Ahead of the November general election, the Southern California News Group compiled a list of questions to pose to the candidates who wish to represent you. You can find the full questionnaire below.
Name: Jessica Guerrero
Age: 30
Current job title: AUHSD Board President
Incumbent: Yes
Other political positions held: N/A
City where you reside: Anaheim
Campaign website or social media: voteguerrero.com
What are the top two needs of your school district, and how are you prepared to address them? (Please answer in 200 words or fewer.)
The two greatest needs facing AUHSD are preparing students for the changing workforce and ensuring that every student learns in a safe, supportive, and well-resourced environment.
First, we must continue preparing students for success after graduation. This requires strengthening student relationships to support deeper learning, closing achievement gaps, and expanding career pathways that reflect today’s workforce and tomorrow’s opportunities, including biotechnology, cybersecurity, and more opportunities in the skilled trades and construction. We should continue building meaningful partnerships with colleges, businesses, and community organizations so students can connect what they learn in the classroom to real-world opportunities and careers.
Second, we must support the whole child. Mental health, campus safety, family engagement, and access to essential resources directly affect a student’s ability to learn. We have taken steps to address these needs, including supporting food pantries on our campuses to help address food insecurity and providing laundry service vouchers to support students and families facing the greatest needs. I will continue listening to students, parents, staff, and community partners to identify needs and connect our schools with resources.
My first term has given me the governance experience, community relationships, and understanding of district operations necessary to address these challenges. I will remain focused on collaboration, fiscal stewardship, transparency, and ensuring every AUHSD student has the tools, support, and opportunities to thrive.
To you, what is the role of a school board in education? Is it driving policy, being involved in curriculum, something else entirely? (Please answer in 200 words or fewer.)
The school board’s primary role is governance. It sets the district’s vision, establishes policy, adopts the budget, hires and evaluates the superintendent, and ensures the district remains accountable to students, families, employees, and the broader community.
Board members should not manage daily operations or independently design curriculum. Those responsibilities belong to the superintendent, administrators, and professional educators. However, the board has an important responsibility to ensure that curriculum and instructional programs meet academic standards, reflect student needs, support deeper learning, prepare students for college and careers, and are implemented with transparency and meaningful family and community engagement.
An effective school board asks thoughtful questions, uses reliable data to evaluate progress, listens to educators and the community, and directs resources where they can have the greatest impact for students. It provides oversight while respecting the expertise of educators and district staff.
Ultimately, the board’s responsibility is to keep students at the center of every decision, establish clear expectations, provide strong oversight, and create the conditions in which educators and staff can succeed and every student can thrive.
How do you feel artificial intelligence is, or isn’t, safe in the classroom? In what instances should it be expanded in the classroom? What about when it should be limited? (Please answer in 200 words or fewer.)
Artificial intelligence can be a safe and powerful classroom tool when it is used responsibly, transparently, and under the guidance of educators. I support access to AI because students must understand this technology to succeed in college, the workplace, and an increasingly digital economy.
AI can strengthen personalized learning, provide tutoring and language support, improve accessibility for students with disabilities, and help teachers develop lessons, identify learning needs, and reduce administrative work. It can also teach students to evaluate information, recognize bias, and use emerging technology ethically. AUHSD has taken an important step by developing an AI framework in collaboration with teachers and students, helping establish thoughtful and responsible guidelines for AI use in education.
However, AI should support learning, not replace teaching, creativity, or independent thinking. Its use should be limited when it compromises student privacy, produces biased or inaccurate information, enables academic dishonesty, or makes important decisions about students without human review.
Schools should establish clear policies, protect student data, train educators, and ensure all students have equitable access. Our responsibility is not to avoid AI, but to prepare students to use it safely, critically, and effectively.
How do you believe schools can better teach or engage students in civil discourse? How would you like to see your district tackle this issue? (Please answer in 200 words or fewer.)
Schools can engage students in civil discourse by ensuring they have the tools to understand the fundamentals of civics, practice respectful debate, and develop critical-thinking skills. Students should learn to evaluate evidence, challenge ideas, remain open to others’ viewpoints, and disagree respectfully.
AUHSD provides meaningful opportunities for students to practice these skills. The AUHSD Soapbox Speech Finals is an annual civic engagement event where students speak passionately about issues important to them. Students research a self-selected topic, analyze different viewpoints, and deliver a compelling speech with a clear call to action.
I have also seen the value of giving students a voice. Sycamore JHS students reached out to me about sustainability and developed a plan for TreeMachines clothing and shoe collection bins operated by USAgain, which plants one tree for every full clothing bin collected. I was proud to support our students and their civic project, and those bins are now on our campus. This student-led project helped Sycamore Junior High School become a California Democracy School in 2023. A year later, AUHSD became the first recognized California Democracy School District, a reflection of our commitment to preparing students not just for life after high school, but for active, informed citizenship.
These experiences show that civic learning is strongest when students have opportunities to lead, listen, disagree respectfully, and take meaningful action in their communities.
Some school districts around California are recruiting teachers by building subsidized housing. How would you suggest your district could better attract — and retain — educators? (Please answer in 200 words or fewer.)
Attracting and retaining excellent educators requires a balanced approach that addresses affordability, compensation, working conditions, and professional growth.
AUHSD is already working on workforce housing opportunities for educators, and we should continue partnering with the city, county, responsible developers, and housing organizations to create attainable housing options. We should also evaluate whether appropriate underused district property could support housing without placing taxpayers or the district at unnecessary financial risk.
Housing alone, however, is not enough. We must offer competitive compensation and benefits, reduce unnecessary administrative burdens, maintain manageable class sizes, and provide educators with meaningful opportunities for professional growth and advancement. Teachers should also feel respected, supported, and included in decisions that affect their classrooms.
I support a practical, fiscally responsible approach that brings public and private partners together. By making AUHSD a place where educators can afford to live near the communities they serve, feel valued in their workplace, and have opportunities to grow professionally, we can continue attracting talented professionals, retaining experienced educators, and providing students with the stability they deserve.
What experiences and priorities do you bring to this role? What have you learned in prior leadership roles that makes you the person for the job? (Please answer in 200 words or fewer.)
As the current AUHSD Board President, a proud product of Anaheim public schools, and someone with deep roots in Anaheim, I bring both governing experience and a personal connection to our schools. My family has lived in Anaheim since the 1960s, and my father has served AUHSD for more than 15 years as a classified employee. His service and my parents’ sacrifices inspired my commitment to public education.
As a trustee, I have advocated for stronger campus safety, improved school facilities, expanded resources for students and families, and programs that prepare students for college and careers. I have worked with educators, employees, parents, community organizations, and local leaders to identify needs and connect our schools with additional support.
I have learned that effective leadership means listening to different perspectives, asking difficult questions, understanding budgets and policies, and remaining focused on serving students and families.
In another term, I will prioritize continuing to reduce class sizes and deepen student learning in partnership with educators, expanding career pathways through local business and college partnerships, strengthening mental health and academic support, and increasing parent participation in district decisions. I bring the experience, education, and community connection to continue this work with the steady, transparent, and student-centered leadership AUHSD deserves.
If your campaign had a mascot, what would it be and why? (Please answer in 200 words or fewer.)
If my campaign had a mascot, it would be a purple school bus. A school bus represents the journey we take together to support our students and help get them where they need to go; toward graduation, college, careers, and fulfilling futures.
Purple is my favorite color, and it is also the color of my campaign. The bus reminds us that it takes all of us to support our students. Students, families, educators, classified employees, administrators, community organizations, and local partners all play an important role in helping young people succeed.
A bus also represents movement and progress. As a district, we cannot stand still. We need to keep moving forward, listening to our community, addressing challenges, and creating new opportunities for every student.
The purple bus is a simple reminder that we are all on this journey together, and that our destination is a future where every AUHSD student has the opportunity, support, and resources to reach their full potential.
Bonus question: What is the best book you’ve read this year? Explain why you found it compelling.
The book I’ve read this year is “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho.
I found it compelling because of its message about pursuing your dreams, staying true to your purpose, and having the courage to follow your own path even when the journey is difficult. As a first-generation college graduate, the idea of pursuing a dream and creating opportunities for the next generation resonates deeply with me. My own journey through Anaheim public schools and into higher education has reinforced my belief in the power of opportunity, perseverance, and education. That message also reminds me of what we owe our students: to help them discover their purpose, believe in what is possible, and give them the support and opportunities to pursue their unlimited dreams.