Erin4PVPUSD

Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Governing Board Member Julie Hamill resigned from the Board, leaving an open seat. The Board discussed the process for filling the position. The two main options when a Board Member resigns, is removed from Office, or leaves for any reason are to:

1. Hold a special election

2. Open an application process for prospective members of the community to apply, and the Board will then consider all applicants and choose the person they believe will be the best person to fill the seat.

   
   

The Board opted for option 2. They are accepting applications. According to Board President Linda Kurt,

The plan is to to post the applicant's names and responses to the questions as part of the agenda for the September 25^th meeting (on September 19th).

The public will have the opportunity to review the applications, and the community can email the Board with feedback and/or come to speak at the September 25^th meeting to voice support or opposition to Board Candidates. The board plans to discuss the applicants and determine the next steps at the meeting on September 25th.

After a lot of Soul searching, praying and inner contemplation, I have decided to apply for the open seat on the Board. I did not make this decision lightly but my promise is, in the chance the Board will accept me, is to dedicate myself fully to making PVPUSD a place we all feel proud to be a part of.

If you want me to serve as your representative on the PVPUSD Board of Education, please email the Board directly and let them know your thoughts.

kurtli@pvpusd.net,

deens@pvpusd.net,

gandhia@pvpusd.net,

alegriae@pvpusd.net

To submit a public comment, click here.

Here is my application for you to consider:

PALOS VERDES PENINSULA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT 

BOARD APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY ERIN DIMAGGIO

1. What is the role of the Governing Board of Education (School Board)?

The Governing Board of Education serves as the visionaries for the district and must be responsive to the values, beliefs, and priorities of the community. The Governing Board holds the highest power in decision-making relating to finances, curriculum, facilities, crisis management, legal issues, hiring and firing of staff, and all matters regarding student safety and academic, social, and emotional well-being. In addition, the Governing Board should strive to prepare children to be functional adults for a globally competitive future.

The Governing Board plays the quintessential role of simultaneously ensuring the success of the District while also meeting the appropriate interests of the people of Palos Verdes Peninsula and being good stewards of Taxpayers’ money. To do this, the Board hires the Superintendent to oversee day-to-day business operations and then listens to staff, oversight committee members, and seeks to receive community feedback to cast the final vote on agenda items that affect the District and Community. Additionally, the Board must examine over 900 existing policies and continue to ensure District policies are in alignment with community values. The Governing Board must demonstrate the skill set of any successful business owner while adhering to Education Codes, State Education Standards, and State and Federal Laws. The Governing Board is responsible for examining enrollment projections and financial forecasts, and then using that data to negotiate staff contracts and set the budget for the following year. In addition, the Governing Board should work collaboratively as a team to advocate for local, state, and federal funding and fair laws to protect PVPUSD's local power. Above all else, the most crucial role of the Governing Board of Education is to protect children and to uphold the Oath of Office, to defend and support the United States and California State Constitutions, to be of faithful service to the community's children, and never use the office for personal gain.

1.B What is the role of an individual member of the Board?

The role of an individual board member is to uphold PVPUSD’s Mission as stated on the District website, which is: “to celebrate the individuality of each student and work together with families and the community to provide an exceptional and well-rounded educational experience.” To achieve this, individual board members should embody the core values of “accountability, excellence, integrity, kindness, and teamwork” as set by the Governing Board in their day-to-day lives and in interactions with community members and district staff. 

2. What criteria would you use to judge the success of a school district?

My criteria for judging the success of a school district include examining data on enrollment trends, financial sustainability, graduation rates, community feedback, college and career readiness of students, school facilities report cards, staff morale surveys, and student and parent surveys rating their satisfaction with the District.

According to Cooperative Strategies, LLC, enrollment for PVPUSD decreased by 1,249 students from the 2014-2015 school year to the 2023-2024 school year. The projected enrollment for the 2025-2026 academic year was 10,524 students. The actual enrollment came in below the projection for the 2025-2026 school year. Dr. Serrano’s report on August 27, 2025, was that 10,293 students are currently enrolled in the District. The success of any business is dependent on customer retention, satisfaction, and increasing demand for services. Declining enrollment poses a threat to the success of any school. I also judge the success of the District by using the metric systems already in place, such as the federally mandated reports of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the School Accountability Report Cards (SARC), NICHE, the PDK Poll, the Nation's Report Card (NAEP), and the Local Control and Accountability Plan focusing on eight key areas including conditions of learning, implementation of standards, course access, and student achievement; as well as the metrics used to measure progress. According to PVPUSD's Strategic Plan Scorecard for 2023-2024, only 604 Parents Responded to the LCAP survey. I’d advocate for further research using a community outreach approach to engage the whole community to measure the satisfaction level of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Community.

2.B. What do you see as the strengths of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District?

I see many strengths of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District (PVPUSD). PVPUSD has a wide variety of school facilities, hundreds of clubs and sports, services for students with special needs, and the Palos Verdes Distance Learning Academy.  Additionally, PVPUSD boasts a 98% graduation rate, a low suspension rate, and provides ongoing professional development opportunities for its school staff. PVPUSD also has a 100% ranking for the percentage of schools with parent partnership groups. Furthermore, PVPUSD was voted #2 in the Niche Survey by the community for Best School District in Los Angeles.  Ultimately, another great strength of PVPUSD is the village of loving and involved parents and community members whose love for children and commitment to public education inspire them to raise over $23 million in donations and parcel taxes. Most importantly, I see the priceless involvement of parents and community volunteers who work collaboratively with the District as PVPUSD’s greatest strength. 

3. What background, skills, and assets would you bring to the Board of Education?

I grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood in Ohio. Our family had to survive on less than $30,000 a year. My Irish Immigrant Father shined the same pair of shoes every Sunday morning before Church, and my mother clipped coupons and double coupons from the Sunday paper. I learned how to budget money carefully and work hard for everything, whether it was in athletics or to buy a new pair of shoes. In our house, nothing was free. When I was in High school, I decided I wanted to move to California. A recruiter from the University of Southern California visited our school. My Mom asked the recruiter, “What’s the tuition?” As the recruiter answered, my mom’s jaw dropped. In that moment, I knew I’d have to find an alternative route to going to school in Southern California. After graduating from High School at 18, I headed out West! Upon arrival, I rode the bus and rollerbladed to work, taking on three minimum-wage jobs. After a year, I established residency and then enrolled as a part-time student at El Camino Community College. At 22, while attending school part-time, I started a personal fitness and yoga training business offering on-call workouts all over the South Bay and north to Beverly Hills. Within a year, I was making over six figures running a business while taking classes at Santa Monica Community College, Long Beach City College, and El Camino. I eventually transferred to California State University, Long Beach, to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. For thirty years, I’ve immersed myself in researching brain development, nonviolent parenting, and physical fitness, and everything related to raising children. I’m a lifelong learner who loves to listen to a wide variety of academic podcasts while running on the trails of Palos Verdes.

In addition to the Bachelor's degree in 2011 in Kinesiology, I graduated from The University of Santa Monica's two-year master's degree program in Spiritual Psychology. I am certified to teach multiple styles of Yoga and hold certifications as a Health Coach from The Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) and am a Trauma-Informed Nonviolent Parent Educator. For nineteen years, I’ve been a Mother and active volunteer in my three children's classrooms and extracurricular activities.  I’ve also been an AYSO Soccer Coach and Referee, Room Mom, volunteer Yoga Teacher for Girl Scout Circles, business owner, website designer, women’s retreat leader, blogger, author, and social media influencer. I worked on various fundraising events, such as Rancho Vista's Evening Under the Stars, to build a track for the kids at Rancho Vista (my homeschool). Most recently, I served as room mom for my son's fifth-grade class and was responsible for collecting donations from parents to cover the costs of all the Graduation Festivities, which included orchestrating an epic balloon drop of thousands of Balloons at the fifth-grade dance because creating a state of awe and joy stimulates the connection centers of the brain and brings everyone together. My love of children, combined with hard work, an understanding of the whole child, and my lived experience of being a business owner, influencer, and fiscally responsible, will be assets to the Board of Education. I can offer valuable insights into helping the District develop creative solutions to meet the needs of all students’ needs, enabling them to forge their own path and create the life they dream of.

4. Why do you want to be a Board member in the Palos Verdes Peninsula USD?

I have one son in college, another in high school, and one in middle school. I have been an active parent volunteer and studied the actions of the PVPUSD Governing Board for the last five years. Many people have asked me to run for a seat on the Board. I feel a personal obligation when I see problems to fix them. While PVPUSD has many great strengths, some things have been swept under the rug for too long. I want to become a Board Member so I can fix what’s broken and also bring families back to PVPUSD. The greatest financial threats to PVPUSD are unfair funding formulas, declining enrollment, and chronic absenteeism. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) projects that overall enrollment in the Public School System will fall below 47 million by 2031. California was among the 17 states where enrollment was already falling in the five years preceding the pandemic. PVPUSD must take a capitalist approach to school finances and seek to become competitive with private schools, online schools, homeschooling, and other alternative educational systems to provide parents with a compelling reason to enroll at PVPUSD. I want to be a Member of the Board because I have innovative ideas for increasing enrollment. As a Board Member, I aim to be a voice for all parents, students, and staff members while celebrating diversity and focusing on unity. I want to be a Governing Board Member because I love America, I love children, and I love and want to protect Palos Verdes.

5. Choose one topic you are passionate about, and what would you hope to achieve on that topic if appointed on the Board?

I am most passionate about mental health, specifically personal empowerment and inspiring people to resiliently believe in their capacity to handle complex challenges, no matter what they may be. The most significant challenge American children are facing is the loss of a desire to live. What good is a rigorous academic curriculum if a child wants to die? According to the CDC, after accidents, “Suicide remains the second-leading cause of death for children, aged 10–14, and the third for young adults, aged 15–24. 39.7% of students experienced persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, 28.5% experienced poor mental health, 20.4% seriously considered attempting Suicide, and 9.5% had attempted Suicide.” PVPUSD is aware of this alarming statistic and has hired additional therapists to provide a variety of mental health services for students. However, I believe we can do more. While the causes of Suicide are beyond the scope of a Governing Board application, if I were appointed to the Board, I would ask the Governing Body to approve a resolution for a comprehensive parent engagement policy requiring mandatory parent participation of at least ten hours per year. I would encourage Parent volunteers and mandate staff to take an abbreviated in-person or online class in heart-centered communication and growth mindset using a Board-approved curriculum for parents, such as The Non-Violent Parent Education course or an Imago-Based Relationship course focused on improving mental health and helping people learn the skills necessary to find light in their darkest days. Additionally, I would like to implement a District-Wide program utilizing the Mind Up Curriculum or a similar approach focused on cognitive behavioral research and building resilient minds. The Mind-Up Curriculum is an evidence-based program designed to teach individuals about the emotional center of the brain. Each of their lessons has a direct neurological correlate to strengthen students' ability to regulate emotions, focus attention, and build empathy. If I were appointed to the Board, I would hope to achieve a decrease in the number of children contemplating suicide and see more children and staff smiling at school and excited to wake up each day for a new adventure.

6. What lessons did you learn from the Measure SOS election?

The lesson that comes to mind for me is a quote by Margaret Mead, "Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has."

When the PVPUSD Governing Board voted unanimously to sign Resolution No. 28 - 2023/24 ordering a school bond election and authorizing necessary actions in connection therewith, two small, powerful groups formed: "The YESONSOS" and "NOSOS." The YESONSOS committee brought in a windfall of donations from developers, including but not limited to: $20,000 from the DLR Group (a long-term partner of the District), $15,000 from Ledesma & Meyer Construction Co., $10,000 from Ruhnau Clark, $8,000 from Lord Architecture Inc., and $5,000 from PVPUSD's law firm, Atkinson Andelson Loya Ruud & Romo. The YESONSOS committee raised over $50,000 in donations, enlisted the help of the PTA, PVFA, published a cover story in The Peninsula Magazine, and sent out full-color ads to everyone on the Hill. Whereas the group of No On SOS was just a few people, some of whom were struggling financially, and others who were unhappy with PVPUSD’s past decisions related to previous Bond Measures R and S, curriculum choices, and issues with how they were treated by the District.

The small group of “No On SOS,” without any financial backing from big development companies, managed to reach enough people, which led to 14,304 people voting against a raise in property taxes to fund the District’s Bond Measure SOS.

I learned from Measure SOS that the team that is most ambitious, powerful, and relentless in its pursuit to achieve what it wants usually wins. I also remembered that Maya Angelou was right: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” As a community, we must seek to inform and inspire, not to silence and attack people with differing views on how to invest their money. If I were chosen to serve as a Trustee, I would work tirelessly to earn the trust of every community member, whether they voted yes or no, to uphold the District’s Goal of One Team - One Goal - One PVPUSD.