A voter is shown at the polls in this November 2007 file photo. Voters will get a chance to choose among three candidates this November for the San Benito High School District Board of Trustees.
Voters will soon be deciding Nov. 4 between three candidates running for the two seats available on the San Benito High School District Board of Trustees.
Appointed incumbent Joseph Gardner, incumbent Evelyn Muro and Ray Rodriguez have thrown their hats into the ring to serve on the board during these tough fiscal times.
Here is a breakdown of the candidates' views, with narratives in alphabetical order:
Joseph Gardner
Gardner was appointed a year ago. For him, the largest issue in office was the uncertainty regarding the budget for this year.
"We just could not be sure what funds would be available," says Gardner, "so we assumed a worst-case scenario and had to put a plan together to reduce staff."
Gardner continues, however, and says the board then began to work on a plan without such deep cuts.
"We assumed the worst, and then worked to see that the worst didn't happen. We only had to reduce positions by one or two, and we were able to deal with that through attrition.
"Going through that process with the budget and timing and uncertainty with enrollment was a process, and I think we came out very well on that."
Gardner claims there are strong reasons voters should choose him.
"I have the type of varied background that works for this position. I am currently in industry, but I also taught there for two years. I am also president of the School Site Council, and a parent.
"If you combine all those things," says Gardner, "it makes me a good candidate for the board."
Rodriguez is the final candidate running for one of the two openings, and he believes the board can use a different perspective such as his.
"The board needs parent and family representation," says Rodriguez, who notes that he has had five children go through the high school. "Four of the five board members are former employees of the district. I heard one member say their No. 1 priority is the teachers. We need members who have students as their first priority."
Evelyn Muro
Muro says that her 40 years in education and the last four years she spent on the board qualify her to serve again.
"I've been a teacher through an administrator, and I am a trustee and a superintendent currently," says Muro, referring to her full-time position with the North County district. "I know how it all works - the good and the bad."
Muro says she has seen clear success stories in her time as a trustee.
"When I came on board four years ago, I had a specific agenda that involved student safety concerns, academic success, and fiscal responsibility."
An example she offered is progress on standardized testing.
"I'm proud of the progress made on the API, the amazing progress the English Learning Program has made and the STAR testing improvements," says Muro. "I also am proud of improved student safety on the campus. We looked at the entire organization and made sure that everyone is assigned to safety duties and that they are constantly paying attention and taking responsibility."
Muro says that the success came about as a result of the board's hard work over the last four years.
"The turnaround over my time on the board makes me so proud," says Muro. "Sometimes we had to meet every week, but we worked and worked on organizational structure.
"It's not flashy but having the right structure is critical. That is what qualifies me for this position. I know what works. I ask tough questions, and I make tough decisions."
Ray Rodriguez
Rodriguez says he has been following the board closely for some time, noting that the number of meetings he has missed in the last eight years can be "counted on one hand."
During those meetings, he says, he has observed that students civil rights are not always kept in mind. With that in mind, he says that he has educated himself in education law - and that he and his wife spend a lot of time helping troubled students through the bureaucracy they encounter when they face disciplinary action.
"People call my house several times a month asking my wife and I to help them through the bureaucracy," says the candidate, adding that he believes in punishing wrongdoers as long as it doesn't "trample on their civil rights and right to due process."
Rodriguez points to the current dress code topic as an example of the board and administration being out of touch with the community.
"The communities access to the board and the (administration) needs to be improved," he says. "There needs to be a dress code, but the lack of considering the hardship the new dress code imposes on families is indicative of a lack of concern for how parents and students might feel."
Rodriguez says he is the right person to bring the fresh perspective he says is needed.
"I have a genuine care for this community. I was a founding member of the Baler Education Foundation. I was on the Superintendent Advisory Committee for three years, and I am an active member of LULAC," lists Rodriguez, who notes that LULAC is an important organization for underrepresented Latinos. "Latinos are underrepresented on the board as well. The student population is 50 percent Latino, but I have never seen more than one Latino on the board."
Jeff Gatlin Jeff Gatlin is a staff writer at The Hollister Free Lance. You can call him at (831) 637-5566 or send him an email.
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