With less than two weeks to go before Election Day, it is time
to take a stand. Tip O’Neill once said that
”
all politics is local.
”
Truer words were never spoken. On Nov. 3, it will make less of a
difference to me if Kerry or Bush is celebrating than it will if
Rhoda Bress is celebrating.
With less than two weeks to go before Election Day, it is time to take a stand. Tip O’Neill once said that “all politics is local.” Truer words were never spoken. On Nov. 3, it will make less of a difference to me if Kerry or Bush is celebrating than it will if Rhoda Bress is celebrating.
Our Gilroy schools will only improve if the trustees who serve us have a full understanding of whom they are serving. The number one obligation of a trustee is to meet the needs of the students of Gilroy. While fulfilling obligation number one, the trustees must also be held accountable to the taxpayers who fund our schools. With an increasing number of Gilroy families opting out of our public schools, it is imperative that trustees listen to all the people who are paying for the program and do their level best to make our schools appealing to those who have left for greener pastures elsewhere.
Rhoda Bress is an ideal choice for school board trustee. As an advocate for academic excellence, a supporter of the arts, an advocate for teachers, and an active parent, Rhoda is unlike anyone on the board. She has the innate common sense of a mother, coupled with a superb intellect. Her campaign has been so well organized that I believe she will easily win a seat.
Robert Heisey is another fine choice for trustee. He is an actual parent. I say this only because some current trustees like to talk about parents in the abstract. I have always believed that the best way to find out what parents think is to listen to them. Bob Heisey has been involved in the Brownell Parent Club and is now in the Gilroy High Parent Club. He has seen the way change happens in GUSD (slowly and with resistance). He has the good sense to know that change must be quick and that teachers are the missing link to positive change in our schools. His campaign got a late start, but his intelligence shines through at the candidate forums.
John Gurich is a bit of an enigma. He has one qualification that no one else has – he is currently working as a teacher. His four years on the board have been quiet. I know that he has been a huge supporter of Rucker School, which is why I am supporting him. The self-contained GATE program could have gone away this year without his support. While his absences at board meetings became an issue, the bulk of them were due to traveling with his son who now has gone on to college. Of the three incumbents, John Gurich is the best choice to serve us again.
Pat Midtgaard has a wealth of experience in GUSD. This is a double-edged sword. I knew her while she was principal at Rucker a few years back, and she was a wonderful advocate for the school. The Antonio del Buono parents are firmly in her camp, she was a very effective principal there. I like Pat very much, and the only reason I have decided not to endorse her is that she is so entrenched in the district. By virtue of her insider status, she falls short of receiving my endorsement. This year, I am going with those three candidates who are most unlike the rest of the board.
Bob Kraemer was Gilroy’s “Man of the Year.” I can’t discredit his years of service at Gilroy Foods, his community involvement or his expertise as president of the Bonfante Gardens board. However, his focus seems to be patting himself and the rest of the board on the back for hiring Superintendent Edwin Diaz. I like Edwin Diaz, but Kraemer doesn’t realize that the honeymoon is over. He is also crediting the Board of Trustees for passing the bond. The Board only has six votes. Using his reasoning, thousands of Gilroy citizens should be taking credit for passing the facilities bond. I think Kraemer has a love of the community that is second to none, but he has not earned my vote for trustee.
Jaime Rosso is another incumbent who has disappointed me. Rosso has unfortunately bought into the notion that our schools here in Gilroy are different because a large number of our students are Hispanic. I firmly believe that Hispanic students of all nationalities are just as capable as non-Hispanic students. Rosso lost my vote at a board meeting by personally advocating for the book “Rain of Gold.”
Interestingly enough, no other board member felt compelled to tell us why their favorite book should be on the high school required reading list. Rosso is one of those “true believers” who haven’t made the leap which is required for a commitment to academic excellence. A commitment to excellence means that Gilroy schools will be places of rigorous learning which equal schools anywhere in America. Cultural politics cannot trump academic excellence.
Whether you agree with me or not, I urge everyone to get out and vote on Nov. 2.
