John La Bare | Candidate for Petaluma City Schools Trustee Area #5

I’m running for School Board because I believe strong public schools are essential to a strong community. Our schools should provide every student with a safe, supportive environment where they are challenged to learn, encouraged to explore their interests, and prepared with the skills and work ethic they need to succeed.

My career has given me the opportunity to serve my community in a variety of roles and has taught me the value of leadership, accountability, collaboration, and making thoughtful decisions with limited resources.

I began my career in Emergency Medical Services, working in an environment where teamwork, preparation, sound judgment, and the ability to remain focused under pressure were essential. My experience in EMS eventually expanded beyond day-to-day operations to include analyzing 911 service contracts across the US and participating in the competitive bidding process for emergency medical services. That work gave me firsthand experience evaluating complex public-service agreements, balancing service expectations with financial realities, and understanding the responsibility that comes with providing services a community depends upon.

Later in my career, I had the opportunity to work alongside international Operational Excellence teams focused on improving business efficiency and organizational performance for business operations across the country. That experience taught me to look beyond the way things have always been done, identify opportunities for improvement, use data to understand problems, and bring people from different backgrounds and areas of expertise together to develop practical solutions.

Today, I work in the construction industry with a third generation family owned company performing cleaning and  inspection services for critical municipal underground infrastructure. My work requires attention to detail, accountability, communication among contractors, municipalities and other stakeholders, and an understanding that the quality of decisions made today can affect a community for decades.

But some of the experience I value most happens outside of work.

I serve as Cubmaster for a Petaluma Cub Scout pack, where I have the privilege of working with local kids and families. Scouting reinforces many of the values I believe are important for our children: responsibility, service, perseverance, respect for others, leadership, and a strong work ethic. It has also reminded me how important dedicated parents, teachers, volunteers, and other positive adult role models are in helping young people discover what they are capable of achieving.

I want our schools to be places where teachers feel supported, parents know their voices are heard, and students have the opportunity to succeed.

I believe strongly in safe campuses and in supporting the teachers and staff who work with our children every day. I believe in strong academics, but I also believe a great education is about more than test scores. Arts, music, extracurricular activities, sports, career and technical education programs give students opportunities to discover talents and interests that can shape the rest of their lives.

I also believe taxpayers deserve responsible stewardship of the resources entrusted to our schools. My professional background has taught me to ask questions, examine data, understand the long-term consequences of decisions, and look for ways organizations can operate more effectively without losing sight of the people they serve.

I’m not running because I believe one person has all the answers. I’m running because I believe I can bring a practical and collaborative perspective to the School Board—one shaped by public service, business and operational leadership, hands-on experience in construction and municipal infrastructure work, and years of working with people to solve difficult problems.

Most importantly, I will approach every decision with a simple question: What best serves our students and our community?

I would be honored to put my experience to work for our students, families, teachers, and community.