Ingrid Campos

Ingrid Campos is a Palo Alto parent running for school board on the basis of “traditional family values.” Although Campos acknowledges that family values can look different to everyone, she values advocating for her own kids within Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD). “I want my children to succeed,’’ she said. “I want to be there and advocate for my children in school before any administrator or teacher. I don’t think anyone should think that they have a better understanding of my child than me.”

Campos strongly believes in parental rights. For Campos, that means changing some of the district policies currently implemented. “I believe that sex and politics should stay out of schools,” she said. “School is for education, not for indoctrination and not for social services.”

Trying to advocate for children and parents is one of Campos’s main goals. Her aim is to make sure parents are aware and comfortable with what their children are learning. Campos cites an experience of having issues with her child’s middle school curriculum. “My middle schooler two years ago was assigned a book that was critical race theory based,” she said. “It was a Marxist-based book, and I was against it. I didn’t want my child reading it.”

Although Campos has created a platform on the basis of having a choice within school curriculum, she has vigorously condemned Scholastic Books for having books containing LGBTQ+ themes and characters. In her words, Scholastic Books have become “deviant publishers.” Unlike her stances on previous issues, Campos believes that there needs to be a district-wide ban of certain books. “I don’t believe that they should be brought into the school under the guise of Scholastic Books,” she said. “There are other book companies that the school district can bring in for book fairs.”