THE RACE FOR HUNTINGTON BEACH CITY SCHOOL BOARD

Angelique Flores

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Catherine McGough, vice principal for Huntington

Beach Union High School District Adult Education and Alternative

Education, will begin her third term on the board in December.

She has been a high school district administrator for 17 years, and a

teacher and staff development consultant for 10 years.

The most important issue facing the district, she said, is bringing

children into the 21st century’s technological revolution, even as they

learn in aging classrooms with inadequate electrical wiring and broken

walkways.

“We must spend our few dollars wisely, remaining fiscally conservative

while managing our assets carefully, and maintain the outstanding

academics we provide our children,” she said.

McGough received her bachelor’s degree in drama, humanities, and

English, graduating cum laude from UC Irvine.

She also earned a California Administrative and Teaching Credential

and a master’s degree in educational administration.

Two of her children attend Huntington Beach High School, and her

youngest child attends Dwyer Middle School.

BIO

CATHERINE MCGOUGH* Age: 49

* Family: Husband Paul Kollar, sons Niki and Paul and daughter Natalie

* Community Activism: Current board president; Huntington Beach High

School’s school site council; Huntington Beach Infrastructure Advisory

Committee; council-appointed Huntington Beach Children’s Needs Task

Force; American Assn. of University Women; numerous PTA and other school

support organizations; Vital Link, Orange County board; and Orange County

Council for the Education of Young Children

* Contact: (714) 848-7332 and o7 [email protected]

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CATHERINE MCGOUGH ON:

* THE DISTRICT’S BIGGEST CHALLENGES:

The biggest challenge is increasing school funding, McGough said.

“Even with the new state money allocated to our schools, California

continues to rank well below the national average in spending on its

public schoolchildren. This state’s children deserve better than the

below-average funding we have. Our students receive less than half per

pupil than several states. Imagine cutting your pay in half and trying to

accomplish more at your work.”

She added that more funding is needed to lower class sizes throughout

California and provide more time for teachers to receive updated

training.

* PROPOSITION 38:

“Proposition 38 mocks our voter’s wisdom. It assumes that the voters

will believe the lies about improving public schools by sending billions

to currently enrolled private school families. It allows unqualified

adults to teach with no accountability for curriculum, standards and

achievement. California’s voters have fought hard for these standards,

and schools are showing great gains.”