Mom wants to be heard

Molly Shore

Saba Mokhtari is frustrated at not being able to speak her mind to

school administrators and district officials, so she decided to run

for one of the three open school board seats in hopes of being heard.

“I think I have great ideas for making some of the little problems

in the school better,” Mokhtari said.

Her two children attend Roosevelt Elementary School, which uses

the “early-bird, late-bird” class schedule in first, second and third

grades. With half the children arriving and leaving early, the other

half arriving later and leaving later, Mokhtari said both groups of

children miss 45 minutes of combined classroom instruction.

If she is elected, Mokhtari said she would work to eliminate this

type of classroom scheduling.

She is enthusiastic about the valet parking at Edison Elementary

School. Fifth-graders and adult volunteers open car doors in the

morning, eliminating the need for parents to double- park and get

out, she said.

The problem, Mokhtari said, is valet parking is not uniform

throughout the district.

“There is no consistency within the district as far as policies

go,” she said.

Children at Miller wear uniforms, Mokhtari said.

“Why can’t parents have that option at Roosevelt or at other

schools?” she said.

Mokhtari said if she is elected she will be the board’s

spokeswoman for parents.

“I’m a very aggressive person,” she said. “I speak my mind.”

Mokhtari does not worry about not being elected.

“My concern is that people vote for a person for the board of

education whose concern is for the children.”