SMMUSD elects new president of BOE

Camille De BeusStaff WriterPrevious Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) parents Laurie Lieberman and Maria Leon-Vazquez were elected president and vice president of the Board of Education, respectively at their Dec. 13, 2012 board meeting.Lieberman said that education was always a large part of her life because of her mother.“My mother has been a teacher and educator her whole life, and is still working at age 82,” Lieberman said. “I’ve been around [education] my whole life.”Lieberman said she has two children who went through SMMUSD schools.“As [my children] grew up, I came into contact with higher levels of school and policy decisions that had to be made and the issues facing our district,” Lieberman said. “I have always been interested in public policy; it’s what I’m involved in.”Leon-Vazquez also has two children that have gone through  the SMMUSD. She said it was natural for her to become interested in joining the Board of Education.“I’ve always been involved in politics and I’ve always been involved in the community, in a lot of activities,” Leon-Vazquez said.Lieberman co-chaired the Measure ES campaign in 2012, which authorized a $385 million bond measure that is going to be used to modernize technology in SMMUSD schools.“I am very excited about the changes we will begin to bring to our campuses, and especially to Samo,” Lieberman said. “This bond measure will allow us to vastly improve technology throughout SMMUSD and will allow us to continue modernizing classrooms and other facilities.”Board member and previous Board of Education President Ben Allen said that Lieberman and Leon-Vazquez are prepared to step into their leadership roles.“I’m sure both of them will do a great job,” Allen said. “I’ve worked really closely with Laurie and I think she’s ready to take on her new role, and I know she’ll do a good job in it.”Lieberman and Leon-Vazquez want to engage more people in the topic of education during their terms.“We hope to have some town council meetings and large discussions, similar to what the city of Santa Monica has when they’re proposing any changes,” Leon-Vazquez said.Leon-Vazquez said she will do her best to improve the district through her role as vice-president.“We’re a great district and we can make it an even greater district,” Leon-Vazquez said. “We hope to do that by looking at the programs that we offer and making sure that we respond to the needs of our community and our kids.”cdebeus@thesamohi.com