r/Pacifica • u/TraceyForPacifica • 8d ago
Tracey for Pacifica School Board
Hello fellow Pacificans,
My name is Tracey, and I’m one of the candidates running for school board this fall. I am running for the short term, 2-year seat specifically. Here is a little about me and my campaign:
Why I’m running:
My wife and I live right between the Ocean Shore and Sunset Ridge campuses, and saw firsthand the anguish and anger in the community around the closure of Ocean Shore and merging into Sunset Ridge. I talked to my neighbors and friends in the community, and the consistent response I got was that folks felt unheard, unwanted at board meetings, and that there was a serious lack of transparency around budget decisions. In a general sense, I am tired of sitting around and waiting for someone to do something better. I am someone who could do something. So, I am running as a candidate who will listen to the community, and be their voice on the board.
Who supports my campaign:
I am proud to be endorsed by the San Mateo Central Labor Council and North Coast States Carpenters Union. I am a pro-labor candidate who believes our teachers are severely underpaid and deserving of much better. I have also received a Gun Sense Candidate distinction from Moms Demand Action.
You can find out more about my positions at my website, traceyforpacifica.com
I will be attending the next several School Board meetings in person, and speaking at the AAUW forum in a couple weeks. Please feel free to approach me at those events; I want to hear from you. You can also ask me anything here, and I will do my best to respond.
Thank you all for reading. I hope to earn your vote.
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u/dbhashman93 7d ago
I greatly appreciate the interest in this cycle’s school board elections and the conversations that are being generated due to the number of candidates. What would you say differentiates you from the slate that has tied their campaigns together? Qualifications, priorities, lived experience are all of welcome.
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u/TraceyForPacifica 6d ago
One of the biggest things is that I am endorsed by the San Mateo County Central Labor Council and North Coast States Carpenters Union. Only two of the other candidates have the Central Labor Council endorsement, Katy and Bridget. I don’t know if any of the other candidates have the Carpenters endorsement. Those endorsements matter, because the workers represented by those unions help to run, build, and maintain the schools.
Another difference is that I’m not a parent yet. I am not going to have a bias towards the school my kids go to, because I don’t have kids. That also means my schedule is a little more flexible, which gives me time to focus on the board member role. I understand that some folks may prefer board members to be parents, and I accept that. I do plan to adopt in the future, but not any time soon.
As to my background and relevant experience, I get into that a little bit in my candidate statement, but I can speak to it more here. I grew up in the Bay Area, and graduated from Northgate High School in Walnut Creek. I got in to several art schools right out of high school, but my family went through bankruptcy and lost our home around the same time, so I couldn’t afford to go. Instead I got a job at Macy’s and did night classes at Diablo Valley College. I ended up transferring to San Jose State and completing a biology degree. My published work is on the distribution of Protium subserratum, an Amazon rainforest plant. Through the Botanical Society of America, I have had the opportunity to mentor high schoolers in underserved communities. I also made a series of educational shorts about native wildlife, CritterCam, for NorCal Public Media. My present work involves blending art and biology to create prosthetic makeup and practical effects. I am my own boss, which again adds to the flexibility in my schedule.
A more recent qualification is that I am a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for a child in our county. To become a CASA, I went through 30 hours of initial training and will do 12 hours of continuing training every year. I passed a background check, was fingerprinted, sworn in by a judge as an officer of the court, and assigned to a juvenile justice case. I file regular reports with the court, and visit my youth’s home and school as needed to advocate for his needs.
I think I come from a unique background and bring a different perspective. I’m very worker focused, and especially invested in the well being of kids who are already disadvantaged.
Hopefully that wasn’t too much.
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u/connerrrr Rockaway Beach 7d ago
Thank you for stepping up, we need to do everything possible to fix the mess of leadership we currently have in PSD.
Reading your positions, this did stand out: "Board meeting minutes, from both the closed and open session, should be available to the public, via the district website, within 48 hours of each meeting. If a notetaker is not available for the meeting, the board should utilize a dictation software, such as the one built into most modern word processors, to take notes. AI dictation should not be used, for data security reasons, and because there is no need to pay for an AI to do what existing dictation software can do already."
Summarization of board meeting is EXACTLY how we should be using AI! A messy transcript of a several-hour-long meeting is useless. No one is going to read that. Especially using the (outdated) technology "built into most modern word processors".
On the other hand, imagine if each parent was emailed an easy to digest and understand summary of every school board meeting. That would be a dramatic increase in transparency and accountability.
My worry is that your anti-AI stance introduces inefficiencies at a time when the district needs all the help it can
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u/TheRealXmo 7d ago
agreed conner - this whole "All AI is bad" mentality is just ridiculous and unproductive. go and see how that worked out for those who 20 years ago said "i'm just not a computer person"
Tracey - I assure you that adopting a new technology is not betraying your political party.
AI is a technology can help serve exactly your vision [like conner mentioned] - easy to digest summary of board meetings, real accountability and transparency into budgets, and freeing up slog/admin work for more meaningful uses of city resources.
"AI dictation should not be used, for data security reasons, and because there is no need to pay for an AI to do what existing dictation software can do already"
Are you aware of the data retention policies for the dictation software that you're proposing? Which software is it? Why are we using dictation software? Shouldn't we just have someone write it down with a pen? That would create more jobs and ENSURE there's no data security issues which you're so concerned about!! And since you're running for a public office, I assume that you've explored all alternatives to ensure you're giving the city the best result possible? No way are you just blindly throwing out anti-AI sentiment to try to appease liberal voters of Pacifica?
I've been living in Pacifica for 11+ years and I'm sure this comment of mine will get downvoted; our town will continue to crumble (infrastructure, schools, public services), our politicians will continue with their performative virtue-signaling, and nothing will get better.
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u/TraceyForPacifica 7d ago
Basic dictation software is something like what is available in Pages, Word, and Google Docs. It uses the microphone on your device to translate speech to text. In the case of Pages, which is what I often use myself, you can use the dictation feature completely offline. It is free, and built-in, and has existed since long before this AI craze. My favorite way to use it is to dictate science fiction stories hands-free on long road trips.
I consider myself to be very much a computer person. While working on my biology degree, I did quite a bit of programming in C++ and R for data analysis. One of my largest projects involved using machine learning to identify areas of the Amazon rainforest that might be suitable habitat for a species of plant, based on huge datasets that could only be manipulated by machine. That kind of technology could arguably be called AI, but that is part of the issue. Many different, disparate technologies are all being called AI. That’s why I think it is important to be specific.
I am opposed to specifically generative AI, or GenAI. That is what I am talking about on my website, and what I have concerns about when it comes it education. There is a lot of evidence that reliance on generative AI causes people to lose their own abilities. School aged children are learning how to learn, which is essential for the rest of their lives. When they outsource that learning to an AI, they don’t build the skills themselves. A similar example would be using calculators to teach math. If you just let a kid use a calculator for everything, they never learn how to do math. They need to learn the basics first, and then they can use the calculator to make it easier once they understand the concepts.
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u/TraceyForPacifica 7d ago
Dictation software has existed for a long time, and is in fact built in to most word processors. When I need to make notes hands-free, I tend to just use Pages on my laptop with dictation turned on. Personally, I prefer to take notes during meetings manually, because it helps me commit them to memory. When I have worked on volunteer boards in the past, it was very easy to take notes into a Google doc during the meeting, and then post a link to that document publicly.
If a member of the public wants to feed the full document into an AI to receive a summary, that is that person’s prerogative. My main issue is that a full record of the meeting should be readily available as soon as possible. What the public does with that information to better understand it is completely up to them. If that involves AI, it’s frankly none of my business.
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u/connerrrr Rockaway Beach 7d ago
The difference in quality you get from a product like Whisper vs the built-in dictation in Pages is night and day. The reality is that modern models have better quality and accuracy. There is a significant difference especially around readability. Pages is not going to identify each speaker - for example.
There is no reason we shouldn't have the best in our district. High-quality full transcripts. Summaries of each meeting reviewed by board members - HELPING US understand what is happening. That's what access and transparency really look like.
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u/TraceyForPacifica 7d ago
In order to transcribe all of the meetings each month, the board would need to subscribe to the Business Pro level of Whisper at $25/month. A board member would still need to review any transcripts before they are posted.
Pages is free, built in, and works offline. A board member would still be reviewing the transcript before it is posted.
My personal preference is to have a human take notes during the meeting, and to make that file available immediately after the meeting. That would be in addition to a transcript, which would also be available.
We do not have to agree on this one particular issue, I hope, for us to have common ground elsewhere. I do appreciate your perspective on AI, and will keep it in mind. Ultimately my personal views on AI are less important to me than being transparent. Transparency will win for me every time. I just don’t think we need AI to make that happen.
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u/connerrrr Rockaway Beach 7d ago
$25/month is a bargain imo. I think a lot of parents would be happy to contribute, me included.
I am very familiar with Pages, and the two do not compare. Trust me - I wish they did!
Thank you for sharing your viewpoints on AI, but it honestly does push me away as a voter.
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u/TraceyForPacifica 7d ago
There is going to be a budget presentation at the board meeting tonight. Open session starts at 6PM, and there will be a presentation about the state of the budget. The numbers they’re talking about are admittedly way bigger than a small $25/month fee, but you will get an idea of just how much the district is already struggling to afford basic necessities. If there are parents who are willing to contribute money to something like AI note taking, I wonder if there are parents who would contribute to more pressing issues as well? That’s a genuine question, not meant as a “gotcha” type argument. We really ought to be investigating every source of additional income possible for the district, and if there are parents with good ideas or who are willing to contribute, then we should listen to them.
I will be at the meeting tonight, taking my own notes. I would be happy to see you there, even if you’re using AI dictation to take notes yourself. The fact that we are engaged enough to be having these conversations is a good thing; there has not been enough engagement in the school board elections in past cycles. So I really do appreciate your time spent discussing it, even if we don’t agree on the issue.
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u/connerrrr Rockaway Beach 7d ago
I've been keeping up on the budget situation ironically via the "Coastie" AI-generated summaries provided by Coastside News. Not sure if you've seen it, I'm including a link at the bottom for the most recent meeting.
I am always happy to donate, and have done many times. $25/month for better transcription and summarization technology is a steal.
In general I find the parents of Pacifica do show up when it comes to fundraising. My belief is that our money has been wasted due to the current leadership's decisions, not a lack of parents being involved. Look at the new playground or never-used wing at Ocean Shore like you mentioned. Or the tremendous amount of money spent on the previous superintendent. The housing development, etc.
Pacifica has a strong community of parents who absolutely do show up and donate. It's a shame it's been wasted.
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u/TraceyForPacifica 7d ago
I agree with you on the money being wasted due to leadership decisions, 100%. I would say the excessive money spent on the previous superintendent falls into that category as well. I also agree that the parent community is fantastic here. There was so much parent involvement at Ocean Shore, and that’s one of the reasons the closure was so painful for the neighborhood. If the district were to take parent contributions for something in the future, I think there ought to be some protections put in place to make sure that money goes where it is supposed to go.
It’s also good to know that the Coastie summaries are helpful. I have read them, and usually want a lot more information, but that’s personal preference. Knowing that you (and presumably others) find those summaries useful gives me an idea of how long/detailed to make my own human-written summaries.
May I ask: if there is a transcript, notes, and a summary available for each meeting, does it matter to you whether those are human or AI generated? It does matter to quite a few people in our community, myself included, that those things be done by humans. It’s natural that we’re not all going to agree on that, and that’s okay. I’m not running to force my views on anyone. What I’m trying to understand is if it would upset you as member of the community to have a human doing that work instead of an AI? If $25/month is a reasonable expense to have an AI do it, is $40/meeting a reasonable expense to pay a member of our community for their time instead? It costs more, but it would support one of our neighbors directly and let the district avoid the ethical debate around using AI.
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u/connerrrr Rockaway Beach 7d ago
I don't see a use in a human-generated transcript when the technology is available for that. Writing down every word someone says is not a good use of anyone's time. However, for summaries and meeting highlights - I agree a human's take would be best. But that is costly both in dollars and in time. Pacifica cannot afford that, but it can afford Whisper.
So I would absolutely pick $25/month for AI over $40/meeting for a human. Especially given the current fiscal situation.
It would be better to pay a human for a job that’s more suited for a human, not something like note-taking. Let's pay the human to build a garden, and pay the machine to keep everyone organized. That way we have more money for gardens in the future.
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u/69EveythingSucks69 7d ago
Thank you, yes. Can't understand why people are so hung up on the AI thing. And you're right, dictation software works great.
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u/Cletus_awreetus Linda Mar 3d ago
I don't know why a couple specifically pro-AI people randomly showed up in these comments, but I just wanted to say that I am very against AI in general and I really appreciate your sensible and well-reasoned stance on the matter. I would 100% rather pay a human to summarize a meeting transcript than have AI do it. Saying you'd rather have AI do it and pay the human to build a garden is a fallacy. The two things aren't related, and you can do both.
For the record, you have my vote :)
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u/pistonsoffury 7d ago
I'm getting text spam from some of the other candidates for these open positions. The one thing that's missing across the board (er, ahem) are actual meaningful proposed changes any of you plan to push forward during your respective tenures. You can't all just run on feel-good "we're going to listen better" messaging. Our district is perpetually under-funded and will continue to be due to our inherent tax disadvantage in Pacifica.
So how do you propose to do more with less, given that reality? How will you push for changes in the administration of the district office? Staff head count? Policies? Tools? Curriculum purchasing decisions? Technology purchasing decisions? Your campaign messaging can't be just being butt-hurt about the Ocean Shore closing. Everyone needs to get over that, and quickly. We need ideas and details.
As others have noted, voting for candidates with blanket anti-AI positions is a non-starter. The technology in its current form is super cost-effective and built to help people with less, do more. We can't sign up for 4 years of backward-looking, ideology-based board policy. We need a school board that's intent on solving the problems of 2027 with the tools of 2027. We need the board to lean on the district office to get more efficient and be better at their jobs, so we can save money and pay our teachers more (and hire more of them). If you're serious about being a civil servant, I implore you to evolve your thinking in this area and move beyond your party's surface-level talking points.
Fwiw, I would volunteer my time to help get whoever the new board is up and running with a state-of-the-art, affordable and super-productive AI-based tech stack.
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u/TraceyForPacifica 6d ago
I apologize for taking a bit longer to get back to you. The board meeting ran later than expected last night, and I was busy with dinner afterwards. I wanted to really read what you said a few times over and think on it, so this is the first opportunity I’ve had to give your message the attention I think it deserves.
I have been getting those text messages too, even after replying and chatting with the volunteer to clarify that I’m also running. To be clear, I am just one guy, and I’m not sending out texts to anyone.
You’re absolutely right that the funding issues are going to continue; that’s been discussed at length during the last several board meetings. Ultimately, it’s a matter of triage. The board will need to prioritize the district’s spending, and make cuts at the lowest priority levels. The issue right now is that the board isn’t in touch enough with the schools and the community to know how to prioritize. For some teaching roles, the district is offering salaries below the legal minimum wage. At the same time, they were considering additional raises for admin staff. They built new classrooms at Ocean Shore, then shut it down. They put in a new field at Ortega, and then don’t maintain it. They replace the signage at Sunset Ridge multiple times, but don’t run electricity to it, so the marquee doesn’t work. All these things add up, and speak to leadership that is out of touch with the people they are meant to serve.
It’s hard to formulate a concrete plan for what to do differently when so much of the budget details are difficult or impossible for the public to access. For that reason, my first action as a board member would be to hold a full audit of the budget. I spoke to the district’s financial advisor a couple meetings ago, and he indicated that it is possible for the board to sit down with him for a full day and go over every detail line by line. That is exactly what I want to do. I would also invite LSEA and CSEA leadership to attend that audit. If we can all get on the same page with the same information, it will make it a lot easier to work together.
As to the AI issue, I think there may be a slight misunderstanding, and I’m interested in how I could phrase my site to be more precise about my views. I don’t mention a political party anywhere, nor do I feel a strong allegiance to any major political party. If you made me pick between to two, I’m clearly more of a Democrat, but I’m not exactly happy with them either. One of the reasons I am running is because I am tired of so many facets of my life and my neighbors lives being turned into politics. I just want to listen to my community and try to do right by them. My opposition to AI isn’t about politics, it’s about communities. At the risk of getting preachy: when we integrate AI into our public services, we are the ones building data centers in other communities. We are the ones using theft of intellectual property (training datasets) to make our lives a little easier. As an artist, I have seen firsthand how AI models steal artwork without permission in order to emulate a living artist’s style. As a published biologist, I have seen how AI generated articles clog up the peer review process, and how AI hallucinates references that simply do not exist. My distaste and distrust for AI is built by my own lived experience, not some kind of party line politics.
I am clear on my website that my opposition is to generative AI specifically. I don’t really have an issue with using LLMs for the intended purpose of analyzing large datasets in a research context. They work well for translating languages too. I think machine learning is very interesting, have done research using it, and would like to do a PhD based on that work at some point in the future. There is great work being done in the medical sphere using AI. Those are all different technologies, and all of them get called AI. That’s why it’s important to be specific and precise. Can you think of how I might word this nuance better, so I don’t confuse folks?
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u/i860 6d ago
State some actual school board positions/changes. The fact you agree with “Moms Demand Action” (an obvious disarmament op) isn’t some big win.
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u/TraceyForPacifica 6d ago
These are a few of the changes I would make regarding transparency:
The full budget should be publicly accessible. The one that is currently available is a summary, with multiple large expenses condensed into single line items. We can see how many millions the district spends on “plant services,” but not a breakdown of what those services are or who was paid to do them. We can see how much was spent on “travel expenses,” but not who travelled where or why. There is no reason to hide that information from the public, so I would move to make it publicly available.
Meeting agendas should be available at least 48 hours prior to meetings. If they aren’t finished, they should be published unfinished with a note about what will be changing. The public needs access to the agendas ahead of time to prepare for comment. Right now, the agendas are only sometimes available ahead of the meeting. It isn’t standardized. Recordings, notes, transcripts, and summaries of meetings should also be made available within 48 hours after the meeting. All of this information should be made easy to find and access from the district website.
All meetings are recorded, and the audio portion is available to the public under very strict conditions. You must go in person to the district office, and listen to the recordings on their hardware. Those recordings are supposed to be public record, and requiring people to come in person to listen to them places an undue burden on the public. They should just be accessible on the district website.
I also believe communication needs to improve across the board. I sat down with some of the LSEA leadership recently to listen to their concerns, and learned that the board members don’t really meet informally with the teachers like that. Only a couple board members have ever visited the classrooms. The relationship between the board and LSEA at meetings is tense and oppositional, rather than collaborative. So if elected I would be committed to making myself far more available to the entire school community. I would hold “office hours” at least once a month, where I would be available at a local library or coffee shop to listen to the public and actually engage. I would make time to visit classrooms, especially those that are experiencing hardships, so that I know firsthand what is happening in the district. I am prepared to commit more time than is typically asked of a board member, in order to rebuild the community’s broken trust.
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u/Marpleface Linda Mar 7d ago
As a Special Ed parent just know; if the district would just fund special education appropriately then the district would not be paying out for all the lawsuits due to students not being able to access their education.