Thirty-six years ago I began my teaching career at Osborne School at Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall. I was hired by Superintendent Glenn Hoffmann (who served from 1967-84), a charismatic and visionary man, as a first-year teacher for the then-Office of the County Superintendent of Schools.  As of last Wednesday evening, I am the newly elected board president of the same office, which is now the Santa Clara County Office of Education.

Let me stop to pinch myself. Even though I know from my two-year experience on the board, my work will be difficult, controversial and frustrating I look forward to the privilege and honor bestowed upon me by four of my colleagues.

The Mercury News’ Internal Affairs column on Sunday, Dec. 12, said the Board of Education infighting led to a coup—of sorts. I beg to differ with that portrayal. Even though the last several annual organizational meetings involved a protocol that instructed the board to go with a rotational appointment of the vice-president to president, the contextual framework this time was quite different.

After a horrendously painful process that led to sanction/censure motions against member Craig Mann and Pres. Anna Song by members Leon Beauchman and Grace Mah, monopolizing our work for the last six months, it was essential for the Board to turn the page. Four of my colleagues, including newly elected Members Michael Chang and Julia Hover-Smoot, decided that in order to refresh our governance work we needed to elect a member as president that did not either receive a sanction/censure threat or perpetrate one against a member colleague. 

Therefore, not through a coup but through a process of elimination, I was the one incumbent left not tainted by the “infighting” controversy.

The final vote was 5-2, with the Redemption Academy Alternative Education student board member also voting for me. Even though Member Mah has demonstrated strong leadership qualities in her work with the Mandarin Immersion Program in Palo Alto Unified, Charter School Summit and board policy development, her refusal to heed my private request to drop the sanction votes from an Oct. 20, November 3 and Nov. 17 agendas led to my personal lack of support for her presidency.

In my year tenure as the president, while working closely with Superintendent Weis and my colleagues, I will request several special study session meetings on a variety of critical topics. I never want to chair a special meeting on sanctions against a fellow member. The work we have to do in public education is too important to waste another second.

Last Wednesday evening I scheduled the first of many study sessions for 2011.  On Friday, Jan. 9, beginning at 3:30, the first special study session will include the 2010-11 budget and the SCCOE organizational and strategic goals. We have a $2.6 million deficit in our alternative education programs for incarcerated/institutional and community school youth to resolve.

Other topics will include teacher recruitment, increasing teacher and professional respect, school district consolidation, new tenure procedures under the work of the Gates Foundation, San Jose 2020, eliminating programmatic waste, funding equity, best practices and accountability. If you have other topics you would like to see please drop me a note here or at [email protected].

In addition, I will work toward streaming our meetings on-line, especially the study sessions. Public participation is always welcome.

As you have heard me rant over the last two years on SJI, there is no more important issue than the education of our children.  Novelist and civil rights activist James Baldwin said it best: “For these are all our children. We will all profit by, or pay for, whatever they become.”

With humility and a sense of purpose I take on this new responsibility to make a difference in a small way for our county’s children so that at least a few more can become all they can be. I request your support and help along the way.

I am very much looking forward to collaborating with vice-president Chang and the five other members in serving our students, teachers and public with heart and wisdom.