Meet Cindy Vogt for the Shasta County Board of Education 

Cindy Vogt is one of two candidates competing for one two-year seat in Area 2. Candidate responses to seven questions have been curated and paraphrased for this format. A note that four candidates declined to interview with Shasta Scout about their run for the SCOE Board: Richard Gallardo, Michele Renee Tyson, Jackie LaBarbera, and Teresa Roberts–who is running against Vogt.  

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

I moved to Shasta County just a little over 14 years ago. Prior to that I worked in Southern California as a student affairs officer at UCLA. When I moved to Shasta County, I got involved with Redding Recreation, and facilitated kinder art and kinder play groups. I got to know some young families, and started to notice some of the challenges that the young families in Shasta County were experiencing, specifically with literacy. In 2012, I got involved as a volunteer at California Heritage YouthBuild Academy (CHYBA), which is a small charter high school that serves at-risk youth and young adults. For me, that was the catalyst for getting involved in other committees and coalitions including First Five Shasta, the Juvenile Justice Commission, and a grassroots group informally known as the Homeless Youth Alliance. 

I applied for the SCOE Board position when a position opened after a Board member passed away. I was interested in getting more involved at a deeper level. I was selected from among fifteen applicants and was seated in June of 2023.

I have learned so much just in the last 15 months. I continue to be inspired by the work that’s being done by SCOE through all their amazing programs and continue to see a huge need in our community to serve all the students in Shasta County. Because of my involvement with the Juvenile Justice Commission over the years I’ve seen how the number of youth in custody has increased. At SCOE, I think that we can help, not necessarily solve, but contribute, to lessening the degree to which our Shasta County youth fall through the cracks.

As I’m sure you are aware, Shasta County’s ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) scores are double the state average. We need to start at a very early age to help negate some of those experiences, or at least address what our youth are experiencing at a very early age. We can reduce the effect of behaviors that our youth face, both in their homes and in our communities, by focusing on prevention and early intervention. We, as a community, can foster and produce an environment so that our youth don’t fall into  patterns of crime – whether that by ensuring they feel safe in the classroom or reaching out to the community at large to come up with supportive services. I think that is something that we really need to focus on. The other initiatives that SCOE has are literacy, substance use and prevention education, all of which help kids make healthier choices.

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

SCOE is responsible for fiscal oversight of the programs they sponsor for student services, homeless and foster youth, accounting, payroll, technology, professional development, the credentialing of substitute teachers, curriculum and instruction development (only for SCOE’s schools), preschool, the students in Shasta County that have IEPs (individual education programs) and need special education, career technology. And of course, incarcerated youth, expelled and at risk, alternative education after school programs, and independent study. 

SCOE only directly oversees three academic programs: Excel Academy , the Juvenile Court  schools that provide education and instruction to the youth that are incarcerated, and the independent study program.

Editor’s Note: In addition to what Vogt mentioned, SCOE also provides annual feedback on all District budgets and Local Control Accountability Plans, among other responsibilities. 

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

SCOE doesn’t have any oversight over independent school districts. All school districts have their own boards and superintendents, and their boards are responsible for the oversight of their respective districts. Some of the things that SCOE can help provide are professional development, acting as the liaison between the school districts and any state, or local challenges that they might face in an advisory capacity–but they have no oversight over what happens in the individual districts other than those three programs I mentioned (Excel Academy, independent study, and Juvenile Court schools).

Editor Note: As previously mentioned, SCOE does review school district budgets and LCAPs annually as required by law.

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

The Shasta County Office of Education has over 400 Employees. About half of those employees serve the Early Childhood Services Department. The other half are working in accounting, payroll, human resources, and the different programs that support youth in after-school programs known as Project Share. They also have the Community Connect program that facilitates services for families in our communities who might be experiencing hardship–whether that’s homelessness, food insecurity, or if they need some kind of medical or behavioral health intervention. That’s a big component. And then, the programs that are running for our initiatives for literacy and substance use prevention education. 

[SCOE] also provides all of the technology for all of the schools in Shasta County, as well as transportation services, professional development, and employee recruitment services. They can also resource information to all the district administrators, as needed. 

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

I have decided not to take any campaign contributions. I just think that for the limited amount of money that I would ultimately collect, it’s just easier and more transparent if I just pay out of pocket myself. 

A News Cafe has endorsed me. I attended a democratic meet and greet a number of weeks ago and received endorsement from several folks there. I have the endorsement of some of my professional colleagues, both here at CHYBA and in the community.

I feel very strongly about this being a non-partisan position. I’m not running as a Democrat or Republican. I’m running as a community servant, and I have a long history of volunteerism. Unless there’s a hill I just absolutely refused to die on, I have made a promise to myself and others that I will not let my political beliefs color any of my decisions as a board member. I believe strongly in public education. Here in Shasta County and the far northern region of California, public education is currently at risk. I think you know that there are some others that are running who might have a different agenda.

Editor’s Note: Shasta Scout reviewed Vogt’s campaign finances via the Shasta County Elections Office and found no documented campaign donations.

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

I’m a big proponent for public school education. My own children went to public school. My grandson currently attends a local public school. I think that if we don’t continue with the current direction of the Shasta County Board of Education, public school education could be at risk.

I think some of the current candidates for the SCOE Board agree with the goals of Moms for Liberty. And I think those goals put public school education at risk. I don’t know all the details, but I think that they want to do away with many of the programs that are offered through public schools. Some candidates want to remove access to mental health services and behavioral health services, as well as social and emotional learning. These are the types of things that we need in our schools. You know, it would be great if we lived in Mayberry and could go back to reading, writing and arithmetic. But that’s not what’s happening in this day and age. So in order for our students to be successful, we need to be able to continue providing the services that the students need in order to be successful. For a lot of the students and in our county, things like social emotional learning or emotional regulation is what allows them to learn. Not only does it allow them to learn, but it allows the teacher the opportunity to teach.

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

Parents have always, and will always, have the right to their student’s official files. Official student information goes into that folder, and that information follows the kid around from school-to-school. Whether they stay in one school until they graduate or whether they are changing schools multiple times over the years, that folder accompanies the child. Parents will always have the right to access that file. 

The state is not limiting parents’ access to their student records. I took an oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States and California. I follow California Education Code. Do I have other feelings about the topic of gender identity? That’s a whole different ball game. Ultimately, if we’re talking about that kind of stuff, I want to do what’s best for a student’s emotional well being. 

If a kid came to me and expressed some challenges that he or she was having around those topics, my first response would be, is this something that you could talk to your parents about? If they said, no, my second question would be, could we go and talk to your parents about this together? My bottom line is to support the student. 

If I asked a kid, is this something you could talk to your parents about and they said no… there’s something missing in that parent–child relationship. Those are the kind of vulnerable students that need the emotional support that hopefully somebody like myself would be able to provide. I’m not a social worker or a therapist or anything, but I can certainly help them come up with some language that they might be able to go to their parents with, or refer them to someone else that is better equipped to provide mental health support. 

This is really such a small part of the overall picture of the work that the Board has to do, the superintendents, the independent school districts, etc. I just came out of an all day planning session with the Shasta County Board of Education, and not once did this topic come up. Again, I’m mandated by the California Education Code and the new bill that Newsom signed. And if it had gone the other direction, I would have been mandated in that direction. 

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