909
that's Valley Oak Charter, whether that's going
00:09:11.909 --> 00:09:14.590
into a community learning center, whether that's
00:09:14.590 --> 00:09:17.649
staying in one of the other 43 school districts
00:09:17.649 --> 00:09:20.169
in the county. They all need equality. I want
00:09:20.169 --> 00:09:23.690
to ask a follow -up question on there. Does personal
00:09:23.690 --> 00:09:26.509
information or a personal belief system that
00:09:26.509 --> 00:09:30.370
a trustee might share on the board matter if
00:09:30.370 --> 00:09:33.970
it doesn't appear, let's say, directly on an
00:09:33.970 --> 00:09:36.970
agenda that they might have at that meeting or
00:09:36.970 --> 00:09:41.009
whatever it might be? If it pertains to forwarding
00:09:41.009 --> 00:09:45.830
the education, to improving the budget, to being
00:09:45.830 --> 00:09:49.360
something that the board can control. Absolutely.
00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:54.940
Does a tangent or a hissy fit about things happening
00:09:54.940 --> 00:09:57.620
in our culture belong in those meetings? Absolutely
00:09:57.620 --> 00:09:59.580
not. Tax dollars are paying for those meetings.
00:09:59.659 --> 00:10:01.200
They should be about getting something done.
00:10:01.340 --> 00:10:05.360
Yeah. Okay. And then just a follow up on the
00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:09.340
Bible and, you know, the board members pulling
00:10:09.340 --> 00:10:13.019
out a Bible during these meetings. Can you, for
00:10:13.019 --> 00:10:15.960
the listeners who might not understand, you know,
00:10:16.100 --> 00:10:19.710
maybe they're... aligned with whatever religion
00:10:19.710 --> 00:10:22.389
the Bible or you know, whatever Bible they brought
00:10:22.389 --> 00:10:24.610
out, right? So maybe some of our listeners are
00:10:24.610 --> 00:10:27.909
Catholic or Christian or aligned with the religious
00:10:27.909 --> 00:10:31.549
values of those specific board members. But can
00:10:31.549 --> 00:10:34.450
you tell us a little bit more about why that
00:10:34.450 --> 00:10:38.250
might be disrespectful? Because we have such
00:10:38.250 --> 00:10:41.720
a wonderfully diverse population. And we don't
00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:45.240
all believe the same things. We have students
00:10:45.240 --> 00:10:47.919
of many faiths. We have Christian students. We
00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:49.980
have Jewish students. We have Muslim students.
00:10:50.120 --> 00:10:52.980
We have Hindu students. We have agnostic or atheist
00:10:52.980 --> 00:10:57.139
students. And how those students' spiritual worlds
00:10:57.139 --> 00:11:00.980
are shaped, it should be happening at home. It
00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:02.659
should be happening with their religious leaders.
00:11:02.700 --> 00:11:05.200
And it should be happening on their own private
00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:08.220
sector time. It's not about what's happening
00:11:08.220 --> 00:11:12.320
in education. In education, we're teaching children
00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:16.019
how to critically think, how to read and understand
00:11:16.019 --> 00:11:19.740
and respond to what they read. Right now, we
00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:21.960
need to be worrying about teaching children how
00:11:21.960 --> 00:11:27.139
to understand and evaluate real and fake because
00:11:27.139 --> 00:11:30.080
of AI. There's so much false information and
00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:33.450
false... pictures and videos and trickery out
00:11:33.450 --> 00:11:36.330
there now. Having critically minded students
00:11:36.330 --> 00:11:38.970
is more important than ever. And I want to shift
00:11:38.970 --> 00:11:41.909
gears here and talk about some of the kids that
00:11:41.909 --> 00:11:45.429
the county politics might overlook. Can you tell
00:11:45.429 --> 00:11:49.389
me which children are easiest for a system this
00:11:49.389 --> 00:11:52.149
large to overlook? Absolutely, that is right
00:11:52.149 --> 00:11:55.129
now our Hispanic students, hands down. Our Hispanic
00:11:55.129 --> 00:11:58.769
students are having the most trouble as far as
00:11:58.769 --> 00:12:01.690
educational outcomes. And there is no wonder.
00:12:01.830 --> 00:12:04.970
Right now, they are living in fear and in trauma,
00:12:05.690 --> 00:12:09.169
in housing shortages, in food shortages. Our
00:12:09.169 --> 00:12:11.809
farm workers are practically under attack within
00:12:11.809 --> 00:12:14.610
our own county at this point. And their children
00:12:14.610 --> 00:12:18.269
are feeling the brunt of that. And then when
00:12:18.269 --> 00:12:21.559
there's not enough resources, to make sure that
00:12:21.559 --> 00:12:23.899
stuff is going home in the correct languages
00:12:23.899 --> 00:12:26.820
or that there's interpreters at meetings like
00:12:26.820 --> 00:12:29.360
the board meetings. The children also have to
00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:33.100
bear translating in adult situations. It's not
00:12:33.100 --> 00:12:36.480
fair to them. And you talked a little bit about
00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:41.820
special education. What have you seen that has
00:12:41.820 --> 00:12:44.539
convinced you that the current system isn't doing
00:12:44.539 --> 00:12:47.519
enough? I'm a special education mom myself. My
00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:51.029
son has been in the system up in Modesto and
00:12:51.029 --> 00:12:54.149
then down here in Kern County. And we've seen
00:12:54.149 --> 00:12:58.830
when educators are focused on him and his goals
00:12:58.830 --> 00:13:03.509
and on doing right by him, he has thrived. But
00:13:03.509 --> 00:13:07.389
we've seen more often burnt out, overworked SPED
00:13:07.389 --> 00:13:11.019
teachers, burnt out, overworked admin. burnt
00:13:11.019 --> 00:13:15.320
out, overworked everyone, so busy surviving that
00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:17.779
they're no longer able to serve our students
00:13:17.779 --> 00:13:21.559
in the best way possible. And the tribe has disappeared.
00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:24.139
The admin and the parents and the teachers are
00:13:24.139 --> 00:13:26.200
no longer working together. They're too busy
00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:28.879
blaming each other. And our students are getting
00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:31.600
left behind in that. And so I pulled my son so
00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:34.100
that he'd get the education he deserved and so
00:13:34.100 --> 00:13:37.000
that he would feel safe and so that he wouldn't
00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:41.769
have trauma regression. And I now am ready to
00:13:41.769 --> 00:13:44.669
go fight for other kids and other sped parents
00:13:44.669 --> 00:13:46.509
to make sure they're getting the resources that
00:13:46.509 --> 00:13:49.429
they deserve and that the law requires. And can
00:13:49.429 --> 00:13:52.409
you tell me more about the burnout that some
00:13:52.409 --> 00:13:55.629
sped teachers might be facing and why the village
00:13:55.629 --> 00:13:59.669
kind of is no longer there, or if it ever was
00:13:59.669 --> 00:14:02.750
there, why it's no longer? This is a really complicated
00:14:02.750 --> 00:14:07.970
question, honestly. I'm a sped mom too, so...
00:14:08.550 --> 00:14:12.330
Yeah, so I love our teachers. I want to make
00:14:12.330 --> 00:14:14.870
sure they have every resource possible. Right
00:14:14.870 --> 00:14:17.149
now they're understaffed. Right now they're still
00:14:17.149 --> 00:14:19.610
trying to hire more staffing for this year that
00:14:19.610 --> 00:14:23.889
they don't have yet. The teachers have ratios
00:14:23.889 --> 00:14:27.070
that are way too big, not enough staff per child.
00:14:27.269 --> 00:14:30.570
The children that need one -on -one aids aren't
00:14:30.570 --> 00:14:33.789
able to get them, even if it is in their 504
00:14:33.789 --> 00:14:37.389
or IEP, because there's simply not enough staff.
00:14:37.529 --> 00:14:41.330
And then when everyone is overworked, when everyone
00:14:41.330 --> 00:14:45.250
is overburdened, they lose the love that they
00:14:45.250 --> 00:14:48.210
had for the job and the reasons why they were
00:14:48.210 --> 00:14:50.409
there in the first place because they're too
00:14:50.409 --> 00:14:52.169
busy worrying about whether or not they're going
00:14:52.169 --> 00:14:54.149
to pay their bills, whether or not they need
00:14:54.149 --> 00:14:57.610
a second job, whether or not a student that needs
00:14:57.610 --> 00:15:00.649
more support is going to be a danger to them,
00:15:00.950 --> 00:15:03.389
whether or not a danger is going to enter the
00:15:03.389 --> 00:15:06.429
classroom. It's stress on top of stress on top
00:15:06.429 --> 00:15:09.350
of stress. And if we don't break that, we're
00:15:09.350 --> 00:15:14.429
not going to have any teachers left. Kern County
00:15:14.429 --> 00:15:17.710
isn't, obviously, it's not just one school system.
00:15:17.889 --> 00:15:21.669
We have tiny rural districts. We have urban districts.
00:15:21.809 --> 00:15:24.909
We have mountain communities, farm worker communities,
00:15:26.190 --> 00:15:30.970
and neighborhoods like Seven Oaks. educational
00:15:30.970 --> 00:15:34.610
equity actually look like across a county with
00:15:34.610 --> 00:15:40.649
such a variety? We don't have it. That's the
00:15:40.649 --> 00:15:42.710
story. We don't have educational equity in our
00:15:42.710 --> 00:15:46.509
county at all. There is a wide array of money
00:15:46.509 --> 00:15:49.889
being spent per student countywide, where it
00:15:49.889 --> 00:15:53.090
ranges anywhere from 6 ,000 below the state average
00:15:53.090 --> 00:15:56.970
to 10 ,000 above the state average. The way that
00:15:56.970 --> 00:16:01.299
the schools are funded through the property and
00:16:01.299 --> 00:16:05.279
through how much property is worth is inherently
00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:07.279
inequitable. And that's not something the board
00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:10.179
has the chance to fix. We just have to work with
00:16:10.179 --> 00:16:12.679
the resources we have. That's a much higher level
00:16:12.679 --> 00:16:15.860
of government that needs to come in and fix that.
00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:20.279
All right. Now, I want to ask you why you chose
00:16:20.279 --> 00:16:24.440
to run. Sorry, I'm so passionate about it. There
00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:27.620
are so many things to talk about. There are so
00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:30.279
many places where we're failing our kids and
00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:34.639
our future that it's hard to focus in on one.
00:16:34.940 --> 00:16:38.000
The systemic problems. No, absolutely. No, and
00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:41.200
Dahl, I mean, this is amazing. It's great to
00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:44.159
have a candidate that is so passionate about
00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:46.980
all of the things and all of the initiatives
00:16:46.980 --> 00:16:49.940
that should happen to fill those gaps. Because...
00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:52.059
There are many and you're just one, you know,
00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:54.779
we're all just one person, right? So talking
00:16:54.779 --> 00:16:58.879
about this is, is very crucial. So I do, you
00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:00.860
know, the first time I met you, you came into
00:17:00.860 --> 00:17:03.519
the room, you were ready, you were prepared,
00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:07.059
you were asking people for support. And I remember,
00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:10.500
what I remember was you weren't coy about it.
00:17:10.500 --> 00:17:13.680
And, and that really stood out. You had done
00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:15.579
your homework, you got in front of the room,
00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:19.140
you talked about funding, you threw numbers out
00:17:19.140 --> 00:17:23.759
there. And you asked people directly to support
00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:26.480
you. And that happened then the second time that
00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:29.940
I saw you, you were doing the same thing. Where
00:17:29.940 --> 00:17:32.680
does that come from? Absolutely my parents. Oh
00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:35.660
my gosh. 100 % my parents. My parents are my
00:17:35.660 --> 00:17:42.299
heroes. My dad is a Navy veteran and an engineer,
00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:46.279
and is one of the smartest people I know. And...
00:17:46.299 --> 00:17:49.140
Books and education have always been important
00:17:49.140 --> 00:17:51.700
in our household. And it didn't matter what you
00:17:51.700 --> 00:17:53.819
wanted to learn, just that you wanted to learn.
00:17:54.019 --> 00:17:56.640
And my mom said, if you can read, you can do
00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:59.599
anything. And that's right. There is a book about
00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:03.319
everything. There's books for free about everything.
00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:05.680
You can go to a library and learn a new career
00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:08.420
easily. There's people in prison learning how
00:18:08.420 --> 00:18:11.380
to be lawyers through their library. If you can
00:18:11.380 --> 00:18:14.890
read, you can do anything. I was a drama student.
00:18:15.089 --> 00:18:18.430
I've always been outgoing and extroverted, but,
00:18:18.589 --> 00:18:21.009
you know, my parents are involved in the community.
00:18:21.329 --> 00:18:25.549
My dad retired from Livermore Laboratory, LL
00:18:25.549 --> 00:18:28.769
&L, up in Livermore, California, where he was
00:18:28.769 --> 00:18:31.650
working on the nuclear fusion program and was
00:18:31.650 --> 00:18:34.289
part of it when they first did that. I mean,
00:18:34.569 --> 00:18:38.509
in, I think it was 2021 or 2022, it all runs
00:18:38.509 --> 00:18:41.160
together, but it's... I've always been part of
00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:43.799
exciting things and seeing my parents thrive.
00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:46.119
My mom went back to college when I was in high
00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:49.359
school and got all A's. And she got mad at me
00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:51.559
because I took her to college with me once because
00:18:51.559 --> 00:18:56.559
I was afraid of chemistry. And she went to chemistry
00:18:56.559 --> 00:18:59.640
with me and it was the first C she's ever gotten
00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:01.539
in her life. She still hasn't forgiven me. I
00:19:01.539 --> 00:19:08.109
think that was in 2012. Now I have to ask, when
00:19:08.109 --> 00:19:11.690
did running stop being an idea and become like,
00:19:11.809 --> 00:19:15.670
no, I'm actually doing this. I'm actually filing
00:19:15.670 --> 00:19:18.769
to run. The idea was first presented to me in
00:19:18.769 --> 00:19:21.809
April and my initial reaction was hell no. I
00:19:21.809 --> 00:19:25.650
don't think I want to be that public of a personality.
00:19:26.009 --> 00:19:29.809
But as I started researching the reasons why
00:19:29.809 --> 00:19:32.990
people thought I would be a good candidate for
00:19:32.990 --> 00:19:35.799
this, I agreed with them. And then it felt like
00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:39.059
a responsibility. And then I wasn't sure I could
00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:42.480
do it, but I wanted to, and it was kicking around
00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:44.799
in my head. I was really wrestling with it. And
00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:48.059
then I, in June, I went to the Democratic Women
00:19:48.059 --> 00:19:51.660
of Current Meeting. I'm a club member. And there
00:19:51.660 --> 00:19:55.420
were presentations about where the literacy stats
00:19:55.420 --> 00:19:58.359
of Kern County are. And seeing... that the problems
00:19:58.359 --> 00:20:01.279
I was encountering with my own kids were actually
00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:04.559
systemic problems and were countywide problems
00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:07.359
and that so many kids were being failed by the
00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:10.160
system. It clicked in that meeting and I went
00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:12.079
home and started researching how to do it the
00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:14.720
next day. Yeah. And you're challenging someone
00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:19.000
who first took the seat in 1994. What made you
00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:23.500
look at a 32 -year incumbent and think this is
00:20:23.500 --> 00:20:25.960
winnable? There are multiple reasons why I think
00:20:25.960 --> 00:20:29.710
it's winnable. First and foremost, 32 years is
00:20:29.710 --> 00:20:32.569
amazing. Honestly, I may not agree with her,
00:20:32.910 --> 00:20:36.990
but to serve in a civic position for 32 years
00:20:36.990 --> 00:20:39.930
is impressive and wonderful. But please step
00:20:39.930 --> 00:20:42.890
aside for the millennial mom that is parenting
00:20:42.890 --> 00:20:45.829
now and facing the problems now and understands
00:20:45.829 --> 00:20:49.170
what our kids are going through. Because in 1994,
00:20:49.509 --> 00:20:52.990
when she first took office, there were no lockdowns.
00:20:52.990 --> 00:20:55.250
There were no school shootings. There was no
00:20:55.250 --> 00:20:58.549
COVID. There was no homeschooling and distance
00:20:58.549 --> 00:21:02.130
learning and Zoom classes. There was no social
00:21:02.130 --> 00:21:05.609
media. There was no fentanyl crisis. The things
00:21:05.609 --> 00:21:08.430
affecting our kids today are not things that
00:21:08.430 --> 00:21:12.289
I think she is a part of. And it's time to allow
00:21:12.289 --> 00:21:15.369
the next generation to come in and do what needs
00:21:15.369 --> 00:21:18.029
to be done for our kids right now. Yeah. There's
00:21:18.029 --> 00:21:21.230
a saying about elected office that Sometimes
00:21:21.230 --> 00:21:25.950
serving well also means knowing when it's time
00:21:25.950 --> 00:21:31.369
to let the next guy go and go in and you retire
00:21:31.369 --> 00:21:34.089
your political seat. So I think we're seeing
00:21:34.089 --> 00:21:36.970
the consequences of people not following that
00:21:36.970 --> 00:21:39.569
throughout all levels of local, state, and federal
00:21:39.569 --> 00:21:44.960
government. Thank you, Boomers, but bye. Yeah,
00:21:45.140 --> 00:21:50.339
exactly. People are tired of the board being
00:21:50.339 --> 00:21:53.700
so culturally minded these last two years, four
00:21:53.700 --> 00:21:56.240
years have been the worst of it because of the
00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:59.039
COVID things, because they were trying to put
00:21:59.039 --> 00:22:01.539
10 commandments in our schools illegally for
00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:04.579
a year because they were attacking trans athletes.
00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:08.180
She only won by less than 1 % of the vote last
00:22:08.180 --> 00:22:11.160
time. I think there's a clear indication people
00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:14.220
are ready to move on and there's never been a
00:22:14.220 --> 00:22:17.259
better time to do it than now when we have such
00:22:17.259 --> 00:22:19.960
great leaders stepping up everywhere through
00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:22.660
these midterms to change the course of where
00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:25.740
democracy is flowing right now. Yeah, no, absolutely.
00:22:26.509 --> 00:22:29.789
Can you give me just three things that you would
00:22:29.789 --> 00:22:32.869
try to change in your first year that are actually
00:22:32.869 --> 00:22:35.430
within the jurisdiction of the board? Absolutely.
00:22:35.589 --> 00:22:39.309
I went to the last two board meetings actually
00:22:39.309 --> 00:22:42.769
because I want to be sure I'm learning what they're
00:22:42.769 --> 00:22:44.630
doing and how the flow of the meetings go so
00:22:44.630 --> 00:22:47.210
I'm ready to step right in. At the last meeting,
00:22:47.410 --> 00:22:50.569
the August meeting, there were two resolutions
00:22:50.569 --> 00:22:54.819
that were passed. They passed a September attendance
00:22:54.819 --> 00:22:58.799
awareness month, and they passed the approval
00:22:58.799 --> 00:23:01.039
of a sale of a property that's worth three plus
00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:04.339
million dollars that KCSOS owns. I went in with
00:23:04.339 --> 00:23:07.319
three immediate suggestions that, one, part of
00:23:07.319 --> 00:23:09.740
the proceeds of those sales, which would go into
00:23:09.740 --> 00:23:11.819
construction and classment improvement funds,
00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:15.480
be directed immediately into our community learning
00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:19.700
centers to put UVC air filters in to classrooms
00:23:19.700 --> 00:23:22.859
and public spaces. I think that awareness of
00:23:22.859 --> 00:23:24.940
our attendance problems is great, but action
00:23:24.940 --> 00:23:28.400
is better. We can improve the health of our teachers
00:23:28.400 --> 00:23:31.119
and our students in those old buildings with
00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:35.119
these filters. It would cost maybe $50 ,000 is
00:23:35.119 --> 00:23:37.299
where I'm estimating it right now. I am writing
00:23:37.299 --> 00:23:40.980
a full proposal and it has already improved attendance
00:23:40.980 --> 00:23:43.519
outcomes in other areas of California, like in
00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:46.279
San Francisco. Improving attendance approves
00:23:46.279 --> 00:23:48.920
educational outcomes. It's that easy. Spend a
00:23:48.920 --> 00:23:51.000
little money, invest in our kids' health. and
00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:53.480
they'll show up better and more ready to learn.
00:23:53.900 --> 00:23:56.799
Amazing, amazing. Other than that, I would also
00:23:56.799 --> 00:24:00.559
really love to see the board add a standing agenda
00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:04.180
item to make sure that we are tracking attendance
00:24:04.180 --> 00:24:07.230
and tracking educational outcomes. Without the
00:24:07.230 --> 00:24:09.430
data, we can't measure if we're improving. And
00:24:09.430 --> 00:24:11.529
the third thing that I would change in the first
00:24:11.529 --> 00:24:14.029
year, an audit of making sure that all of our
00:24:14.029 --> 00:24:16.990
students are getting the busing or transportation
00:24:16.990 --> 00:24:19.349
that they're entitled to. Bussing and transportation,
00:24:19.390 --> 00:24:21.910
has that been an issue on the Board of Education?
00:24:22.230 --> 00:24:25.190
That goes back to what I was saying earlier about
00:24:25.190 --> 00:24:29.369
the McKinney -Vento funding and other federal
00:24:29.369 --> 00:24:32.779
funding drying up. that is supposed to be helping
00:24:32.779 --> 00:24:35.579
our students get to classes. Not all of them
00:24:35.579 --> 00:24:37.980
are getting it right now, and now even less of
00:24:37.980 --> 00:24:41.460
them are going to get it. I know in BCSD, which
00:24:41.460 --> 00:24:44.460
is in my voter area, but not the jurisdiction
00:24:44.460 --> 00:24:47.220
of this board, and I always want to make sure
00:24:47.220 --> 00:24:50.059
that that's clear, only 10 of the 44 schools
00:24:50.059 --> 00:24:53.380
are getting that funding to help students. So
00:24:53.380 --> 00:24:56.019
they're already majorly lacking, and they're
00:24:56.019 --> 00:24:58.000
probably going to lose it. How many people are
00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:01.119
on the ballot for this seat? There are three
00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:03.240
people on the ballot for this seat. There is
00:25:03.240 --> 00:25:05.720
another Democratic challenger. I know that her
00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:08.039
name's Regina, and I really don't know much else
00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:12.720
about her. I wish her some luck, of course, because
00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:18.000
I want to see democracy succeed. But I know that
00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:21.140
I am going to be amazing in this seat, and I
00:25:21.140 --> 00:25:24.140
am already operating as if it is mine by creating
00:25:24.140 --> 00:25:28.410
these proposals to save the board money. Are
00:25:28.410 --> 00:25:31.930
you concerned with both of you competing for
00:25:31.930 --> 00:25:34.630
roughly the same universe of voters that maybe
00:25:34.630 --> 00:25:38.910
it could make it easy for the incumbent to survive?
00:25:39.210 --> 00:25:43.509
That is a concern in every race like this across
00:25:43.509 --> 00:25:45.930
the ballot. I would be stupid not to be concerned
00:25:45.930 --> 00:25:47.890
about that. Name something people who support
00:25:47.890 --> 00:25:51.990
you are going to disagree with you about. Ooh,
00:25:52.289 --> 00:25:55.920
something. So people would support me but disagree
00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:58.519
with me? Yeah, like anything that you can say
00:25:58.519 --> 00:26:01.400
that, you know, you might, you might maybe lose,
00:26:01.559 --> 00:26:04.359
not lose a supporter, but something that a supporter
00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:06.220
might say, well, I don't really agree with you
00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:08.720
on that. And like, how would you, how do you
00:26:08.720 --> 00:26:11.700
challenge it or how would you overcome? I think
00:26:11.700 --> 00:26:15.039
that charter schools and vouchers and homeschooling
00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:18.359
are wonderful options for parents because students
00:26:18.359 --> 00:26:21.819
learn in a variety of settings. And I know that
00:26:21.960 --> 00:26:24.720
A lot of people have come out and told me, don't
00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:27.500
tell people that you homeschool. But that's a
00:26:27.500 --> 00:26:30.279
strength of mine. I'm an administrator. I'm going
00:26:30.279 --> 00:26:33.440
through it. I'm going through the curriculum.
00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:36.599
I'm willing to step up to that challenge. And
00:26:36.599 --> 00:26:38.420
then I'm willing to take what I've learned and
00:26:38.420 --> 00:26:41.680
help other people. I don't find it to be a weakness
00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:43.940
at all. I think that I'm a homeschooling mom
00:26:43.940 --> 00:26:46.619
is absolutely a strength. Maybe I have a different
00:26:46.619 --> 00:26:49.079
perspective of some parents like you might. in
00:26:49.079 --> 00:26:52.299
that same regard, because when the environment
00:26:52.299 --> 00:26:54.799
isn't right, not having an option to change the
00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:57.240
environment would put us in a terrible position.
00:26:57.460 --> 00:27:00.380
What would it make you vote against a proposal
00:27:00.380 --> 00:27:03.559
brought forward by maybe like people that helped
00:27:03.559 --> 00:27:07.079
to elect you? I think every decision just has
00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:10.400
to be made with the lens of will this improve
00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:14.079
educational outcomes and is it financially feasible?
00:27:14.319 --> 00:27:16.960
Everything else? becomes culture after that.
00:27:17.259 --> 00:27:19.119
It's, does it help our kids? Can we afford to
00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:21.519
do it? If we can't afford to do it, how do we
00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:23.660
afford to do it if it will help our kids? And
00:27:23.660 --> 00:27:27.339
it really just comes down to those numbers. I
00:27:27.339 --> 00:27:30.299
want to see those numbers up 10 % in four years.
00:27:31.059 --> 00:27:34.740
I am appalled at the rates of where our county
00:27:34.740 --> 00:27:38.099
is right now and where our nation is right now.
00:27:38.259 --> 00:27:41.359
Reading and literacy is so important to our future.
00:27:41.980 --> 00:27:46.779
And I want to ask you this. I've tracked Mary
00:27:46.779 --> 00:27:51.880
Little for a little bit. She's made posts questioning
00:27:51.880 --> 00:27:57.380
the moon landing and believes in chemtrails.
00:27:58.380 --> 00:28:03.799
So a lot of, as a parent, lots of things that
00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:07.019
are concerning with those. Can you tell me, if
00:28:07.019 --> 00:28:09.720
anything, what Mary Little has gotten right?
00:28:09.849 --> 00:28:13.250
on the board. Still going through board minutes
00:28:13.250 --> 00:28:16.890
for years and years reading through them. I think
00:28:16.890 --> 00:28:20.690
that she has the best of intentions. I think
00:28:20.690 --> 00:28:23.269
that she's a loving and caring person. I heard
00:28:23.269 --> 00:28:25.630
at the last meeting she used to work at the Dream
00:28:25.630 --> 00:28:29.250
Center and I just absolutely admire that. I think
00:28:29.250 --> 00:28:31.470
that there's love and good intentions in her
00:28:31.470 --> 00:28:36.369
heart and how she expresses that or her intent
00:28:36.369 --> 00:28:40.460
to put her personal views as policy. it's just
00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:42.400
not meshing with how the board's supposed to
00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:44.460
operate right now. What do you want a parent
00:28:44.460 --> 00:28:48.619
who might not follow politics, maybe has never
00:28:48.619 --> 00:28:51.299
watched a board meeting, what do you want them
00:28:51.299 --> 00:28:54.680
to know about why you're asking for this job
00:28:54.680 --> 00:28:58.019
and why you're the best candidate for this position?
00:28:58.400 --> 00:29:01.660
I am asking for this job and I am the best candidate
00:29:01.660 --> 00:29:04.759
for this position because of exactly what I've
00:29:04.759 --> 00:29:06.519
been saying. I'm willing to do the reading and
00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:09.190
the research. I'm willing to clarify the reading
00:29:09.190 --> 00:29:11.309
and the research if I don't understand it the
00:29:11.309 --> 00:29:16.130
first time. Coming from a place that every child
00:29:16.130 --> 00:29:19.190
in this country, every less than 18 -year -old
00:29:19.190 --> 00:29:22.230
youth in this country, regardless of who they
00:29:22.230 --> 00:29:25.450
are, what zip code they were born in, what gender
00:29:25.450 --> 00:29:29.670
they are, what disability status they have, what
00:29:29.670 --> 00:29:33.150
past behavior problems have challenged them,
00:29:33.470 --> 00:29:36.640
what language they speak. If they identify as
00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:39.200
something other than how they were born, all
00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:41.660
of those things, all of those kids, every child
00:29:41.660 --> 00:29:44.000
deserves the same amount of respect and the same
00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:48.059
amount of possible success. And I am in that
00:29:48.059 --> 00:29:51.200
room for my children. I am in that room for your
00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:55.700
children. And I am in that room because our community
00:29:55.700 --> 00:29:59.880
needs leaders who know how to lead. And Anastasia,
00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:03.579
when And I'm asking this because of the makeup
00:30:03.579 --> 00:30:07.059
of the board. We've seen some of the positions
00:30:07.059 --> 00:30:10.480
that have been taken previously. So when your
00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:13.460
personal beliefs, the loudest parents in the
00:30:13.460 --> 00:30:17.759
room, and the best available evidence point in
00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:20.619
three different directions, how do you decide?
00:30:21.980 --> 00:30:24.099
That's an easy one. We need to look at the evidence.
00:30:24.539 --> 00:30:28.240
Belief is not what belongs in a boardroom. It's
00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:31.680
decisions that improve outcomes. and give that
00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:34.779
board fiscal accountability is absolutely the
00:30:34.779 --> 00:30:37.200
deciding factor on every single thing. Will it
00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:39.819
help the kids? Can we afford it? What I believe,
00:30:40.079 --> 00:30:42.599
what other board members, the six other board
00:30:42.599 --> 00:30:44.779
members believe, what the parents come in believing,
00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:48.380
those things all matter. But the bottom line
00:30:48.380 --> 00:30:50.720
is, are you trying to hold a child back with
00:30:50.720 --> 00:30:52.960
your belief or are you trying to push them forward?
00:30:53.160 --> 00:30:57.039
And if your belief holds any child back, discludes
00:30:57.039 --> 00:31:00.519
any child, keeps any child from thriving, then
00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:02.779
it doesn't belong in that room. Is there anything
00:31:02.779 --> 00:31:05.819
else that you want to say that maybe you didn't
00:31:05.819 --> 00:31:09.039
say or you were touching on just to wrap up and
00:31:09.039 --> 00:31:12.140
anything you want the audience to know about
00:31:12.140 --> 00:31:18.640
you? I am a working family mom. I had a business
00:31:18.640 --> 00:31:22.539
pre -COVID that I owned and ran. COVID closed
00:31:22.539 --> 00:31:25.700
it down. We moved counties and I was unable to
00:31:25.700 --> 00:31:30.119
restart it. My husband supports us. We're so
00:31:30.119 --> 00:31:32.779
blessed that he is able to support our family
00:31:32.779 --> 00:31:34.859
of four and that we're able to do this on one
00:31:34.859 --> 00:31:37.660
income right now. We've fallen a little behind,
00:31:37.660 --> 00:31:40.180
I think, as many other families have, partly
00:31:40.180 --> 00:31:42.920
because I became disabled in the last few years.
00:31:43.380 --> 00:31:45.599
Like, I have overcome challenges and challenges
00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:49.880
and challenges and find ways to make things grow
00:31:49.880 --> 00:31:53.720
and be beautiful anyway. And that's what I'm
00:31:53.720 --> 00:31:56.569
here for. I could use help. I can't do it alone.
00:31:56.769 --> 00:31:59.950
It's very grassroots. I could use your $10, $15,
00:31:59.990 --> 00:32:03.930
$20. I could use volunteers. I'm putting a literacy
00:32:03.930 --> 00:32:06.789
fair together on September 12th. I can't do it
00:32:06.789 --> 00:32:09.349
alone. If you care about education, please come
00:32:09.349 --> 00:32:12.170
join me. Where can people find you? You can find
00:32:12.170 --> 00:32:16.490
me the most easily on Instagram at Anastasia
00:32:16.490 --> 00:32:21.650
Hopper, F -O -R -K -C -B -O -E 3. So Anastasia
00:32:21.650 --> 00:32:26.119
Hopper 4. KCBOE3, current Tally Board of Education,
00:32:26.299 --> 00:32:28.680
trustee area three. I'm also on Facebook under
00:32:28.680 --> 00:32:31.660
my name. I believe I gave you a link to my current
00:32:31.660 --> 00:32:34.740
landing page. I am working on a better web page,
00:32:34.859 --> 00:32:37.460
but I'm online and you can call me directly.
00:32:37.500 --> 00:32:43.079
You can text me 209 -914 -2374. I grew up in
00:32:43.079 --> 00:32:46.079
Tracy. That's a Tracy area code, Central Valley
00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:50.339
still. And yeah, I'm here for everything. Tell
00:32:50.339 --> 00:32:52.059
me what you think. Tell me what's important to
00:32:52.059 --> 00:32:55.259
you. I'm trying to just be there for the kids
00:32:55.259 --> 00:32:59.700
of every parent in the county and non -partisan
00:32:59.700 --> 00:33:02.619
app, non -partisan race, non -partisan everything.
00:33:02.940 --> 00:33:05.380
We got to make it about our kids again and nothing
00:33:05.380 --> 00:33:05.680
else.
