Who we support:

Nina Deerfield

• Out of all the candidates she is most transparent and actively advertises what she is in support of.
• While she gets the standard I’m in support of students out of the way like any other sensible candidate running for the board, it’s easier to find deeper issues that she stands in support of. Such as support for homeless students and assistance for veterans reentering the workforce.
• She also has a track record as taking part in activism in her community, not only for issues of surface level equality but also with taking a stance against privatized education

John Halcon

• While not always in the most apt of means, incumbent candidate Halcon has always taken a hardline stance on the issue of diversity in the classroom. His idealism, if a little haphazard considering his comments on diversity in hiring during the Feb. 9 Board meeting, is admirable.
• Also as one of the sitting members of the board he has already had four years of experience with Palomar. We already know what we’re going to get with Halcon, so he’s our safest bet.

Who we don’t support:

Tim Fillinger

• He is one of the only two candidates that have no experience in public education.
• Fillinger out of all the candidates is the only one with a both socially and fiscally conservative bend to them.

Rose Marie Dishman

• Dishman comes from the from a for-profit college background at DeVry Inc. Palomar prides itself on being a public institution, our board members should reflect this.
• She has already went through an unsuccessful incumbent run in 2012 following her 2008-2012 term.

Most accessible to students:

• Although we are not supporting either of them for the board position, we found it commendable that both Dishman and Fillinger were not only the most approachable to our reporters but also were the only two to attend the scheduled debate for the board.

Propositions:

Prop. 51

• Proposition 51 is a tricky beast. On the one hand the proposition would allow for bond allocation to update facilities in K-12 public schools and community colleges, this would also all be moderated by school boards local to the area of renovation. On the other there is possibility that the proposition will be used by construction companies to bilk school boards of the funds from the bonds for costly development projects. It ultimately comes down to a question of rather or not you can afford to trust your school board to do the right thing.

Prop. 55

• Proposition 55 is protecting funding for K-12 schools and Community Colleges. What the proposition does is extend the additional income taxes on earnings above $250,000 to fund schools . Students are our future and we need to continue supporting them through adequate funding for affordable education.