Frank Lara

Frank Lara earned a bachelor's degree from the California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. Lara's career experience includes working as an educator.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Through my work as a bilingual educator, as a leader in my union, as an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), and as a member of the Peace and Freedom Party of California, I have fought continuously for the rights of immigrant students and families. In 2016, I was nominated to take part in a racial justice task force with the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) and was awarded the CFT “Pride of the Union” Award in 2017. My experiences and leadership in the classroom, in the union hall, and in the streets demonstrate my unique abilities to connect different struggles and build working class unity in a society that often sows division and tries to isolate us from one another.

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?

California has the 4th largest economy in the world, but billionaire rule has devastated our public school system.

A $4 trillion economy, the largest sub-national economy globally, should be able to provide a world-class education for all its students. And yet, our public schools face so many challenges: understaffing, high turnover, ballooning class sizes, poor infrastructures, limited arts and music programs, and many others. These challenges are even more severe for low-income, Latino, and Black students, and exacerbated in our state’s urban and rural environments. A better California education is not only possible, but necessary. Frank is a father, educator, and union leader running to fully fund our schools!California is the state with the most billionaires, yet we have the second worst student-to-teacher ratio in the country. We’ve known the positive impact of reducing class sizes for decades: Holding class size to 18 or fewer students in grades k–3 produces significant benefits in both reading and math, with the greatest impacts on Black, Latino, and students from low-income backgrounds. And yet, because small class sizes would require funding and investment in our public schools, this solution often seems idealistic rather than a pragmatic, reasonable, research-based strategy to improve outcomes for students. District and state funds should go towards supporting our students in the researched, proven ways we know work.For over 50 years, the federal government has promised to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and that promise has never been kept. Federal funding, which is now threatened due to the dismantling of the Department of Education, has only ever covered less than 13 percent of the cost of educating students with disabilities. Fully funding special education and making it a priority of the California Department of Education would mean access to qualified educators (who would receive specialized training through state-funded educational and career pathways), early identification of special needs, and early interventions that ensure students can reach their full potential, regardless of their identification.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Fully funding our public schools and making a California for the people and not the billionaires.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Peace and Freedom Party, The Green Party, United Educators of San Francisco, Dean Preston, Matt Haney, Matt Alexander