GILROY
– Despite an age range spanning nearly 30 years and backgrounds
covering four professions and ethnicities, Gilroy’s school board
candidates did little to separate themselves on the major issues
surrounding the Nov. 5 election.
GILROY – Despite an age range spanning nearly 30 years and backgrounds covering four professions and ethnicities, Gilroy’s school board candidates did little to separate themselves on the major issues surrounding the Nov. 5 election.
All six candidates for the four open Gilroy Unified School District trustee seats support Measure I – the district’s $69-million school facilities bond. None of them oppose continuing and expanding the high-school honors program. And, to varying degrees, each of them believes the district is on the right track for improving academics and school facilities in Gilroy.
Trustee hopefuls espoused those opinions within opening and closing statements and in response to more than a dozen audience questions Wednesday night at City Hall. The two-hour session was sponsored by the American Association of University Women. It will be rebroadcast nightly through Nov. 4 on Channel 17.
“I thought the two incumbents (Jim Rogers and TJ Owens) represented the district well, and I was really impressed with Tom Bundros’ knowledge,” said parent Jackie Stevens after the forum. “My mind is not made up. I have more to think about now. I’m especially undecided on the number four spot.”
Other candidates are Jesus Florencio Gonzalez, David McRae and David Oberstadt.
Gonzalez distinguished himself from the pack on the issue of neighborhood schools, a policy the district started phasing in this year at the elementary school level. Neighborhood schools require students to attend the school nearest to where they live.
For Gonzalez, the practice is inherently unfair because some of Gilroy’s public schools are 40 years old and in need of repair, while other sites are brand new and state-of-the-art.
AAUW member Penny Lockhart, a 28-year Gilroy resident and former GUSD parent, commended Gonzalez for his participation in the forum.
“English is obviously his second language, and he may not get elected, but there ought to be a way to get that man involved. I bet you he’s someone a lot of parents in this district would go to if they have questions or concerns,” Lockhart said.
Lockhart said she was satisfied with the range of topics covered during the forum, but wanted to hear more from candidates about how to improve parental participation.
“We need some mechanism to reach parents,” Lockhart said.
Candidate Oberstadt’s desire to get involved at such a high level in the district, despite having neither of his children yet in the district, impressed Stevens.
“I appreciate his sincerity, but I may have concerns with his inexperience here,” Stevens said.
Oberstadt is a three-year Gilroyan whose eldest son will enter kindergarten next year. He said since his son is entering the school district, he wants a hand in helping all district kids to improve their academic performance.
Another first-time candidate, David McRae, looked anything but the part of a novice, donning a suit and tie and speaking both off notes and impromptu. McRae touted his experience in managing big budgets during tight times. McRae is a supervisor of facilities and operations at Stanford University and a former member of the GUSD’s maintenance department. At Stanford, McRae oversees multi-million-dollar operations budgets, he said.
Other audience questions covered topics such as overcrowding, retaining quality teachers, collaborating with businesses to improve vocational training, budget management and adequacy of bilingual education.
