Q&A Profile: Meet ABC School Board Candidate Mansour Meisami

Editor's Note: Mansour Meisami is running for the two-year seat left vacant by earlier this year by Cerritos City councilmember Mark Pulido. The candidates looking to fill this spot include Mansour Meisami, Cindy Yen Chen, Lynda Johnson, and Soo Yoo. 

Get to know your ABC School Board candidate Mansour Meisami a little more through Patch's Q&A session:

Name: Mansour Meisami

Educational Background: Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Industrial Education (with teaching credentials) from California State University Los Angeles (CSULA).

Current job/career: Retired Federal Government employee.

Married? Children? Married 36 years, with one daughter.

What city do you live in? Cerritos, Ca.

What is your favorite book? To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

What is something unique the public doesn’t know about you? I was born and raised in Tehran, Iran and came to the United States for a better education.

What seat are you running for in the Nov. 8 ABC School Board Election? The 2-year term.

Why are you running for a spot on the ABC School Board? I have the best qualifications and experience to run for the ABC school board position. Since I am now retired, I have the time to devote to something that I am passionate about: our children’s education.

What is your personal experience or personal ties do you have with the ABC School District? My personal experience with the ABC school district is that my daughter attended school from K-12. She was well-prepared to succeed at University California Los Angeles (UCLA) and is now a successful practicing physician.

In your opinion, what is the most critical problem that the district faces? During these trying economic times, it is critical to try to balance the budget.

How do you feel about the districts push to hire specialized and professionally trained individuals, such as counselors? Is this a necessity? Yes, it is absolutely a necessity to hire these types of individuals that are trained and specialized in working with students so they help guide our students towards their goals.

Should the district have to undergo another round of budget cuts, where should the cuts be made? If there is a round of budget cuts, funding should be cut where there is unnecessary spending such as cuts in employee bonuses for the month or year. There should not be cuts that effect teachers, students or administrative staff.

What is your stance on implementing more career-oriented and technical study courses in the school curriculum? This is something that I am very interested in and have seen other districts implement. We need to consider implementing more career oriented and technical study courses in the school curriculum within the budget to help introduce students to more options and get them thinking about their personal career goals.

What sets you apart from the other candidates? My experience, educational background and most importantly, I am retired and have the time to devote to ABC School District.

If elected, what will you do to make a difference in the ? I will review the budget, make sure that all the schools within our district are safe and most importantly work on student retention and increase the percent of student’s graduating and attending universities.

If anything, what needs to change in the district? In my opinion, the most important change is electing me as an ABC School Board member. If elected, I will do my best for a better ABC Unified School District.

Unlike some of the other candidates, people are not familiar with your background. What do you bring to the table that the other candidates do not? I have a very high level education, as well as teaching, counseling and management experience. Also for 22 years, I worked for the federal government as a supervisor overseeing and managing hundreds of government employees on a daily basis.

For more information on Meisami's campaign, visit his official website.