Meet Casey Bowden for Gateway Unified School District Board

This story is part of Shasta Scout’s ongoing citizen-powered election coverage. Our election reporting flips the script by asking candidates to answer questions from the community. The questions we used to interview Bowden were drawn broadly from reader responses to Scout’s 2022 reader survey on elections. We’ll conduct another reader survey in 2024.

The Gateway Unified School District (GUSD) includes about 2,000 Shasta County students in grades K-12. The board’s Area 2 seat has been open since January 2023, when former Board President Cherrill Clifford, who was elected in November 2022, resigned. The seat will be filled during a special election held on November 7, 2023, and the winner of that election will fill the rest of Clifford’s term. Bowden’s interview was conducted long-form and in person. His responses have been curated and paraphrased for this format. Unsure what GUSD area you’re in? See the map, below.

9.1.23 9:13 pm: We have updated this article to correct Bowden’s political affiliation. We apologize for our error.

Scout: What should we know about you as a candidate?

First of all, I’m a parent of a Gateway student. Our family has been here since 1989 and my son is in fifth grade at Grand Oaks Elementary where he’s been since kindergarten. When we first got him in school he was having a lot of difficulty and we eventually got him on an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for his ADHD and autism. He’s now receiving the right kind of specialized help and doing really well. Having a child who needs special help in school really means you have to be proactive and be an advocate for them. In the process, you really get to know the teachers, the administrators, the support staff, and other parents.

The school has been supportive throughout but you do have to get involved. That’s been one of my roles as a parent because I have a flexible job that lets me respond when there’s an issue at the school so that’s what I’ve been doing since he started. I used to see my phone light up with the school’s number and just feel dread: oh no, what’s happened now? But now we’ve really got him the right support and it is going really well. I get calls occasionally but usually with good news.

Scout: Why did you decide to run for the Gateway Unified School District Board?

My goal is to see things in the district stabilize and move forward. There’s a lot that’s happened over the last six months but that’s now in the past and we need to really move forward. I’m not running to rewrite the book on how to be a board member or write policy I just really want to get our schools back to business so the kids can learn, the teachers can teach, and the whole circus atmosphere that’s developed can dissipate. I don’t know if you’d call what’s happened over the last six months political theater but I just can’t tolerate any of it especially when it comes to our kids. Let’s leave it at the door. This is a nonpartisan position. Let’s treat it that way.

Now people are talking about hot-button topics like gender and whether we as a district will follow state rules. That’s not a question we should be asking. We have to follow the rules. We don’t want to end up in litigation for refusing to do so. It’s been proven how the courts see this.

This is a country of laws. I know some people think it’s the wild west out here and we can rewrite the laws ourselves, but that’s really not how I was raised. School boards have limited power, not unlimited power. People sometimes ask me questions about things like COVID-19 and masking and why people made certain decisions in the past. The way I look at it is if you worked at Sierra Pacific and you were working in a hard hat area you wouldn’t start challenging whether you were going to wear one because no one should dictate what you do. You’d follow the rules. And if you’re a superintendent or the head of county health, you have to follow the rules too.

We’ve paid a high price for the people who’ve decided to go rogue at Gateway; a lot of money wasted, probably half a million dollars. They fired the superintendent and we’re still paying him because it was without cause. We then had to pay an interim and now we’ve had Kyle Turner, our new superintendent come in and we’re paying him too. We still don’t know for sure if our old superintendent will sue for wrongful termination so that’s another thing that could cost us even more down the pipeline.

And as a taxpayer, it’s infuriating, absolutely infuriating to continue to see my taxes wasted with decisions like these. I want to put an end to all that because that money could have been used for our schools. The turbulence we’ve experienced in Gateway has caused turnover with our teachers. It’s increased instability. Last year when all this was transpiring, I would drop my son off and pick him up and you could just feel the uncertainty in the air. The kids could feel it too.

But I want to say it’s not the same environment this year. It feels a lot better, more relaxed, like a little sigh of relief. I was at the last board meeting and it seems like things have eased a little and are more cohesive. It’s a step in the right direction and I want to see that continue without any more road bumps.

A map showing the various areas represented by the members of the Gateway Unified School District Board.

Scout: What do you think the Gateway District is already doing well and what could be done better?

As far as what could be done well I’m really happy with the new superintendent, Kyle Turner, I think he’s amazing. I was actually on the panel that did the interviewing and he was definitely the overall consensus of the group. I feel like the district needs someone like him, someone who’s positive, upbeat, proactive, and working hard for change. It’s very inspiring, and very motivating for the rest of us. And as I said the board seems more cohesive and I think he’s helping keep things on track, mostly by being sure to keep the noise down.

I’m concerned about the levels of chronic absenteeism in our schools for sure. Those hover around 50-60%. It matters for our funding because attendance is connected to funding, but it also matters to our kids who need to be in school. To fix this problem we need to have a lot more family engagement. If you look at the socioeconomics for our schools in the district, we’re at a little over 80% of kids that are socioeconomically disadvantaged. A lot of families where there are not always parents at home, or where the family is not living in a secure and stable environment, or where there may not be predictable meals. When you talk to teachers they’ll share that they have kids coming in who haven’t eaten because they don’t have food or haven’t bathed because they don’t have access to running water. These are real issues out there that affect the kids in our district.

I think these are the kinds of real concerns that get overlooked for the hot-button topics like gender and Covid-19. Of course, those are important topics that have impact. But if kids aren’t eating at home, and they aren’t getting to school, those are the most important topics for us as a district to be focused on. Teachers have to be an extension of the family in many ways, responding when there’s physical and sexual abuse, listening, and being much more than educators. It’s a tough, tough job.

When I talk to administrators about chronic absenteeism they say it’s important to get families coming to school together. And sometimes free food at events is a good way to help make that happen. It kind of opens the door and from there you can encourage parents that you really want their participation; and that they’re welcome. Sometimes people, parents, feel like they don’t belong at school maybe because they’re lower income, or have had drug problems in the past. But it would be great if we could get every family to participate as much as they can and be a part of their local school. Because our schools really are the backbone of our community.

If you look at the socioeconomics for our schools in the district, we’re at a little over 80% of kids that are socioeconomically disadvantaged. A lot of families where there are not always parents at home, or where the family is not living in a secure and stable environment, or where there may not be predictable meals. When you talk to teachers they’ll share that they have kids coming in who haven’t eaten because they don’t have food or haven’t bathed because they don’t have access to running water. These are real issues out there that affect the kids in our district.

Casey Bowden

Scout: How are you preparing for your role on the District Board if you win?

My experience on the Board of the ALS Association of Greater Sacramento, which serves this area, was a really great learning experience. I did a four-year term, studying the financials, hiring a new director and letting one go, and having to collaborate with different people from many walks of life, disciplines, and professions. It’s similar to what I do in my work life at the bank too. And I’m not afraid to interact with many different kinds of people, those with different opinions and beliefs.

Research will be really important too, looking at the facts, talking to all kinds of people, learning. It’s really important to have your finger on the pulse of the school, there’s no better way to learn things than straight from the source, the teachers, the administrators, the parents. Find out what needs to be addressed, what’s going well, and what’s not.

I also want to make sure to take advantage of all the training they have for new board members. Learning everything I can to make sure to do things well.

Scout: Do you think anything needs to be done to increase transparency in the district?

I think the new superintendent is already working on that. It’s something that has to happen gradually. Getting more social media posts out, pulling in more community involvement. I’d like to see us start sending out quarterly reports by email and putting those in the kids’ school bags too to let parents know what’s already happening and what’s on the horizon. And I always encourage parents when they see something that needs to change to start by talking to their administrator and then if you need to, go to a board meeting, make your voice heard. We all need to participate and hopefully in a constructive way.

Scout: So if you win the seat you’ll be coming onto a divided board, split two to two on many issues. How will you navigate that?

I’m not really worried about that. I agree with both groups on some issues and I’m neutral on other issues. I’ve never been a very partisan person. I like talking things through and coming to agreement. I used to be a registered Democrat but I vote with whatever party I feel represents me best on each issue. Right now the board includes some retirees and some parents. I think both have valuable perspectives to contribute. You can’t disregard the long-term knowledge and history but also you can’t disregard the experiences of people with kids in school right now. We can’t fear change. We have to keep moving forward.

Scout: Is there anything else you would like to share?

It was nice that we didn’t get too far into the hot topics today, the transgender topic for example, but I’m always asked so I want to say if I was on the board I’d have no interest in challenging those policies. I don’t want to single out or marginalize kids. Every situation is unique and different, there’s no one size fits all but I believe every child deserves a safe educational environment.

School is supposed to be a safe zone. Some kids are in homes where they have their backs up against a wall, where they’re not safe, where there’s abuse, where there’s no money. And school should be a safe haven to learn, to be listened to, and to get fed. We have kids in our schools who get food sent home with them in their backpacks and I think that’s something not enough people know about. Our schools are doing so much for kids. Someday when these kids are grown, they’re going to be living and working in our town and hopefully, we’re preparing them to contribute well to society.

Similarly, when I get questions about whether I would vote to follow state-mandated sex education the answer is absolutely yes. Educators have worked their whole lives carefully crafting this curriculum and there are policies already in place that allow parents to opt out. Parents still have the power with this stuff. They really do.

I think people bring these things up just to be outraged. And if people are outraged, if they need to get involved, I recommend they volunteer. Start cleaning up trash, help in the cafeteria or the school pick-up line. It’s easy to sit back and judge, but everyone needs to pitch in. There’s so much more we could be doing in our schools but it takes a whole group of people working towards it together.

Resources:

Find data about the Gateway Unified School District here.

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