The Livermore Valley Unified School District (LVJUSD) Board of Education will have two seats open up for reelection November 5, 2024. The seats are for Board Trustee and Board clerk, currently held by Yanira Guzmán and Kristie Wang respectively.  

The LVJUSD School Board comprises five trustees who oversee the nineteen schools in the district, covering both alternative schools like Vineyard and conventional elementary, middle, and high schools. Their responsibilities include, but are not limited to: overseeing district policies, managing budgets, and ensuring the quality of education for all students. The five trustees of the Board serve in staggered four-year terms and the seats are currently held by Craig Bueno, Steven Drouin, Emily Prusso, Yanira Guzmán, and Kristie Wang. Two spots have opened as Yanira Guzmán and Kristie Wang are pulling out for personal and professional reasons. 

One candidate running for the open trustee position is Christiaan VandenHeuvel. VandenHeuvel has been deeply involved in Livermore school boards for several years, with positions as the PTSA President at Livermore High School for three years and East Avenue Middle School. He was also a member of the task force in charge of reopening schools after the quarantine for Covid-19. As an English learner himself and having three children under the LVJUSD education system, VandenHeuvel’s main goals are to “improve the synergy between board members and the community” and to “try to make sure that we improve the quality of education that our students get”. He hopes to achieve this by placing a higher emphasis on students who struggle, especially those who are non-english speakers. Coming to the US and learning English at age twenty, VandenHeuvel understands the struggle that non-native students face and hopes to use his position if elected to support them.

Tara Boyce is another candidate in the running for the trustee position. Boyce has had an accomplished career in economics and finance and even runs her own consulting firm (Kush Solutions LLC) and hopes to use this experience and background to get involved in the funding problems the district faces, specifically, the continuation of programs that began or were started using Covid funding in face of the depletion of the original funds. She also hopes to be involved with student development and as a mother to a child with learning difficulties in the LVJUSD, she hopes to help “children that might have a similar situation and need an advocate”. This focus on student wellness is Boyce’s main goal, and like Christiaan, she believes that an increased focus on struggling students and English learner students is vital to a fair and functioning school district.

The other four candidates running are Deena Kaplanis, Jean Paulsen, Amanda Pepper, and Margarita Tufts. They are all running for the LVJUSD School Board trustee position and they hope more students will get involved with the dealings of the district and play a part in the future of their education.