The school district will be asking voters to approve some big
numbers come fall and a newly formed committee is helping to pave
the road.
The school district will be asking voters to approve some big numbers come fall and a newly formed committee is helping to pave the way.
A nine-member executive campaign committee comprised of trustees and community members has begun meeting to draw up a game plan for their campaign: Gilroy K.I.D.S 2008.
The acronym, which stands for Keep Improving District Schools, sums up the committee’s goal to pass a $150 million school bond to fund district facilities improvements projects.
The committee is still in the planning stages but hopes to formally kick off the campaign in September. Absentee voters will begin receiving their ballots in the mail only a month later on Oct. 6, according to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Web site. Sixty percent of all Gilroy voters are permanently registered to receive their ballots by mail, according to Elaine Larson, assistant registrar of voters for Santa Clara County.
“There’s a lot to do before then,” said Rhoda Bress, president of the school board and a member of the campaign committee. Trustees Javier Aguirre and Jaime Rosso also volunteered to serve on the committee.
“Our major goal is to make sure voters understand the goals and needs of the community and the district, specifically the completion of Christopher High School,” she said.
Trustees and district staff agreed that completing CHS is the No. 1 priority and it’s the first item mentioned on the ballot statement.
Bress said that once things get rolling, the campaign will include the typical elements – voter mailings, door-to-door canvassing, community forums. The committee has not yet decided on a budget but will be looking for help from local businesses and organizations.
But first, they have to come up with a ballot argument for the bond which must be submitted to the registrar by Aug. 13. Rebuttals are due Aug. 20. The committee has managed to garner the support of prominent community members like garlic mogul Don Christopher, Mayor Al Pinheiro and Santa Clara County Board of Education President Jane Howard, committee member Art Barron said.
With a daughter in junior high and a grandson in elementary school, Barron is committed to “investing in our kids,” he said.
“I’ll do whatever I can,” he said. Barron has helped several school trustees and city council members campaign for their seats and said yes to this particular task because he sees the need to relieve the overcrowding at the high school by completing CHS, among other projects.
Campaign volunteers plan to hit the streets in the coming months, educating voters about district facilities and the need for improvement, they said.
“This is a growing community,” Bress said, “and we have to plan for the future.
“Another message we need to get out is that good school facilities make for good communities,” she said. “They improve the quality of life, improve property values. When a well-educated population is the goal, everybody benefits.”
With the polls open to every voter in the Gilroy Unified School District, “we have a lot of voters to reach and a lot of precincts to walk,” she said.
Having experience drumming up support for her own campaign for the school board, Bress has found walking door to door to be one of the best ways to get the message out to the community.
“I have found that people are so receptive and appreciative of that personal connection,” she said.
Gilroy K.I.D.S 2008 campaign committee members:
Trustee Javier Aguirre
Belen Arellano
Art Barron
Trustee Rhoda Bress
Lanny Brown
Deanna Franklin
Mary Humphrey
Trustee Jaime Rosso
Chris West
