The Campbell Reporter

Education

Incumbents fend off challengers in Moreland School District race

By Laura Rheinheimer

In the Moreland School District board race, appointed incumbents Karen Whipple and Heather Sutton have been elected and Lori Booroojian, the current board president, has been re-elected.

The candidates will be sworn into office Dec. 1 at the board's first organizational meeting and will serve for four years. The women are eager to continue with what they see as many positive changes in the district. The race was highly contested, with eight candidates running for three open seats.

Whipple was the top vote-getter with 18.5 percent or 4,094 votes. Sutton got 17.68 percent or 3,912 votes. Booroojian came in third with 14.96 percent or 3,311 votes.

"I'm overwhelmed that I had such support," Whipple said.

Mike Egleston, a substitute teacher and Moreland parent, trailed slightly behind Booroojian with 12.21 percent or 2,701 votes and Dale Barr, an optometrist and Moreland parent, received 11.75 percent or 2,600 votes.

Evelyn Lindquist, a substitute teacher and parent, received 9.36 percent or 2,130 votes. John Gilchrist, an engineer and parent, had 8.45 percent or 1,869 votes, and Gloria Schoenduve, a parent, received 6.83 percent or 1,511 votes.

Whipple was appointed to the board in May and is the newest member. She credits her consistent involvement in Girl Scouts, youth sports and music programs for making her a favorite among parents and community members.

Whipple took her family to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters office to watch the voting process and was happy with the results.

Sutton, who was appointed to the board in January, is also excited.

"I'm very honored to be able to serve on the school board," she said, noting the support showed parents and residents believe in her priorities.

All three women said the priorities of the board will be to use new funding to increase parent involvement and communication with the district residents and to make Moreland schools more attractive to prospective students.

Sutton and Whipple see work to be done in broadening the curriculum at Moreland Middle School, including strengthening the arts and music programs.

Booroojian, who was appointed to the board in 2001 and won the spot outright the following year, is optimistic about district leadership and funding.

The current board will remain intact, which the elected board members see as a good thing. Even though Sutton and Whipple are new to the board, they have been involved with many important decisions.

"We can continue with the progress we made," Whipple said.

The board developed a new strategic planning process to improve enrollment and student achievement, and board members are hopeful new funding and new leadership will bring about positive changes in the district.

"The voters are saying they feel good about the changes we've made and the direction we're going in now," Booroojian said, adding that now that the election is over, the members can focus on what needs to be done.

The first action will be to send out a districtwide newsletter to all residents who live in the district, not just parents, Booroojian said.

Despite parent frustration with last year's closures of Latimer Elementary and Rogers Middle schools, Booroojian said she found support in parents who were involved in the process. She said the key is to "make sure everyone's a part of what we're doing."

"It's a good time to be on the board," Booroojian said. "We'll make a lot of positive changes."