In a precendent-setting move, new Morgan Hill School Board
President Shell
é Thomas called for statements from all trustees detailing their
goals for their service to the district.
In a precendent-setting move, new Morgan Hill School Board President Shellé Thomas called for statements from all trustees detailing their goals for their service to the district.
“When we set the agenda (for Monday’s meeting), we thought it might be a good idea to hear goals from everyone,” Thomas said.
Superintendent Carolyn McKennan said she and Thomas wanted to give the community a chance to hear from trustees.
“The idea was for you to give a statement of own personal beliefs,” she said. “Not all of us had a chance to hear from you (newly elected trustees) … This is a very exciting time for the district.”
McKennan said this could be an annual event. Trustee seats are staggered, with some up for election every two years, and newly elected trustees, as well as incumbents who are re-elected, are sworn in before the board’s first meeting in December.
Thomas and Trustees Amina Khemici and Mike Hickey were elected in 2002; Trustees Kathy Sullivan, Peter Mandel and Julia Hover-Smoot were elected in December. Trustee Don Moody, who was also sworn in Monday, was appointed in October to fill the remaining two years of former Trustee Tom Kinoshita’s term. Kinoshita resigned in March.
The board elected Thomas board president and Hickey vice president as its first official action Monday night.
Thomas served as vice president for the past year.
Newly elected trustees, after thanking their families and supporters, repeated common themes from the election during their goal statements Monday night.
Sullivan touched on nearly all issues that were raised during the campaign.
“My goals have not changed much since the campaign,” she said. “I would like to see improved communication between the community and the District Office … I have an interest in changing the way these meetings are set up to make them more user-friendly … I want to be sure our voices are heard at Coyote Valley meetings … Finding the best superintendent for our district is one of the first things we will be tackling … I want to have a dialogue about what we want to achieve as a school district.”
Sullivan also talked about providing a quality education for every student, looking carefully at assessment data, completing Sobrato High School and renovations at Live Oak High School and keeping an eye on financial issues.
Mandel said he believes it is important for this new board to come together with “a single overarching goal.”
He said he boiled all the goals into one long term goal and one short term goal for the present.
“The key is what happens in the classroom,” he said. “My long term goal is to really drive a culture of academic excellence, instructional excellence … Embrace best instructional practices and get them into the classroom … My goal over the next few years is to achieve that kind of culture … My short term goal … is to finish Live Oak … to get a plan in place. District staff has already taken the initiative … I’d like to know some time in the next couple of months what it is we can do.”
Hover-Smoot also echoed the theme of academics.
“The academic quality of this district is very important to me,” she said. “It will be my number one prior this year and every year … I want us to provide leadership to ensure our programs are effective … I want to develop a vision for this district defining what want to achieve for each of our students.”
