REVIEW-JOURNAL ENDORSEMENT: CCSD Trustee, District E

Ms. Brooks has led a fractured board during the difficulties poised by the coronavirus. She’s emerged as a backer of Superintendent Jesus Jara and believes the district needs stable leadership. Outside of the School Board, Ms. Brooks works as a data and assessment coordinator for a local charter school. Having someone on the board who knows the value of charter schools is a welcome asset. Ms. Brooks is also realistic about the district’s budget situation.

Ms. Salt is a frequent commentator and critic of the School Board. She bragged about using her “teacher voice” to tell off the panel. She wrote that her students’ favorite line is, “Shame on you. Shame.” If she’s elected to the board, one suspects she’ll view words such as those quite differently, given the impossibility of pleasing the parents of more than 300,000 students.

Ms. Salt would like to see Mr. Jara replaced. She suggested someone such as former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Giunchigliani as a more suitable superintendent. If elected, she will also be a firm supporter of the education unions, which mostly embrace the failing status quo.

Ms. Brooks has made mistakes, but she’s a steadying force on the board that needs mature decision makers. The Review-Journal endorses Lola Brooks.