The current state of the Morgan Hill School District is what
compelled Harlan Warthen to run for a seat on the School Board.
“When I see something wrong I can’t walk away from it,” he said.
“I feel obligated to get involved and fix it.”
The current state of the Morgan Hill School District is what compelled Harlan Warthen to run for a seat on the School Board.
“When I see something wrong I can’t walk away from it,” he said. “I feel obligated to get involved and fix it.”
As a “board-watcher” who has not missed more than five School Board meetings in more than two years, Warthen said he has seen first hand some of the problems in the district.
“I believe that change is necessary in this district,” he said. “Over the past two years this district has lost its accountability to the community. There is an absence of detailed planning. There are no real written processes.
“The district is in a reactive mode. It appears that very little is ever accomplished on purpose. I want to help the district to be able to focus on education. At this stage, it is impossible because the administration is broken and can no longer be patched together.”
Warthan said the strongest asset he would bring to the board are managerial skills. As a former field manager for Allstate Insurance – for 23 years – he said he had ample opportunity to hone those skills. Now he would like the opportunity to set goals and put processes in place in the district.
“Districtwide models should be established setting minimum levels of performance for the entire district,” he said. “There should be a process to bring a specific campus’ results up to the minimum acceptable level.”
Warthen said he believes with the proper management, the district can succeed, in large part because of the dedication of teachers and classified employees.
“I’m encouraged and proud that we have a lot of teachers and classified employees that care,” he said. “We also have a lot of support from the community, people who are willing to get involved and be a part of the solution.”
Some of those he is referring to formed a group last year called CARE, or Community Alliance for Responsible Education. Warthen is one of the group’s original members.
CARE organized the attempted recall of Board President George Panos, former Trustee Tom Kinoshita and Trustees Del Foster and Jan Masuda. The recall effort was called off after the trustees said they would not seek another term and Kinoshita resigned.
But his allegiance to CARE is not the defining force of his candidacy, he said.
“No, I’m not a one-issue person,” he said. “I am concerned about this district. We cannot move forward unless we clean house. We can’t keep bandaiding what we have.
“The whole key issue boils down to hiring the right superintendent … I want stronger education for our students. I’ve got a vested interest in this; I don’t want people to say you can’t move to Morgan Hill because of the schools.”
