Iceland seeks fifth term on school board

Jan Iceland Jan Iceland has been on the side of Oak Park students from the beginning. She helped form the school district in 1978 and is seeking a record fifth term on the board of education. Each term is four years.

"There is still work to be done," said Iceland, 61. "I thought this is a time when we need people who understand school finances, who can get the most out of diminishing dollars. We need to keep people who understand how to keep the classes we've got and keep putting in more."

Iceland believes her experience sets her apart from the other candidates. A past president of the Ventura County School Boards Association and currently a county delegate on the state school board association, Iceland has lobbied on behalf of education at both the state and federal levels.

"It's important now, in a time when budgets are being cut, to convince legislators that we need some money, that we need bills that will help our students," Iceland said. "We need all the help we can get."

Iceland first ran for the Oak Park school board in 1991.

In the early days there were no advanced placement courses at the high school; now there are many. The population has grown significantly and parents are more involved, but they're also more demanding of education, Iceland said.

"The challenges are different now, and I think the board has changed with the times," she said.

Among the accomplishments Iceland is proud of in her 17 years on the board are the creation of Oak Park's preschool, the addition of an elementary school counselor, the anti-bullying programs at each site, the start of the Oak View High continuation program, and the many state and national awards won by district schools.

"We have the most wonderful staff—teachers, administration and classified employees—and I applaud them all. Without them we wouldn't be where we are," Iceland said.

Iceland said she wants to make sure resources for special education and atrisk programs are maintained, and would like to see the district offer more occupational and career classes, those directed toward students who go to twoyear colleges or don't go to college at all.

"We need to have the most current technology so that the kids not going to college can take classes that will get them right into a job," Iceland said.

She feels pleased that the board works to address the needs of all students.

"I enjoy seeing kids go through our district and on to their adult lives, happy and successful," she said.

Iceland, whose youngest child graduated from Oak Park High in 1997, is a member of the Conejo/ Las Virgenes Future Foundation and serves on the board of the Child Development Resources of Ventura County. She has been appointed by the state school board association to a new commission to develop preschool policy.

"I feel really strongly that we all gain from what gets put into the schools. Our country is built on public education, and having a healthy, well-educated citizenry is necessary."

Iceland grew up in North Hollywood and attended Duke University in North Carolina. She and her husband, Steve, moved to Oak Park in 1976. The couple has four children. When not working on school issues, Iceland helps manage her husband's Agoura Hills dental practice.

"Jan is excited by new ideas and is a driving force behind many of the changes that the district has seen in the past few years," said fellow board member Marie Panec. "Oak Park is fortunate that she continues to be willing to serve her community."