Judy Bullockus, who has served for five years on the Capistrano Unified School Board, is running for her seat in the Nov. 8 election.
Bullockus was appointed by the board in 2017 to fill the vacant Trustee Area 7 seat and won another four-year term by default due to lack of opposition in 2018.
As board president in 2021, Bullockus played a key role in leading the board as it navigated returning to campus and pandemic restrictions after the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Now, she wants to continue to help the district and its schools recover from the pandemic.
“I feel I’m in the best position of knowing what has gone on in the schools, what the needs are now after the pandemic,” Bullockus told The Epoch Times. “We want to give back to the students as much as we can because they’ve lost a great deal [of learning] in the last two and a half years.”
To help address student learning loss, Bullockus said the district used its federal COVID-19 grants to reduce class size, hire additional school counselors, and offer summer school classes with accelerated programs to help students catch up.
If elected, Bullockus said one of her goals would be to have all district students proficient in English and reading by the third grade.
Currently, according to state education database Education Data Partnership, only 66 percent of the district’s third graders met English and literacy state proficiency standards during the 2018-19 school year.
“The proficiency of reading is really an indicator of how they’re going to be successful in the future,” Bullockus said.
In addition to learning loss, Bullockus said another key issue for district students is a pandemic-induced “delay in social and emotional development.”
“If the student [doesn’t have a] healthy outlook, it’s hard for them to be able to take in all that they should academically,” Bullockus said.
During her time on the board, Bullockus said she’s most proud of her reputation as a good listener.
“I have an open door,” she said. “Teachers and parents can text me, call me, email me, come and speak with me, and give insight that I can bring back to the district about things that maybe we should be addressing that we didn’t recognize. That’s my favorite thing.”
Prior to joining the school board, Bullockus served as a community services commissioner for the city of Mission Viejo for five years, where she oversaw the city’s parks and recreation projects and services.
Bullockus is running against Jeanette Contreras for Trustee Area 7, which covers the cities of Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Las Flores, and the unincorporated area of Coto de Caza.
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