Robert Jung announced his candidacy to retain his seat on the Milpitas Unified School District (MUSD) Board of Education.
“There's still a lot of work left to do,” Jung said in an interview with The Beat.
Mr. Chong has served as a director since his tenure. appointed This happened in February 2023, after Mr. Hong Lien left his position as the Education Commissioner following his victory in the Milpitas City Council election. Previously, Jung served on the MUSD Board of Education from 2017 to 2018, after Bob Nunez vacated the seat following his own board victory. was also appointed to the same position.
MUSD has been rapidly evolving in recent months. Last fall, a ribbon cutting was held to mark the completion of the first phase of the new project. innovation campus; and this year the district began new construction. Performing Arts Center at Milpitas High School. There is also the Randall Elementary School of World Languages, which opened in October 2023. Chinese program.
“We believe all three of these are foundations that we can continue to build on to make MUSD one of the premier school districts in the county,” Jung said. “We could be bold enough to say we want this to be a model school district for the nation. We want people to say MUSD is unique in the way it provides opportunities for students to pursue their dreams.”
In the nearly four total years that Mr. Jung has served on the school board, he has seen significant growth in the district.
“I feel like we still have untapped potential for who we can be,” Jung said. “We’re not there yet, but we feel like we can make a difference by making it a reality.”
The election will be held on November 5, 2024. He will have two open seats on MUSD's board of directors. So far, only Doug Sueoka has announced he will run for a school board seat ahead of Jung.
While Jung was a member of the Board of Education, Milpitas Community Education Foundation (MCEF), recently organized the annual STEAM showcase held at Milpitas High School. Hundreds of students from across the district participate in this showcase, which has continued to grow since its inception in 2014. Jung feels it is these types of opportunities that set Milpitas and his MUSD apart from other universities, and he is excited to see the showcase flourish. pack.
Chong's daughter and son both attended MUSD schools. From the beginning, Jung felt that he was called to serve. He made sure to attend his PTA at his children's schools and volunteered whenever possible. Although his children are grown and he is no longer enrolled at MUSD, Jung still feels a connection to the district and all of its students and families.
“Ask me: Why are you doing this? There are no more children in this area,” Jung said. “But I get excited every morning thinking about what we can do. I truly believe we can be a world-class school district.”
In 2018, after Chung's first term on the school board ended, he chose not to run again. Instead, he decided to focus his time and energy on working on the Bond Measure AA campaign, a $284 million bond to renovate schools in Milpitas. He also worked to raise funds for MCEF.
This bond disappeared after the November 2018 election, and Jung feels the time spent fostering it has paid off.
“I have spent time supporting Measure AA and have seen how its efforts have culminated in things like the Performing Arts Theater and Innovation Campus,” Jung said.
Jung feels the new theater will be a great asset to the community and that the Innovation Campus will play a big role in how students prepare for the future and address AI, cyber security, and more.
Chong has served on the school board twice but has yet to win an election. In 2022, he ran for one of three vacant board seats ultimately won by Kelly Yipchuan, Chris Norwood, and Anu Nakka.
When asked what he thought about starting another campaign, Jung replied: “Running a campaign gives us an opportunity to really connect with the community and get the message out about why I'm excited about his MUSD and let everyone know how great it is.” Happening at MUSD That's what I'm doing. ”
He also said, “I'm still excited to help our community and school district become what it needs to be in the future. I see so much potential. I can't just run away from it.”