Q&A Profile: Meet ABC School Board Candidate Celia Spitzer

Editor's Note: Celia Spitzer is running for a four-year term alongside candidates Henna Sharma, Louise Dodson, and fellow incumbents Maynard Law, Armin Reyes and Sophia Tse. 

Get to know your ABC School Board candidate Celia Spitzer a little more through Patch's Q&A session:

Name: Celia Spitzer

Educational background: BA Mathematics, UC Berkeley

Current job/career: ABC School Board Member

Married? Children? Married with two adult children and two granddaughters

What city do you live in? Cerritos

What is something unique the public doesn’t know about you? I am one of the founders of the Cerritos Tot Lot program in 1972.

What term are you running for in the Nov. 9 ABC School Board election? The 4-year term.

Why are you running for a seat on the ABC School Board? To continue to serve our district and to help to ensure ABC's continued academic success and efficient use of financial resources

What is your personal experience or personal ties you have with the ABC Unified School District? My children attended ABC schools K-12 and are graduates of . I was a parent volunteer in the classroom from 1974-85, served on the Curriculum Board Advisory Committee 1988-99, and on a number of special advisory committees. 

In your opinion, what is the most critical problem that the district faces? Inadequate funding.

How do you feel about the district’s push to hire specialized and professionally trained individuals, such as counselors? Is this a necessity? It is important to meet as many of the needs of our students as possible, and this often goes beyond academics. Counselors serve many purposes and are an integral part of our staffing. In many cases, we receive earmarked funding for these positions, especially for psychologists.

Should the district have to undergo another round of budget cuts, where should the cuts in funding be made? I would need to assess the options presented by our staff, as I have done in the past. As always, the cuts should be as far from direct classroom services as possible.

What is your stance on implementing more career-oriented and technical study courses in the school curriculum? I strongly support career-tech education and expanding offerings that are appropriate for our students.

What sets you apart from the other candidates? I have the most experience as a parent and community volunteer having helped in the classroom almost continuously since 1974, having served on numerous Board advisory committees, and having served on the Cerritos Planning Commission for nine years.

If elected, what will you do to make a difference in the ? I will continue to serve all students throughout the district and personally volunteer in the classroom with a focus on reading skills.

If anything, what needs to change in the district? I do not think anything within our power needs to be changed as is demonstrated by our outstanding, consistently improving student achievement despite the great reduction in funding over the past four years.  Our district is incredibly well run with a primary focus at the site level. In fact, ABC's administrative staffing is only about 1/2 of what the state formula says it could be.

As a longtime board member, how has the district changed over the years? How have the students changed? All schools have been modernized.  We developed and are implementing a Wellness Policy and a Technology High School Graduation requirement. We provide more intervention for at-risk students and have GATE programming at all elementary schools. If there is any change in the students, it is that they are smarter and more aware of the world around them.

As someone who has seen the district evolve, do you think the district is moving in the right direction? Absolutely, as demonstrated by continuous, significant increases in student academic performance and by very high employee and parent satisfaction.