By the end of the day, Morgan Hill will have a better idea of who wants to become a trustee, leading the way in education decisions for the next four years.
So far, four prospects have shown interest in the three open Morgan Hill Unified school board seats – one of whom has already qualified for the Nov. 6 ballot. Incumbents Kathy Sullivan and Peter Mandel – both eight-year veterans of the school board – have each said they will not seek third terms, which as the rules go at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters if one incumbent chooses not to run, the filing deadline is extended for non-incumbents five calendar days to Wednesday.
Incumbents must file their paperwork by today. The top three vote-getters will take the three open seats.
Looking to stay seated on the dais at 15600 Concord Drive is Bob Benevento, who was appointed to the board in 2010.
“After nearly 20 months on the job I feel that I have invested the time, energy and study that it takes to be an effective school board member and I hope to maintain the good governance exhibited by the current board leading to the improvement of our schools and the education of our students,” Benevento said.
Benevento is a small business owner of Lobo Enterprises in Morgan Hill. He and his wife have four children from a blended family; three are in college and one daughter is entering her junior year at Sobrato High School this fall.
Benevento, along with the rest of the current board, voted to place the $198 million bond measure on the November ballot that will pay for facility upgrades and enhancing student instruction.
To pass, it needs 55 percent voter approval. Benevento touts the bond as a way to gain exclusivity of money that can’t be taken away by the state.
He sees the most important issues facing MHUSD as the district’s Program Improvement status (which constitutes seven of 14 schools that are in PI, causing the district to take the label of year three “PI”), and the “continuing battle regarding school finances.” A Title 1 school, or a school that receives funding for low-income students, moves into “PI” when it has failed to meet state testing requirements as designated by the federal government’s No Child Left Behind mandate.
Also, Benevento says he would like the district to give serious consideration to using more technology to improve education.
He ran for a seat in 2010, but backed out due to a family emergency, then Benevento was appointed in 2010 after Trustee Julia Hover-Smoot won the election for the Santa Clara County Board of Education and the position went vacant. Benevento was one candidate in a field of nine, and after lengthy interviews and a vetting process, Benevento was named the new trustee.
Hoping to join Benevento on the board is Rick Badillo, 41.
Badillo is the father of two Jackson Elementary School children, a Navy veteran, and he works for his family-owned construction business R. Badillo & Sons.
With his recent retirement from his duties with the Navy (Badillo said he served three tours, two in Iraq and one in Virginia), he has time to devote to the duties of an elected trustee.
“As a Jackson parent, I’ve seen all the changes there in the last five years … my mantra is ‘If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.’ If you want something to happen, you have to do something about it,” said Badillo, who has qualified to appear on the ballot.
He began volunteering more at Jackson a few years ago, was elected to the school site council and sits on the District Advisory Committee.
“The district is in PI … I want to help change it for the better. You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution,” he said.
Badillo said if elected, he knows he’s not going to have solutions that make everyone happy, “but we live, we learn, we adapt.”
He also said he’s not going to seek endorsements or hire a campaign manager because “I don’t want to be beholden to anyone.”
On Friday, author and MHAT volunteer Marty Cheek filed the paperwork to run for a seat on the school board.
A fourth prospective candidate, Steven Klem of San Jose, has pulled paperwork with the registrar of voters. Klem did not return requests for an interview on Thursday.
As with each election cycle, the course will change for a few who choose not to seek the public’s support once more. This time it’s Mandel and Sullivan who will relinquish their roles and step aside.
Mandel was first elected in 2004 and again in 2008.
“I’ve had a wonderful eight years and accomplished a lot,” Mandel said. “I’m hoping to find other ways to contribute to the school district instead of serving 12 years on the board.”
Mandel works at IBM and has two children who graduated from Live Oak High School. He served as president of the board and, along with his fellow board members at that time, hired current Superintendent Wesley Smith in 2009.
Mandel leaves the school board dais with his fellow two-term trustee Sullivan, who also said she will not seek a third term.
“I really loved being a school board member. It really, really was a difficult decision (to step down),” Sullivan said.
Instead of running a re-election campaign, Sullivan will focus on being an advocate for the bond measure that is on the Nov. 6 ballot. Sullivan, a registered nurse, has stressed over that fact that the board she’s been a part of has cut about $16 million from its budget, with more cuts on the horizon if Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax extension fails. Hence, focusing on getting the bond passed would better serve MHUSD than running a campaign, she’s decided.
“We’ve tried to make sure students are protected from that loss of educational time,” Sullivan said about furlough days (MHUSD has had three furlough days in the last three years, a small amount compared with other Bay Area school districts).
“If we take care of our facilities then our kids won’t be doing with less. That’s much more important to me than who sits on the board,” she said.
City Hall candidates qualify for Nov. 6 ballot
At Morgan Hill City Hall, no challengers appear to be lining up to unseat three of the incumbents up for re-election Nov. 6, though two candidates have filed to challenge two council members whose seats are coming up, according to city clerk Irma Torrez.
Mayor Steve Tate and city treasurer Mike Roorda have filed paperwork declaring their intent to run for re-election, with no challengers so far, Torrez said.
Vying for council seats currently occupied by Marilyn Librers and Larry Carr are Matt Wendt, a real estate attorney, and Joseph Carrillo, a handyman business owner. Both have filed their paperwork and qualified for the ballot, Torrez said. Librers has also filed and qualified to seek re-election.
As of Thursday, Carr had not yet filed his qualifying paperwork and signatures, but has said in recent weeks that he plans to seek re-election.
Torrez also had not filed her qualifying credentials as of Thursday, but she also said she plans to run for re-election.
