Goleta School Board Candidates Discuss District Issues In LEAP Webinar
Goleta Union School Board candidates Eric Bowers, Ethan Bertrand and Emily Zacarias discussed immigration enforcement activity, declining enrollment, staff housing shortages and a proposed gun store relocation near schools during a webinar hosted by LEAP. The candidates are running unopposed.
Santa Barbara Santa Maria San Luis Obispo, CA, October 13, 2026 —
Goleta Union School Board candidates Eric Bowers, Ethan Bertrand and Emily Zacarias discussed several issues facing the district during a webinar hosted by Learn. Engage. Advocate. Partner (LEAP). The candidates are running unopposed for their board seats.
Topics raised during the webinar included federal immigration enforcement activity by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), declining student enrollment, shortages of housing for staff and a controversial gun store relocation near schools.
The provided information does not specify what any candidate said about these subjects, whether they proposed particular policies or how they would address the issues if elected. It also does not provide the webinar’s date, the candidates’ individual responses or further details about the proposed store relocation.
The discussion covered concerns spanning district enrollment and staffing as well as activity and a business relocation described in relation to schools. However, no additional background was provided on the scale of the enrollment decline, the extent of the staff housing shortage, the location involved or the status of the relocation.
Because the candidates are unopposed, the webinar offered an opportunity for them to address district issues ahead of taking their board seats. The available summary does not say whether the event included audience questions or whether LEAP plans to publish further information about the candidates’ positions.
Story summarized from the original created by Pricila Flores, Noozhawk Staff Writer on www.noozhawk.com, see more information here.
