The 19 education service districts in Oregon were created by the Legislature to oversee and support the school districts in their area. They provide supplemental services such as special education and coordinate services shared among several school districts. They also certify teachers, maintain school property, and are empowered to create new school districts.Qualifications: Candidate must be a registered voter and a resident of the district for at least 1 year. Employees of the district are not eligible. ORS 334.090(5), 334.090(6).Term: 4 years
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Campaign Phone (public)
5415133904
Town Where You Live
Eugene, Oregon
Your Experience/Qualifications
Lifelong Eugenean with a background in Education and Student Services. President-Elect, City Club of Eugene. Vice Chair, City of Eugene Human Rights Commission. Gates Millennium Scholar. LEDA Scholar and College Guidance Coordinator.
County
Lane
Term
4 years
Term Expires
2029
As a lifelong Eugenean, I first want to say thank you to every voter who is seeking out information about the May 20th ballot. I am so proud to be from a community that cares deeply about making life better for all students and their families.
I hope you will visit our website (https://thomashiura.com) for a detailed summary of my decades of experience in nonprofit leadership, education, governance, multimedia and the arts.
In brief, I have been elected to leadership roles by my peers on the City of Eugene Human Rights Commission, WOW Hall Board, and City Club of Eugene Board. I am endorsed by the 3 most recent Mayors of Eugene because I am transparent, genuine, fair-minded, and have been showing up my whole life for everyday Eugeneans.
My life partner is a teacher, and as K-12 graduates of Eugene schools, we have interfaced with the ESD in more ways than we can count. As a collaborative board, the ESD Directors have a responsibility to build bridges that inform the best-possible decisions about:
Special education opportunities, home-schooling resources, shared services across school districts, maintenance of public school infrastructure, teacher & substitute teacher certification, and adequate access/connectivity in rural communities. There is so much to improve, and many areas to maintain what we've done well in an uncertain environment. Please tell me about YOUR experiences -- I want to hear from you about how the ESD can better serve your family.
As cliché as it may sound, this starts with building and maintaining positive relationships. Lane ESD can only serve the school districts which choose to continue their working relationship, so it is essential for the ESD to provide exemplary services to a wide variety of communities.
We can build increased trust by taking parents’, students’, and educators’ concerns seriously, and showing up beyond the urban core. Down to the neighborhood level, areas like north Eugene deserve to feel like their concerns are as much a priority as those of other community members. I am committed to being present, building a welcoming ESD, and vigorously encouraging the board toward solutions when any community member feels let down or left out.
