Will It Be an Incumbent Sweep? - The Spectrum Magazine

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As I Was Saying… (Continued from p6) All three incumbents on the San Mateo County Community College District Board — Dave Mandelkern, Patricia Miljanich and Karen Schwarz — are running for re-election but will be challenged by Jaime Diaz, Joe Ross and Michael Stogner. Since the voting district is so large, it takes an enormous amount of money to defeat an incumbent in this race. Ross, executive director of an education nonprofit called Citizen Schools, which uses volunteers and does not get funding from the taxpayers, is certainly raising some funds and support. How he decides to spend it and how he directs his messages will be the major factor because the incumbents are running very low-profile campaigns. Measure H has the San Mateo County Community College District asking us to pass a $564 million bond. A potential problem for the bond passage could be the opposition from the Friends of CSM Gardens, a student group. The group is upset over the elimination of the horticulture department building and the 6,000-square-foot greenhouse at College of San Mateo. A spokesperson for the group said that “students are protesting because the bond money is not going to be used for projects that really matter to them.” The district also came under fire last year for increasing salaries of faculty and administrators despite very tight budget concerns. This may be an example of going to the well once too often, and voters will say no. In case you are one of the many wondering about the progress in the process of picking a new police chief for Redwood City, there just might be an announcement before my next column comes out, so listen up. From what I can gather, there was a total of 26 applicants, with our two interim www.SpectrumMagazine.net .… .… Meeting student needs despite tough budget decisions was the top priority of those hoping to serve on the Sequoia Union High School District board. Five people are running for three seats on the Sequoia Union High School District board. Incumbents Lorraine Rumley and Olivia Martinez, both of whom joined the board in 1999, are up against nonprofit director Larry Moody, Stanford University educator Allen Weiner and Carrie Du Bois, San Carlos School District trustee. Funded through property taxes, Sequoia has made tough cuts but remained pretty resilient in recent years. This year’s budget came with about $5 million in cuts yet did not eliminate the deficit, which means tough decisions are ahead. The budget assumes $5.7 million in additional cuts in the following two years. Getting through difficult financial times came with different ideas from the candidates. Martinez was at a loss. The district and board saved for years in case such a financial hit occurred. It was that decision, she pointed out, that is allowing them to now slowly decide how to live within financial restraints. Ultimately, Martinez said the district is constantly looking at multiple budget plans and hoping for the best. Du Bois saw it as an opportunity to change the fundraising models. Menlo- Atherton’s foundation, she pointed out, was quite successful. Its practices could be used at the other schools. Rumley said partnerships — both with businesses and with other public agencies — are one way to continue to meet needs no longer supported by current funding. The Teen Wellness Center on the Sequoia High School campus, for example, is a way to offer confidential health services to all local teens and is funded through a variety of groups. Both Moody and Weiner agreed that all possible partnerships should be pursued. Weiner saw the board’s role in financial decisions as setting priorities rather than dealing with the nitty gritty. While he was sympathetic to the goal of keeping cuts from the classroom, more than 80 percent of the district’s funds are spent on salaries. Not touching those while looking at such large cuts, he said, could be unavoidable. Less revenue can sometimes make it difficult to offer special programs that help struggling students. Like most districts, Sequoia struggles with an ethnic achievement gap among students. Those running described standardized tests as a great way to get a snapshot of a student’s comprehension. However, candidates struggled to identify what else could be done to close that academic divide. chiefs, Chris Cesena and Ed Hernandez, in the group. The applicants were evaluated and an interview process is now going on with eight of the top applicants. Then there will be a final interview process with the top candidates and a decision made by City Manager Bob Bell. I, like most in our community, am hoping that our new chief is promoted from within the department, and the two candidates we have to choose from are very competent and desirable to have as a leader. To know that an officer started here and worked his (in this case) way up the ranks is something we want to foster. Along the way, he has learned all aspects of the department and, more importantly, our community. He knows his staff and department procedures (and what needs to be changed) and can work with Bell and our council to continue Redwood City’s superior law enforcement reputation because there is an established relationship and that helps the process along. Don’t you agree? As Bell continues to put his team in place, it will be interesting to see who is the final choice and if it will be indicative of his choices of late and in the future. His past two appointments have come from outside the organization — Community Development Director Bill Ekern and Downtown Business Development Specialist Edesa Bitbadal. But I would not take that as an indication of who the choice for chief will be. Bell is a smart CEO for our community and knows our wishes. .… Regardless of your political affiliations and your views of the candidates and issues, it is important to take the time to mail in your absentee ballots or go to the polls and vote on Nov. 8. The candidates running have worked hard during their campaigns and deserve us all taking the time to cast our votes. It is a privilege we must take seriously every election. Vote! Five Vying for Three Seats on Sequoia Union Board Sequoia provides a variety of programs for students already, like tutoring and parent training, said Martinez. While Martinez acknowledged addressing the problem will always be a priority, she also felt a disparity of some kind would always remain. Du Bois wanted to see parent education expanded so learning at home would have more support. Rumley added that truancy has become an issue on which the district has begun to work. “They can’t learn if they’re not here,” she said. Weiner simply explained it’s a problem that would be solved if educators knew how to resolve it. Given the budget restraints, he proposed to focus on a handful of successful programs that can be expanded rather than offering such a wide variety. Moody saw the achievement gap as also being a communication issue. From East Palo Alto, Moody expressed a lack of outreach to the Ravenswood City School District. He wanted to see more of an effort and mentioned previously bringing the two districts and city officials together for meetings as a way to start the conversation. Du Bois agreed. A Carlmont parent, she spoke about transitioning students from Ravenswood to the four comprehensive sites. She noticed a lack of local representation in those efforts over the past year and began working to rectify that. Part of the problem Du Bois saw was about notification. Many of the families did not have access to email and weren’t getting mailers. Moody additionally wanted meetings to be televised and possibly push back the 5:30 p.m. start time to allow more working families to attend. Rumley and Martinez both pointed to changes in recent years to aid in communication but recognized there is always more that can be done. When comparing schools within the district, Sequoia offers a variety of options. It is also the chartering agency to four charter schools — a topic that was sometimes controversial in the district. Most of the candidates were supportive of the additional choices when it’s meeting a community need. There were some issues with the California education code on the topic, but the district trustees would not have any control over that. For Moody it was simple — he will support whatever program is best meeting the community’s needs. Editor’s note: This article, written by Heather Murtagh, appeared first in the Daily Journal newspaper.
Cherokees Primed for Another Championship Run When Sequoia football coach Rob Poulos took over the program in 2009, the Cherokees were coming off a 1-9 season. In 2010, Poulos guided the team to an undefeated Peninsula Athletic League Lake Division title and into the Central Coast Section Division II championship game. This year, the Cherokees are hoping to take that last step and win not only the Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division title, but the whole ball of wax. This might just be the team to do it. Led by third-year starting quarterback James Beekley, one of the best two-way players in the league in senior Josh Lauese, along with a strong supporting cast, Sequoia has the tools to make such a run. But Poulos knows to take it one step at a time. “We need to be competitive in the Ocean [Division first],” Poulos said. “If we’re competitive in the Ocean, everything else will take care of itself.” Sequoia had one of the highest-octane offenses in the PAL last season, averaging over 35 points per game. That offense was triggered by Beekley, who has developed into a Division I–caliber quarterback. And while Beekley was effective last year in both the running and passing department, he has a chance to be even better this season. “I think we have a few more receiver weapons for him. He’ll have a chance to show his arm a little more this year. Last year, we were so ground-oriented,” Poulos said. “This year, he’ll get a chance to throw the ball a little more. He throws a really good ball.” Dalton Diaz, who caught the game-winning pass against Carlmont in overtime to secure the Cherokees’ spot in the playoffs, will pair with Gabe Ortiz, one of the fast sprinters in the PAL, as Beekley’s main receiving weapons. But they will be far from alone as Poulos will rotate a number of players at both receiver and running back. “[The receivers] all hooked up with James over the summer and just worked on timing,” Poulos said. “It’s starting to pay off.” While Lauese will probably start games at running back, he will have plenty of help to keep him fresh to play on defense. Dylan Anderson, Matt Jenkins, Mike Taylor and Jordan Veamau will also see plenty of carries out of the backfield. Jenkins, only a sophomore, appears to be the heir apparent to Lauese. He was the Cherokees’ kicker last year as a freshman, as well as a starting linebacker. He will add more running duties to his list this year and is constantly looking to do everything right. “He’s fast and athletic and strong as heck,” Poulos said of Jenkins. “It’s kind of funny to watch him sometimes. He’s so self-critical. … [But] he seems to be able to turn the page.” Both the offensive and defensive lines are big, but are more athletic than last year, which Poulos believes is a bonus. Julian Bertero, Filipo Fatele, Cooper Knudsen, Avhineet Ram and Nehemiah Teputepu are all well over 200 pounds and will alternate on both the offensive and defensive lines. “The defense is looking good. It’s looking different,” Poulos said. “We’re not as big as we were last year, but we’re swarming to the ball. Our guys are getting used to that. Guys are moving a little quicker. “We need to be more … mobile, more football-savvy. [But] we’re still going to punch you in the mouth. We’re still going to run [the ball] down your throat when we can.” The leader of the defense — and quite possibly the heart and soul of the team — is Lauese, who is a beast at linebacker. Arguably one of the biggest hitters in the (continues on page 34) The Spectrum 31
Page 1 and 2: Will It Be an Incumbent Sweep? LeMo
Page 3 and 4: The Spectrum.OCT.2011 Table of Cont
Page 5 and 6: RCSD Corner: News From the Redwood
Page 7 and 8: Nonprofits in the News Rotary Car R
Page 9 and 10: LeMo: Creating a Dream-Come-True Wo
Page 11 and 12: Upsize your LIFE Great retirement l
Page 13 and 14: P.S. The People Speak: Letters to t
Page 15 and 16: Community Interest San Mateo Credit
Page 17 and 18: Events Around Town Rosanne Foust
Page 19 and 20: Challenger McCarthy tells incumbent
Page 21 and 22: Candidates answer Spectrum question
Page 23 and 24: Insurance Tips: Bundling Home and A
Page 25 and 26: Candidates sound off (Continued fro
Page 27 and 28: The Spectrum 27
Page 29: Real Estate: Michelle Glaubert at C
Page 33 and 34: LeMo: Creating a Dream-Come-True Wo
Page 35 and 36: CASINO NIGHT VINTAGE VEGAS A fundra

Will It Be an Incumbent Sweep? - The Spectrum Magazine

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