After meeting Wednesday night, CARE (Community Alliance for
Responsible Education) announced Thursday that the effort to recall
four senior members of the Morgan Hill Board of Education has
stopped.
After meeting Wednesday night, CARE (Community Alliance for Responsible Education) announced Thursday that the effort to recall four senior members of the Morgan Hill Board of Education has stopped.
“The reason is our primary goal was to remove the four trustees we felt were not making best decisions, and we have accomplished that,” spokeswoman Victoria Battison said Thursday.
Board President George Panos and Trustees Del Foster and Jan Masuda recently announced they would not be running for re-election in November. Trustee Tom Kinoshita, who was re-elected in 2002, announced through a letter read by Panos at the beginning of last Monday’s board retreat that he was tendering his resignation, effective immediately.
The remaining six trustees will consider, during Monday’s regular board meeting, whether to conduct a special election to fill the seat or appoint a trustee to fill the term until the election in November. It is believed that trustees could decide to keep the seat open until the Nov. 2 election.
In October 2001, then-Trustee Susan Choi resigned to accept a position in Sacramento, and Russ Danielson, owner of Jody’s Junction Stationers was appointed to fill her term until the November 2002 election. He was not elected to full, four-year term.
Kinoshita on Thursday said he resigned for several reasons. Family became an issue, with immediate and extended family living in the area for many years.
“It was sometimes difficult for them, having to live here and listen to all the discussions about the problems with the school district,” he said.
Another issue for Kinoshita is his workload. He has recently begun consulting – he is a non-profit agency consultant – and business is taking off.
“And 100 percent of my work is north, in greater Santa Clara Valley,” he said. “I have recently gotten something in Milpitas and in Palo Alto … I’m just spending more time up there.”
He enjoys his work, he said, the “positive energy” he gets from it. And he said he thinks he has given many years to the district.
“The School Board became too much of a difficulty,” he said. “It became very challenging the last two years. That’s not anyone’s fault, except that we’re in this horrible economic downturn.”
Foster said he would be sorry to see Kinoshita go.
“I’ll miss him,” he said. “He put in a lot of time for the district.”
The recall effort, which began in December 2003 but had not yet reached the signature-gathering stage due to problems with the petitions, did not affect him, Foster said.
The only way he would change his mind and run for re-election in November, Foster said, is “If I see Sobrato (High School) being derailed in any way.”
Foster was first elected in 1996 and served as board president in 1999-2000.
Superintendent Carolyn McKennan said she, too, would be sorry to see Kinoshita go.
“Tom is another one of these people involved in public service in ways that are powerful,” she said. “He is a firm believer in public education and the welfare of students.”
Battison said that, though the recall effort is off, CARE will continue to pay attention to what the board is doing.
“The same issues are still there,” she said Thursday. “CARE is going to continue to monitor very closely the actions of the school board. We’ll be looking at fiscal concerns, academic performance, problems associated with Sobrato, problems with repairs to other schools, including Live Oak, and the budget crisis. We have a real concern the district is headed towards bankruptcy because of financial irresponsibility.”
During Monday’s meeting, trustees will also consider some of these issues, including proposed budget cuts of nearly $3 million and renovation projects at other schools.
The Morgan Hill Board of Education will hold its regular meeting Monday at 7 p.m. at the District Office, 15600 Concord Circle. Details: 201-6000.
