Candidate Conversations continues with Stacy Boyce, candidate for the Visalia Unified School District Board of Trustees, Area 1. In this conversation, Stacy discusses what motivated her to run for office, her background in special education and trauma-informed practices, the Redwood High School incident, school safety, diversity, accountability, rebuilding trust with families, and what she believes effective school board leadership should look like. We also discuss: Why she decided to run for officeTrauma-informed education and childhood adversityStudent safety and school climateWorking with colleagues who disagreeParent engagement and transparencyHer priorities if electedTwo updates occurred after this interview was recorded. First, at the end of our conversation I asked Stacy where listeners could donate to her campaign. The following morning she let me know she had decided not to accept campaign donations at this time. Instead, she hopes to build a volunteer-powered campaign and says the greatest way supporters can help is by volunteering, introducing her to community members, hosting meet-and-greets, distributing campaign materials, or offering endorsements. Second, after announcing this interview, a member of the Visalia community reached out with a question regarding the district's proposed bond, staffing reductions, and public trust in district finances. I shared that question with Stacy after the interview and invited her to respond. In part, Stacy wrote: "I understand why some community members feel this way. Before asking taxpayers to invest additional dollars, the district has to demonstrate that it is being a careful steward of the resources it already has." She went on to say that questions about previous bond measures, staffing reductions, and administrative spending deserve clear, factual answers, that fiscal oversight and transparency are among a school board's most important responsibilities, and that the district should do more to help parents understand school finance while making participation more accessible—including providing interpretation for Spanish-speaking families at School Site Council meetings. You can read Stacy Boyce's complete written response here: [INSERT LINK] As always, Flor Unmuted welcomes thoughtful questions from the community. When relevant issues arise after an interview has been recorded, I'll do my best to bring those questions directly to candidates so listeners can hear their responses in context.
