Dr. Karen Sher frames superintendent bid around teacher supports, early literacy and affordable housing

Dr. Karen Sher, currently president of the Oxnard Union High School District board and a longtime teacher, was the sole candidate to participate in the Ventura County superintendent forum hosted by INCO in Oxnard. Sher opened by describing more than 30 years in local classrooms and leadership of a district serving roughly 16,000 students and cited experience managing budgets and bond funds.

Sher committed to the county superintendent guiding principles of advocacy, innovation and equity. She emphasized career and technical pathways, apprenticeship programs in partnership with labor and industry, and measures to keep students “career ready and college prepared.” Sher pointed to higher graduation rates in her district and said similar practices should be scaled countywide.

On equity and student supports, Sher described policies she has championed including a single‑color graduation gown policy to reduce economic pressure on families, expansion of gender‑neutral restrooms, increased public access to Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) meetings, and targeted supports for underrepresented students. For early literacy she advocated dyslexia screening for kindergarteners and wider use of the “science of reading” to ensure students read on grade level by third grade.

Sher addressed administrative pay and accountability, citing public data on salaries and saying she would examine excessive administrative compensation to prioritize resources near the classroom. She also proposed pursuing teacher housing and other strategies to address the county’s affordable‑housing shortage as a way to stabilize staffing and enrollment.

Sher closed by urging voters to consider her classroom experience and endorsements from teachers and state education leaders. No formal action was taken at the forum.