Recently elected trustees join San Benito County School Boards

Nov. 8, 2004 brought more than the re-election of President George W. Bush. In San Benito County, it brought change to the boards charged with governing a dozen local school districts. Seventeen incumbent trustees were returned to their posts, while 11 new trustees were elected.

“We are indeed fortunate that our community continues to show its interest in public education by actively participating in the management and continuing development of our schools,” said Tim Foley, county Superintendent.

School boards are the bedrock of the public process. Trustees sit as a legislative body, overseeing hiring of key leadership personnel and, perhaps most important, monitoring and shaping budgets. School districts that lose control of their finances are subject to take-over by the county Office of Education, or even the state. That situation has never occurred in San Benito County, however.

The recently elected trustees, grouped by district, are:

Aromas-San Juan Unified School District
Leslie Austin and Bonnie Mahler are new members; Sylvia Rios Metcalf is a continuing member. Other incumbents are John Ferreira and Jeff Hancock.

Bitterwater-Tully Union School District
Continuing members are Donna Palmer, Traci Eggleston and Alma Carlsen, all by appointment. Other incumbents are Wendy Sans and Cynnie O’Connor.

Cienega Union School District
Continuing members are Cheryl Ashton and Ann Bay-Ramyon. Other incumbents are Rick Leadem, Audra McCorkle and Pat Wirz.

Hollister School District
Randal Phelps, a new trustee, and incumbent Margie Barrios were elected. Other incumbents are Dee Brown, Alice Flores and Eugenia Sanchez.

Jefferson School District
Debbie Simmons and Kelly Weak are new trustees. Joanne Falsey and David Reikowski were re-elected. Other incumbent is Jeanie Garbini.

North County Joint Union School District
The new trustee is Robert Bernosky. Renee Faught and Candace Mancino were returned to office. Rebecca Doty and Krystal Lomanto are the other incumbent trustees.

Panoche School District
Kim Lippert was returned to office. The other incumbent trustees are Gardiner Hammond and Charles McCullough.

Southside School District
Ron Martin joins the board for the first time. Connie Glosser was returned to office. Other incumbents are bob Tiffany, Jeaneen Conley and Scott Gilbert.

Tres Pinos Union School District
Greg Hoffman joins the board by appointment. Lisa Tobias was returned to office. Other incumbent trustees are Susan Modic, Roger Chicoine and Brad Nelson.

Willow Grove Union School District
Dave Hopcroft and Carole Greenwald-Aldrich are new board members. Greenwald Aldrich joins the board by appointment. Jeanette Sharp and Janeane M. Williams are returning incumbents. Manuel J. Bettencourt is a continuing incumbent.

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Program helps Board Members serve San Benito County

Three members of the local educational community are launched upon a remarkable opportunity to better understand modern governance and, as a result, better serve San Benito County.

Mitchell Dabo and Joan Campbell-Garcia of the county Board of Education and Mike Sanchez, Alternative Programs Director for the county Office of Education, are enrolled in a unique Masters in Governance program offered through the California School Boards Association (CSBA).

“Fabulous!” was how Sanchez described the program recently. “I believe anybody associated with the Board of Education should have access to this.” The program is tailored to superintendents and school board members. CSBA created the program to give key decision-makers access to top quality professional development, thus serving more effectively on behalf of public schoolchildren. The program is the result of more than 10 years’ research and practical application, and is now recognized as a model for the nation.

More than 1,00 board members and superintendents are participating in the program statewide. The Masters in Governance involves 60 hours of instruction, presented in nine interactive sessions conducted at sites all over California.

“Each one of the sessions is an all-day session,” Sanchez explained. “You’re in the room with the presenters. Typically, there’s a lecture, followed by small group, discussion and sharing with people from all over California. People are gravitating to these things.”

Those completing the program requirements within two years are eligible for up to six units of credit toward a Master of Arts in Governance Leadership. The local contingent in CSBA’s program is only about one-third of the way through the nine modules.

All participants begin with an introductory course, Foundations of Effective Governance. The module covers the roles and responsibilities of the governance team and focuses on the two core concepts of the Masters in Governance program: trusteeship and governance. Sanchez and Campbell Garcia also have completed modules titled Setting Direction and Community Relations and Advocacy. The latter class took on new meaning from Sanchez a few months after it took place.

A horrifying auto accident took the lives of four members of the school community. News vans descended on two of the schools Sanchez oversees, but he felt better equipped to face the larger community with the news. “We’ve done pretty well in establishing relationships with the community,” Sanchez said. “But this training really zeroed in on the media and how you best handle the media when something occurs in your community. They made sure we knew how to keep our focus and goals without getting into the sensationalism.”

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