Seven of eight candidates vying for five seats on the Scotts Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees met on a stage Tuesday, Oct. 18 in their first and only joint campaign appearance, in a question-and-answer forum that focused on the delicate balance between community desires and financial realities.
The forum at the Santa Margarita Community Room of the Scotts Valley Water District was sponsored by the Press Banner and Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce. Approximately 60 people filled the room.
Candidates for the three four-year trustee seats on the ballot were Sue Roth, Michael Schulman, Kim Shultz and Sue Rains. Farah Theissen was unable to attend because of a business commitment.
Candidates for the two two-year trustee seats on the ballot in attendance were Roger Snyder, Gia Schwarzer and Corey Warner.
Candidates Stephanie Espinola and Cathie Simonovich appear on the ballot, but are not campaigning because they accepted staff positions with the school district after filing for election.
Candidates were at odds when answering a question posed by moderator and Press Banner editor Barry Holtzclaw about the anticipated $7 million shortfall from Measure A, a $35 million bond measure passed by Scotts Valley in 2014. About $33 million of that money was targeted to renovate Scotts Valley Middle School.
“We’ve done everything we (school board) need to get us in line for the state bond money,” said Schulman, referring to Proposition 51, a $9 billion bond measure to repair the city’s schools. He added that the $7 million shortfall is targeted toward a pavilion and gymnasium, which will not stop the project if the bond vote fails.
Rains said the current school board should not have wasted precious time exploring building options that were intrinsically out of fiscal reach. “I’m sad and disappointed,” she said. “Why reach for the stars? We lost critical time.”
Warner, who said he has significant construction experience, agreed. “$35 million doesn’t go far in construction these days,” he said. “What we wanted was almost double what we have.”
The candidates also grappled with the current board’s response to an incident at Scotts Valley High School last June, when a 15-year-old male student gave a girl a graphic story that described sex and violent acts toward her and a list of other students and teachers. Parents had objected to the way the district treated both the targets and the boy accused of making the threats.
Incumbent Roth defended the board’s position as following rules and regulations concerning sexual harassment on school grounds. “We acted the way that we should have,” she said. “The process was followed.”
Schulman also said the board should not be blamed for its response. “Responses happen in real time with real people,” he said. “We cannot control the behavior of individuals; we can only respond.”
Snyder said the current board should have acted faster to notify parents before they read about the incident in the newspaper. “It was an emotional situation,” he said. “Somewhere a moment was lost. We have to try harder to out in front of the issues.”
Another pressing issue facing the next board term is the dilemma of attracting and retaining teachers in a district where pay typically does not keep up with the cost of living.
Schwarzer suggested that the school district plug into the city’s plan to build affordable housing so teachers could live where they work. “The city is a draw despite the fact that (teacher) salaries are not high,” she said.
Schultz said the problem is deeper than worrying about where teachers will reside. “The challenge is not hiring teachers, it’s retaining them after a few years of experience,” he said, relating back to salaries that do not compete well against larger districts in Silicon Valley. “It’s not just being able to afford to buy a house, it’s being able to afford the rent.”
The candidates also were asked about plans to raise private funds for a new sports stadium and athletic complex at Scotts Valley High School.
“We need to have this (athletic facilities) fixed so they can keep doing stuff other than just hanging out,” Warner said. “Get them active not just with their minds, but with their physical bodies.”
Rains said she supported replacing the stadium and track, but stopped short of endorsing a swimming pool. A pool, she said, is expensive to maintain and difficult to police if the community at large is invited to use it during off hours.
Roth said she supports the facility but has a realistic view on just how much financial support can be expected from Scotts Valley residents. “Be mindful that there are other wants in the community,” she said, referring to surveys conducted by the board in which residents did not put athletics first on the list of projects to pursue..
Schultz, however, remained optimistic. “It’s not a matter of if, but when,” he said.
