The Cupertino Courier

Community

Veteran board member has perfect attendance

By Erin Hussey

Nancy Newton was appointed to the Fremont Union High School District board of trustees on July 21, 1987. Since then, she hasn't missed a single board meeting.

"For me it's a way of saying this is a priority for me and I take this seriously," says Newton. "I plan my life around it."

Newton's appointment came following the death of a board member. She applied for the position as a way of continuing her involvement in the district on a broader level.

"My son and daughter had graduated at that point so I felt like I could leave the school site and move into a more global arena, but still make a difference," Newton says.

Newton, a native Californian and stay-at-home-mom, first decided to take an active, decision-making role in the district when Sunnyvale High School closed in 1981.

"Fremont was the most impacted by the closure other than Sunnyvale High itself," she remembers. Newton's oldest son had graduated the year before and her daughter was about to enter Fremont High as a freshman.

"We were either going to become very involved and help it be a really good place or we were going to make a move. We decided to stay and work at it and build bridges between the communities," she says.

Newton became passionate about bringing parent leadership to the school and was the key motivator in starting the PTA at Fremont.

Once appointed as a board member she continued to enjoy working with the district's students, parents, community members and staff.

"The valley has seen tremendous change, but the people are pretty much still the same," Newton says. "This has always been a community that is very dedicated to its schools and its kids, so the heart of it hasn't changed; it just looks different."

While Newton can't remember the longest board meeting she ever sat through, she can recall a number of tough issues the board has faced, including budget cuts, contract negotiations, the changing of the Fremont High mascot from the Indians to the Firebirds, and the firing last year of superintendent Steve Rowley.

During her 20-year tenure, Newton has served several times as board president. She has also been on the delegate assembly of the California Schools Boards Association since 1988.

"Coming from the volunteer world where you interact with people more one-on-one, you have to learn as a board member to feel very satisfied about working in a more global setting," she says. "You are making an impact for more students but don't have as close contact with them."

Newton also enjoys being involved in the greater community. Her past activities have included being president of the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce, a member of Santa Clara County School Boards Association, board member with the Euphrat Museum at De Anza College, on the Northwest YMCA board and a part-time job as an instructor at Santa Clara University.

But Newton's favorite part of being a FUHSD board trustee is attending the high school graduations.

"Those are incredible moments," she says. "It just brings the whole year together. It's such a special honor to celebrate with the students and their families their accomplishments."

When Newton is not attending a board meeting or community and school events, she says she loves spending time with her family, especially her three granddaughters.

Newton hasn't decided whether she'll run for another term in the 2008 November election. If she does, it'll be her sixth election.

"I take four years at a time," she says. "I don't like to get too far ahead of myself, but I still have the same enthusiasm for it today that I had when I first started."

The Fremont Union High School District will honor Newton's 20-year history at the Sept. 4 board meeting at 7 p.m. For more information visit www.fuhsd.org/agendas or call 408.522.2200.