Student-Led Sweetwater Candidate Forum Tuesday

Sweetwater Union High School District Board of Trustees candidates will answer questions written by students from the Debate Team at Bonita High School Tuesday evening at a library in Chula Vista.

The format of the debate was inspired by the district's Gifted and Talented Education Advisory Committee two years ago though members of the audience will be allowed to ask questions.

"I think this year, more than last time, there's a lot of turbulence and a lot of things going on in the district, and it's really important that parents take an active role and make sure their interests are represented, and one of the ways to do that is to speak with the candidates," said the committee's president Jennifer Cortez.

Among issues that have proven controversial to some this year include the purchase of iPads for students, indictment of School Board members and offering Superintendent Ed Brand a permanent contract.

Candidates include:

• Sweetwater Union High School District Seat 2: George Cameron, Pearl Quinones, Jesseca Sanez-Gonzalez and John Vogel.
• Sweetwater Union High School District Seat 4: Bertha Lopez and Burt Grossman.

The forum is being held to inform voters, but is also to a lesson in civic engagement for students, Cortez said.

"It's good for them to see the process, and to understand these guys are the ones who make the decision about cutting your librarians. They're the ones who decide if you have a computer lab open or not," she said.

Candidates were sent surveys to fill out basic questions. The results were then taken to Debate Team students at Bonita High School, where questions were made to respond to survey results.

Booths will also be set up at 5:30 p.m. where voters can speak one-on-one to the candidates.

Registration begins at 5:15 p.m. The library is located at 389 Orange Ave.

The GATE Advisory Committee will not endorse any candidates at the event which is not a