Meg Oyunbazar
Board of Education
Our family has lived in this wonderful town of Ridgefield since 2018, and we have a son who is now in middle school.
I am a corporate compliance professional working in the legal and compliance industry for the past 15 years internationally, covering the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and North America. Currently, I work in New York City, focusing on regional corporate governance and compliance. I am originally from Mongolia, born and raised there. My husband is from South Salem, and we moved back to the U.S. several years ago.
I have a law degree from the University of London and received a scholarship from the University of Oregon, where I obtained my LL.M. in environmental and natural resources law. I love traveling and the culinary arts. I love reading cookbooks, philosophy, history, and studying psychology and the human condition in my spare time.
What office are you running for?
What are the main issues facing the Board of Education?
Board of Education
Our school system has done an excellent job of dealing with the major issues of our day, a large budget, pressure from the state, and of course, the pandemic. More can be done, though, as I feel that the ecosystem of unions, school boards, and the state have become an entwined entity that is hard to approach and even harder to adapt to the needs of our community. An inclusive Board of Education is essential as the issues facing us are growing in magnitude, specifically how the needs of the town community are subservient to the requests and mandates of the state and national forces that act upon the curriculum. I firmly believe that politics need to be kept out of the classroom and that a return to common sense education, academically focused and teaching basic skills of literacy, math, and science, is essential to protect our children from these forces. We should be promoting competence and principles of achievement in our excellent Ridgefield schools. There are important issues that will soon be facing us, such as Open Choice and Regionalization. It is important to me that parents, as well as concerned taxpayers, are heard on these and other critical issues.
Why are you the right candidate for the BOE this year?
I am somewhat different than many residents. I am running as unaffiliated but on the Republican ticket. Growing up in a communist country, I deeply understand the forces that work against the great principles of this country, which is why I moved here. I have also lived for an extended period in a country where a single political party controls everything. It leads to the party controlling local organizations, including school boards and associations, as well as the government. In the United States, the parent's voice, the community, the local taxpayer means something and carries weight. But we are seeing these principles eroded, and knowing the consequences, I cannot stand by and do nothing
What do you hope to accomplish if elected?
I bring a significant amount of relevant experience to the table from my professional life to serve an organization such as the BOE, with a wide variety of responsibilities overseeing the academic, legal, and financial well-being of a school district. My aim is to help the community understand their role, their responsibility in understanding the issues and engage the Board on the issues that face us as parents. My background in compliance program management will certainly help me to build an avenue to the BoE and work to install policies that ensure that common sense and balance have a chance when addressing the issues we face. Speaking from an experience talking with parents who are local residents, many parents feel that a return to common sense and a non-political curriculum is in our community's best interests and the nation in general.
I am pleased to have well qualified candidates like Julia London and Stavros Natsopoulos as my running mates. The November local election is about our schools and our community, and their well-being. It is important for our parents and taxpayers to have their voices heard in our local election. Please turn up on Tuesday, November 2, 2021 and I hope we have your vote. Thank you.