Meet Stacy Rouse, running for School Board of Santa Monica-Malibu
Stacy is a Malibu resident of over 20 years! Both of her children got their education from the public school systems there. Stacy’s involvement in this school district began with classroom volunteering and it has led her to her current position as the President of Malibu Schools Leadership Council for the past 6 years! Because of her experience, Stacy believes she understands the needs of the community along with the perspectives of the parents and students.
We learned that this school district actually governs the schools within two cities: Santa Monica and Malibu. Members on this board make decisions for both cities. Malibu wasn’t fully incorporated until the 90’s— and it has always been a part of the Santa Monica school district. Now that Malibu is a fully functioning city, there is more of a push from its residents for them to become their own district. Stacy told us that the needs of each school are different, and that needs to be taken into consideration. For example, Malibu has more rural needs while Santa Monica has more urban needs. We learned that out of 7 members on the Santa Monica board, there is currently only one member who represents the Malibu community. This member has decided not to run again, leaving the seat open. Representing the community of Malibu is one of the main reasons Stacy decided to run for this position.
One of Stacy’s goals within the school board is to find better pathways through conflict engagement. Having a masters in dispute resolution allows Stacy to understand the importance of proper communication. More specifically, her focus is on addressing the ways that leaders speak to each other and placing more emphasis on leaving a positive impact on the kids within the district. Some of the things Stacy hopes to accomplish is closing the achievement gap and engaging all students, no matter what background they come from.
Another one of Stacy’s goals is to bring the temperature down in public conversations. She believes there needs to be more clarity from leaders who need to give the public a better picture of what they are doing. Stacy pointed out that during times of uncertainty, it can be easy to make negative assumptions. She says that leaders should provide more clear processes and lead better examples for children. Her goal is to establish healthy relationships within the school board so that there is more time to focus on educational issues and the success of children.
Stacy wants people to know that Malibu is a complete community filled with different types of people who can all come together. The people in Stacy’s community have great care for the children and their education. She believes that her community deserves local governance over their schools so that they can handle the issues closest to them.
Stacy has a dog named CocoaBean and an orange cat named Q*bert! Something she accomplished recently was completing graduate school while working full time! Aside from campaigning, she is in the process of rekindling her love of reading by trying out new books. Stacy spends much of her free time hanging out with family and friends and drinking her favorite teas. She’s happy to see people reconnecting socially since the pandemic started.
Stacy’s final message was that even though she is representing her Malibu community, she is running to serve the entire district and all of the children who are in that district! She knows that public service positions require leaders to act in fairness and equality and she aims to include all of the voices in the conversation.
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