Morgan Hill voters decided they wanted something old and
something new on their 2010 Morgan Hill Unified School Board when
they went to the polls to vote in four board members Tuesday.
Though, something out of the blue happened that no one, not even
Trustee Julia Hover-Smoot who was in the middle of it all,
expected.
Morgan Hill voters decided they wanted something old and something new on their 2010 Morgan Hill Unified School Board when they went to the polls to vote in four board members Tuesday. Though, something out of the blue happened that no one, not even Trustee Julia Hover-Smoot who was in the middle of it all, expected.
She won the race for Santa Clara County Board of Education after withdrawing in September and throwing her support behind opponent Adam Escoto, which has left a fifth seat on the school board wide open.
The new trustee will in part be decided by four candidates who were elected Tuesday night: Retired educator Ron Woolf, stay-at-home mother Claudia Rossi, incumbent Shelle Thomas and incumbent Don Moody.
The field of nine candidates boasted one of the largest pools to choose from in the past decade. Woolf captured the most votes with 5,588 or 17 percent; Rossi came in second with 5,328 votes or 16.3 percent, Thomas was re-elected for the third time with 4,617 votes or 14.1 percent and Moody secured his third term with 4,554 votes or 13.9 percent.
With four new members set to join or keep their seat on the dais at school district headquarters starting Dec. 14, what will happen to Hover-Smoot’s vacancy?
It’s likely the new school board will hold interviews before appointing someone, because special elections are costly. Though whether it’s one of the candidates who missed the cut Tuesday, that remains to be seen.
Incumbent Bart Fisher finished fifth with 3,223 votes, Bob Benevento received 2,853 votes, Kirsten Francis Carr had 2,758 votes, Armando Benavides 2,229 votes and Brenda Cayme 1,563 votes. Veteran trustee, Mike Hickey, decided not to seek re-election and will exit the board this month.
Benevento withdrew his candidacy for the election when he needed to tend to a family emergency on the East Coast during the height of the campaign, though his name, just like Hover-Smoot’s, remained on the ballot.
The Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers got the pulse of voters correct when the teachers’ union made its endorsement of Moody, 58, Thomas, 59, Rossi, 42, and Woolf, 69.
“We feel like the four we endorsed want to stay on a positive course so we can spend time focusing on students,” MHFT President Theresa Sage said. “We’re very pleased. Ron’s a great asset as a former district teacher and principal. Claudia is bilingual and that will really open up some access to Latino families. Shelle has been supportive of teachers and Don Moody has been, too. We’re very excited for a positive few years.”
The school district’s new board leadership will cast the final vote when it comes to balancing the budget next year and deciding if class sizes could increase, if tenured teachers deserve a golden handshake, what programs will be cut or added.
The addition of a retired Britton Middle School “Teacher of the Year” is exciting to Rossi, who said she and Woolf have become friends during the election process.
“I have been preparing for this. I’m very excited. I’m going to be working with people I respect very much. Ron is the quintessential educator, he is a gifted, kind and caring man,” Rossi said. She said she hopes to hold office hours since her days are flexible; she spends most of them volunteering at Nordstrom where her two young children attend.
Woolf retired in 2006 after spending 35 years as an educator, including as a Britton Middle School teacher and Morgan Hill Community Adult School principal. He said that collaboration is essential among school sites and has suggested creating a principal advisory group at the high schools.
“People, I think, verified the fact that I have some great ideas, new ideas and will follow-up on programs,” Woolf said.
All four victors in the school board race have said that Superintendent Wes Smith, still not an entire year into his job at MHUSD, played into their decision to seek a seat. His collaborative vision and positive outlook for the district is echoed by Thomas.
“The most important thing is working at being a good board and having a vision with the superintendent that we all are a part of, with a sense of moving forward. You want all your constituents involved, so that we all feel like we’re involved,” Thomas said Thursday. Thomas, who is the longest serving board member, has been a lifelong MHUSD volunteer and active especially in the Live Oak Foundation for the last 27 years.
Woolf said he had a very nice conversation with Smith after the race had been called.
“There will be a positive working relationship with the superintendent,” Woolf said.
Moody said that he was very pleased and excited about the direction the district is headed. He was appointed in 2004 following a vacancy and re-elected in 2006. Moody has said that because his daughters, now in their 20s, were given such a solid education at MHUSD, serving on the board was his way of giving back.
“I’m thrilled. It’s great too, to have new blood, new ideas,” Moody said about Woolf and Rossi.
Thomas couldn’t help but laugh about voters keeping she and Moody for the third go-around: “The two old sages are still in there,” Thomas said.
