My dear friend Julee Brooks is running for the William S. Hart Union High School District board, and I have never been more confident in a candidate who will be a real champion for our schools and every student. She’s earned this trust from me and from educators across our region and state.
For years, Julee has fought tirelessly for every student, building a track record of advocating for public education. I’ve worked alongside Julee Brooks for years in the youth development and education space, and I’ve seen her deliver for students time and time again. She is currently the CEO of one of the largest afterschool and outdoor education community-based organizations in Southern California. That growth hasn’t come from marketing — it’s come from program quality, the trust school districts place in her team, and a deep investment in developing her staff. That commitment was recognized nationally when her organization was named a Fast Company Workplace for Innovators for its staff development program. I’ve also watched her intelligently and passionately lead during budget shortfalls, policy shifts and even COVID.
I’ve seen her with students, parents, staff and policymakers, and she has a rare ability to work with all of them and truly listen, so the right decisions get made. She’s not naive enough to think our schools are perfect — she’s in constant pursuit of making them better.
Julee also safeguards public money and isn’t afraid to hold districts accountable. She’s advocated at the state level for more funding, in the board room — including to the L.A. Unified School District board — to ensure proper use of funds, and she asks hard questions in the state commission to ensure policy creates conditions for greatest impact. She manages a $90-plus million contract portfolio, so she understands big budgets, how to orient resources for greatest impact, and the complexity of education funding.
School boards need members who understand not just the politics of education, but the operations of it — including how funding actually moves, how programs actually get built, and how policy translates into what happens in a classroom. Julee has spent two decades in that work.
I am also a parent in the Hart district, and I know that our kids, our teachers and our schools could not be in more trusted hands than Julee’s — her expertise, her guidance, her heart and her judgment. She cares about every child, and I’m endorsing her for Area 2 because our students deserve someone who has already proven she can deliver for them.
Tony Brown
Valencia
