In local elections, Gilroy voters are a measured bunch. They
don’t just jump on the bandwagon because someone is pounding the
loudest on the table. They cast their votes thoughtfully, often
confounding local pundits.
In local elections, Gilroy voters are a measured bunch. They don’t just jump on the bandwagon because someone is pounding the loudest on the table. They cast their votes thoughtfully, often confounding local pundits.
Tuesday night’s school board race proved that once again. Clearly, voters wanted change, but just as clearly they didn’t choose revolution. This was not a “throw the bumbs out” vote. An incumbent – whether it’s Jaime Rosso who holds a slight lead in the voting for the third trustee seat, or John Gurich – will be re-elected. Pat Midtgaard, a retired principal who some negatively characterized as a district “insider,” won the top spot by a commanding number. And Rhoda Bress, a well-known active Gilroy parent who campaigned on an academic reform platform, finished a strong second.
What’s the message? Pay attention to all segments of our community and find ways to improve education. Voters recognized that the Gilroy public school system has worked to get better. They said that when they supported the last bond measure. And they made it clear Tuesday that, in many ways, GUSD is on the right track – stumbling at times, but working hard to improve.
With Midtgaard and Bress joining the board there will be opportunities to do just that. Midtgaard brings a record of academic, organizational and leadership success borne out by the foundation she built as the founding principal at Antonio Del Buono Elementary School, the district’s current shining example of academic progress.
Bress understands what it is to be a frustrated parent – someone who has supported Gilroy schools for years and who can’t make sense of process that gets in the way of progress. The board needs that and her sense of urgency to institute change.
The new board, to be seated in December, needs to lead by direction. The course for progress must be clear, and it must be communicated to schools staffs, the administration and the parents.
