Incumbent Jane Howard and challenger Esau Herrera are vying for
a seat on the board
Gilroy – If incumbent Jane Howard is reelected, Gilroy will continue to have a voice at the county level. But Esau Herrera is convinced his extensive experience overshadows that South County connection.
Actually, the two candidates vying for a seat on the Santa Clara County Board of Education can both easily tout a background in education. Howard, 54, finished up a term on the Gilroy Unified School District board in 2000 and was appointed to the county board in April of 2005 to fill in for a trustee who stepped down because of health problems.
Herrera can boast that he has a fatter educational resume, having served on the Alum Rock Union Elementary School District board for 15 years and another five on the Eastside Union High School District.
But Howard’s involvement on the local level coupled with the thick web she’s managed to weave during her 26-year stay in Gilroy, may keep her planted in the county seat.
“I think that connection and understanding is very, very helpful,” she said, adding that she’s familiar with the county and local education issues due to the broad-based network she’s developed.
Having that South County tie in a low-profile position like the one she’s running for is important because without it Gilroy schools don’t have easy access to county programs, such as teacher training and credentialing.
“It’s very important that those needs are being met by the county,” Howard said.
Unlike local school boards that deal with a barrage of issues from firing and hiring to field trip approval, the county board of education’s main responsibilities include, approval of charter school applications, teacher credentialing, payroll preparation and the overseeing of all county-run alternative schools.
And, she pointed out, one interesting distinction between the two entities is that the county board does not touch personnel issues, while local school boards deal with hiring and firing.
Howard, who has two stepdaughters and four grandchildren, said what she is particularly interested in is teacher and principal training.
“I see it as a priority,” she said. “This is one of the services we offer, and we do it really well. We’ve received a very good response back from our satisfaction surveys.”
Herrera said his background would be valuable on the county board because not only does he have experience at the local level, but also at the state level.
“And anyone in education can tell you that what happens in Sacramento affects us locally,” he said.
His years on the California School Boards Association (CSBA) serving on various committees as well as serving as a presenter and a trustee and superintendent trainer give him what he describes as “superior experience” to use for the benefit of the county school board, should he be elected.
He believes his advocacy work in Sacramento, his eight years on the executive board of the California Latino School Board Member Association, six years as its president and his appointment to the CSBA legislative committee all give him the kind of background that will serve the districts he will represent the best.
But he also believes in a more localized approach.
“As a part of that job, I would regularly visit all the districts, that’s a big part of the job, not just attending our meetings but staying in touch with those districts,” he said. “I know members of the Morgan Hill School Board, and they know me, and I know members of the Gilroy School Board, and they know me.”
Most of all , he says, he wants to be available.
“How can I help, that’s my attitude,” he said. “That’s what I’m going to ask when I visit them, what can I do to help?”
