Dana King (School board member)

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Dana King

Nonpartisan

Solana Beach School District school board Trustee Area 2

Tenure

2022 - Present

Term ends

2028

Years in position

3

Prior offices

Solana Beach School District Board of Education At-large

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Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

University of California, Santa Barbara, 1977

Graduate

UCLA, 1980

Personal

Birthplace

Los Angeles, Calif.

Religion

Christian

Profession

Private investor

Dana King is a member of the Solana Beach School District school board in California, representing Trustee Area 2. He assumed office in 2022. His current term ends on December 8, 2028.

King won re-election to the Solana Beach School District school board to represent Trustee Area 2 in California outright after the general election on November 5, 2024, was canceled.

Biography

King's professional experience includes working as a private investor and business development advisor. He earned a bachelor's degree from UC Santa Barbara in 1997 and a master's degree from UCLA in 1980.

Elections

2024

See also: Solana Beach Elementary School District, California, elections (2024)

General election

The general election was canceled. Dana King (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

Endorsements

King received the following endorsements.

• San Diego County Democratic Party

2020

See also: Solana Beach Elementary School District, California, elections (2020)

General election

General election for Solana Beach School District Board of Education At-large (2 seats)

Incumbent Dana King and incumbent Julie Union defeated Larry Rosen and Haidee Thesing in the general election for Solana Beach School District Board of Education At-large on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dana King (Nonpartisan)	33.9	10,859
✔	Submit photo	Julie Union (Nonpartisan)	30.4	9,756
	Submit photo	Larry Rosen (Nonpartisan)	27.8	8,924
	Submit photo	Haidee Thesing (Nonpartisan)	7.9	2,537

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 32,076
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Gwen Mecklenburg (Nonpartisan)
• James Foster (Nonpartisan)

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Dana King did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Dana King completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by King's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Twenty year resident of Solana Beach with my wife Nancy; we moved here specifically so our twins Ian and Sofia would enjoy its marvelous public schools. Active member of the community, particularly in our children's schools and the many athletic and social institutions they participated in over the years. Successful four decade business career with increasingly progressive responsibilities in business development, sales and marketing, most recently as a partner and founder of one of the nation's leading environmental services firms. Educated entirely in public schools here in California, including a BA from UC Santa Barbara (Economics & Political Science degrees '77) and an MBA from UCLA (Anderson School of Management - Finance '80). I was appointed to fill an open seat on the SBSD Board of Education in February, just prior to the Covid-19 pandemic forcing such dramatic life altering changes to our way of life and in particular the delivery of public education. As to my life philosophy: I am committed to my family and faith, community and nation; and doing what I can to make the world a better place educationally, ecologically, socially and spiritually.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Prioritize the health and safety of our students, teachers, staff and families as we continue to reopen our campuses to onsite education. Education of our students on our state of the art campuses is our objective once we can ensure the health of everyone on campus, back at home and within the community is safe and secure.
• Continue to enhance our capacity for effective remote/online learning as a supporting component - not a replacement - to onsite learning. The current pandemic has forced us to recognize that when health emergencies preclude or reduce our teaching options on campus, we need to have our teachers and technology prepared to continue offering a rich learning environment.
• Continue to protect the financial security and well being of the school district with careful long term planning and fiscal responsibility. Present the absolute best education and student enrichment possible with the taxpayer funding we are entrusted with.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Environmental education and promoting sustainability in our schools and community. We face many critical environmental threats to our way of life - most notably the multiple impacts of climate change, air and water pollution that threaten many segments of our ecosystem, and unsustainable resource management. As the saying goes, there is no Planet B. With better education and awareness of problems and potential opportunities, we open doors to science based knowledge that improves our capacity for stewardship. This encourages technology solutions that protect rather than degrade our environment.

Social/Emotional Learning (SEL) as a key component of inspirational public education. As public school leaders, we have an opportunity to upgrade our student's learning environment with better understanding of how children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve goals, feel and show empathy, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. As public school leaders, we have an opportunity to create a healthier positive environment for students, helping them cope with the natural personal and emotional challenges that are part of life. Ultimately a healthier student environment leads to a healthier culture and more constructive society.

Social Justice. We live in a remarkable nation and have reason to be proud. Yet we must recognize that opportunity is still not equal and prejudice does exist. We simply have work to do.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Overall the responsibility to fully immerse and inform yourself fully in the issues, challenges and opportunities that come before the Board of Education. This overriding responsibility leads to a number of personal responsibilities that collectively create good decisions:

1. Listening as the cornerstone of understanding.
2. Analyzing all sides of a decision so as to be confident in one's ultimate conclusions. It is useful to have an inquisitive nature, indicative of a desire to never stop learning.
3. Respecting all views. There are always two or more ways to perceive what is best when it comes to public schools and education. While one path is ultimately chosen there is no benefit in denigrating other views.
4. Appreciation of the strong management skills necessary to lead complex organizations. This is valuable to understand the challenges facing a school superintendent, senior staff and teachers.
5. Being a Team Player. Consensus building is fundamental to strong organizational leadership; particularly so in a dynamic public enterprise such as a school district.

6. Commitment. Willingness to engage with fellow board members and District constituents over long hours in management and/or oversight of highly complex issues

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I was a good husband, father, friend, business and community leader who fought hard for all that I believe in.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Newspaper delivery boy for three years, beginning as a 10 year old and continuing until I was 12. An excellent learning experience that required my bicycle, physical dexterity and stamina, and a sense of personal responsibility. Besides delivery of the daily afternoon paper, the job involved monthly collection of payments, knocking on doors and learning how to engage customers and ask them for money.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

While My Guitar Gently Weeps by the Beatles

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

Representing the citizenry at large by offering oversight and vision to the societal task of providing excellent public education in the most fiscally responsible manner.

In each action taken by a Board of Education, individual members must consider all possible aspects of a decision and determine the best course of action from their perspective. In developing that perspective, a school board member must recognize and consider the widest array of information and viewpoints, including students and their families, teachers and staff, senior district leadership and the citizenry at large.

What principles drive your policies for safety in schools?

At this time of a pandemic health crisis, the primary need for safety in our schools is highlighted. Without a safe campus environment we are failing our students, teachers, staff and their families as well as the citizens of the community in which we all interact. As a board member I consider the safety impact of each decision prior to all else. This currently involves the risk prioritization of Covid-19 on our school population and the greater community: how do we safely educate both on campus and remotely to the best of our district ability. Beyond the pandemic, it also reflects my concern for campus safety in the form of risk assessment and protection of the school from outside influences. This can involve physical campus security as well as intellectual and emotional security in the form of internet breaches, bullying and intimidation of students and staff, and attempts to restrict learning due to prejudice, misinformation or misunderstanding.

How might you support the mental health needs of students/faculty/staff?

With the continued support and expansion of a strong Social/Emotional Learning (SEL) program in our schools. With the recognition that all learning is ultimately social and emotional, delivering a successful SEL program on our campuses and beyond to student families is a cornerstone to effective teaching and learning. Enhancing our SEL program offering recognizes that we can create a healthier learning environment that reduces anxiety and promotes positive, inclusive relationships among students, teachers and beyond to their families. This goes a long way in supporting overall mental health of everyone involved in the delivery and receipt of public education.

Additionally, as board members we support the mental health of public education as an institution by promoting and modeling clear and open communication between all participants and stakeholders. From my experience, poor communication or the lack thereof is a serious impediment to institutional mental health of schools and a school district, which ultimately impacts the individual health of students, faculty and staff.

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