Meet Amy Cavalleri for the Shasta County Board of Education

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Amy Cavalleri is one of five candidates competing for two four-year seats in SCOE’s Area 2. She’s running against Dolores Lucero, Don Aust, and Jessica French as well as Jackie LaBarbera, and Richard Gallardo who both declined to interview with Shasta Scout. Candidate responses to seven questions have been curated and paraphrased for this format.

Scout: Describe your background and what motivated you to run for the SCOE Board. 

I am a self-employed nonprofit consultant and have lived in Shasta County for most of my life. I’m also a parent – I have two children that attend public school in Shasta County. And I have a heart for public service. I believe that a strong public education system is critical for the economic vitality of our community, and I want to do what I can to support that system.

We need a strong workforce to maintain our local economy, and our students are feeding directly into that local economy. If our public education system is broken or subpar, then that is going to have a direct impact on the quality of workforce that we have in our community.

Scout: What is the Shasta County Office of Education responsible for? 

SCOE’s job is to act as a support for the local school districts and be responsive to the needs that are identified at the district level. Depending upon which district that is, that could look like transportation, or professional development opportunities, or business support services. The board itself has two key initiatives that we’ve identified that we will be focusing time and attention on: early literacy and substance use prevention education. Those really have far reaching implications for every student in our county. 

Scout: What oversight does SCOE have over individual school districts? 

There’s some common misconceptions about what the Board of Education actually does, and we are really in service to the 25 local school districts in our county–we have no authority to mandate policies, curriculum, or staffing. That’s all locally controlled within the individual school districts. I really come to this position with a nonpartisan approach. I don’t have an agenda of any sort. My driving force is quality education that’s accessible and equitable for all students, period. 

SCOE looks at the budgets for the local school districts to make sure that they are reasonable. But we do not have line item authority over those budgets. Our responsibility is to make sure that the expenses are reasonable and appropriate. 

Scout: How does the Board’s responsibility differ from that of individual school boards? 

Local school district and school board has responsibility for choosing curriculum and staffing, setting the calendar and mandating policies, those types of things. The SCOE Board is really responsible, again, for being in service to our local school districts by providing a variety of support services. Again, we have no authority over how the local school districts operate.

Scout: Have you received donations of over $1,000 and if so from what groups or organizations? 

No, I have not. My only official endorsement has been A News Cafe. 

Editor’s note: Shasta Scout reviewed Cavalleri’s campaign finances via the Shasta County Elections Office and found no contributions documented as of October 21.

Scout: Discuss your thoughts on public education in Shasta County.

I graduated from public school myself. My children have attended public school their entire lives. I think it’s a critical cornerstone to our community and ensures that everyone has equal access to quality education. The SCOE Board is there to ensure that our tax dollars are being spent responsibly. Improving outcomes for local students and schools is important because public schools are really mandated to meet the needs of all students–regardless of their income, ability, or language skills – whereas private schools are not. Private schools can pick and choose who they serve and what curriculum they use, what ideologies they promote. But public school is all for one, and one for all.

Scout: What are your thoughts on “Parents’ Rights?”

As a parent, I can certainly understand people’s desire to know everything that’s going on with their kid at school. However, as a long time resident of Shasta County, I can tell you they are definitely households in this community where it is not safe for young people to have discussions about their sexuality if it deviates in any way from the beliefs of their parents. So in the interest of student safety, I would err on the side of safety for the student. Also, the state of California has declared that forced outing policies are not lawful, and so my obligation as a board member is to follow California state regulations, right? So really, my personal opinion is actually irrelevant. Our job is to follow state and federal mandates, and so that’s our obligation, and that’s the oath I took when I took office.

As a parent, I personally do not feel like my rights are under attack. I feel like the SCOE Board and my children’s individual schools are doing everything they can to nurture positive relationships with students, staff members, and parents. I personally do not have any concerns about my rights being taken away.

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