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Dublin resident, parent and longtime business manager Kristian Reyes is one of two candidates who will be facing off to win the Dublin Unified School District Area 1 seat on the Board of Trustees.
Reyes said as a Dublin resident for the past 10 years and as a parent of a freshman at Dublin High School, he is deeply invested in the school district and in the community and if elected, he will make sure he caters to the needs of everyone in the DUSD community.
“I will be the candidate that listens to and addresses all of DUSD’s stakeholder groups when issues and/or disagreements arise, and use my decades of managerial experience to help come up with the answers that address concerns — keeping the students first in mind,” he told the Weekly.
Reyes is running against Ramnath Shanbhogue for the Trustee Area 1 seat, which will be wide open on the Nov. 5 ballot with incumbent Trustee Kristin Pelham drawn out of Area 1 during the redistricting process after the 2020 census.
Originally from Southern California, Reyes graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and later from the University of Irvine with a master of business administration degree. He then moved to Oakland in 2004 where he married his wife before they moved to Dublin in 2014.
Reyes said he is no stranger to public service. He previously served on Dublin’s fiscal sustainability task force, DUSD’s budget committee, the Dublin Little League executive board and he volunteered to help out with music programs at two Dublin schools.
As a person who has nearly 30 years of business experience in sales and management roles in the electrical industry, Reyes said he plans to use that experience to address certain issues at DUSD.
While Reyes said he feels the district is doing a good job overall, there are still some things that can be improved.
“When exposed to some of the issues raised with regards to budget, teacher salaries, and grading, I believe that through service on the board I will be able to examine these and other issues with more information and utilize my past managerial and leadership experience to help make decisions that will provide the most benefit towards the district’s goals,” he said.
He said like many other district’s in the Tri-Valley and in California, DUSD is facing budget concerns that need to be addressed. He said is experienced to do so because of his background in managing “multiple small businesses as well as profit centers at Fortune 500 corporations with budgets over $100 million.”
“I believe a collaborative process is crucial to make decisions on what should be prioritized, should the district have to cut expenditures further to balance the budget,” Reyes said.
He also said some of his other top priorities, if elected as trustee, would be recruiting and retaining excellent teachers by having competitive compensation compared to nearby school districts.
At the end of the day, Reyes said his goal is to make sure he listens and considers the opinions of all district stakeholders so that he can make “decisions using a pragmatic approach and prioritize the district’s long-term goals.”
“My goal is to ensure all students have access to a high-quality, well-rounded education, which will prepare them for life after high school as lifelong learners and contributing members of society,” Reyes said. “I am excited to continue to serve our community as your Trustee and am humbly asking for your vote to help our students and our district achieve their goals.”
To learn more about Reyes’ campaign, visit www.kristian4dusd.com.
