Meet the 2018 school board candidates
October 22, 2018
Five Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education candidates appeared at the first school board candidate debate on Sept. 20. From left: Stacey Ashlund, Ken Dauber, Shounak Dharap, Kathy Jordan and Alex Scharf. Photo: Margaret Li
The Paly Voice sat down with five candidates running for a seat on the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education to find out about how they became involved in the district and their goals for the board. Elections will be held on Nov. 6.
![Charen Yu (left), the Palo Alto Unified School District chief business officer, presents the updated 2026-2027 budget during Tuesday's board meeting. According to Yu, expenditure changes are the primary reason for the deficit. “[Compared to the adopted budget], certificated salaries are up $18.8 million (which translates to 13.4%), classified salaries are up $11 million (or 17%), benefits are up $5.6 million and all other objects are down $2.9 million,” Yu said. “These are settled agreements with our bargaining partners. They are contractual obligations and they are the primary driver of the change.”](https://palyvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/budget-presentation-300x225.jpeg)
