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In This Issue...
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Four Candidates Surface to Run for County Superintendent of Schools in June
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Four Candidates Surface to Run for County Superintendent of Schools in June
By Michael Thomas
So far, four candidates have taken out papers to appear on the June ballot running for the job as Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools. Each hopes to follow popular four-term current Superintendent Dr. Diane Siri into office as one of the County’s top educational leaders.
Rebecca Garcia, Rowland Baker, Sandra Nichols and Lupe Rivas have taken out initial candidate packets from the Santa Cruz County Clerk’s office, although only two candidates have officially declared their candidacy. The County Superintendent’s job will appear on the June primary ballot and could be decided in the November election if one candidate doesn’t earn a majority of the vote. Besides filing petitions and paying election fees, contenders must have certain educational credentials to qualify.
In what could be a four-way race, Baker is the only contender to have worked for the County Office of Education in management. Perhaps more importantly, he’s got the endorsement of Dr. Siri.
“Rowland Baker is uniquely qualified to provide leadership for the County’s diverse educational programs … as well as for the extensive support the County Office provides to the individual school districts,” Dr. Siri said. “He has both the commitment and the experience to lead the County Office of Education through the opportunities and challenges of the coming years.”
Candidates are currently collecting petition signatures to offset the filing fee for the election, as well as show early support for the race. However, candidates have until March to declare, so the field of hopefuls may grow.
Rebecca Garcia
Garcia currently works at the Santa Clara County Office of Education. She oversees professional development of preschool teachers in a four-county area that includes Santa Cruz and Monterey County.
“The emphasis right now in education is closing the achievement gap,” Garcia said, “particularly the Latino subgroup. We are not doing as well as we can in that subgroup.”
A native of Watsonville, one of her primary objectives is to see English language learners come up to speed. She pointed out that 28 percent of the County’s students are working to learn English, and of those, only a third are meeting the standard for fluency.
However, Garcia said, “I am not just about English language learners.” For example, among all students, she said, the California Standards Test shows third graders lagging in language arts proficiency.
Growing up in Santa Cruz County, Garcia attended Pajaro Elementary, Watsonville High, Cabrillo, and UC Santa Cruz. She has a Masters in educational administration, as well as teaching and administrative credentials.
In the early 1990s, she worked at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education on a program aimed at alcohol and drug prevention.
In Santa Clara, she has worked on programs to train and retain beginning teachers. She also sits on the governing Board of Cabrillo College.
“Serving is what I am about and this just takes it up a notch,” she said of the opportunity to serve as County Superintendent.
Rowland Baker
Rowland Baker worked closely with departing Superintendent Siri for many years. He is currently the Assistant Superintendent of Education Services and has been at the County Office for 13 years.
“This office has a chance to greatly impact the lives of students,” Baker said. “The biggest thing is student achievement, whether it’s challenging those at the top or helping those that are struggling.”
He sees teacher recruitment and training as key challenges, along with providing fiscal oversight for County school districts.
“Siri has made an incredible difference. I want to continue to support that work,” he said.
During Siri’s tenure, with the help of Baker and County Office managers, she has tripled grant funding to sponsor a wide range of projects, from advanced math education, expansion of the science fair and technology for campuses countywide to support for homeless teens.
Baker grew up in Santa Cruz County, attending public schools including Gault
and Branciforte Elementary schools and Branciforte Junior High.
He spent time at Santa Cruz High before graduating from Soquel High.
He earned his teaching credentials at Pasadena College and took his first job as a summer school teacher in the San Lorenzo Valley in 1973. After 15 years teaching at various county schools, he was hired as a Principal at Aromas Elementary in the Pajaro District and then at Capitola Elementary for Soquel Union School District before moving to the County Office.
“I got a good education here and I always wanted to give back,” Baker said.
Beside Dr. Siri’s endorsement, Baker has also won the early endorsements of other Mid-County notables, including Santa Cruz County Supervisor Ellen Pirie, Granite Rock President and long-term public school supporter Bruce Woolpert, Aptos Chamber Co-Director Karen Hibble and Pajaro Valley Unified School Superintendent Mary Ann Mays.
Early in the race, Baker says he also has collected contributions and pledges totaling more than $25,000.
Sandra Nichols
Sandra Nichols is a part-time speech and language specialist for Santa Cruz City Schools. She is also the current Vice-president of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board. In recent months, she took on a second job as coordinator of Special Education for a Monterey County school district.
Nichols has yet to firmly announce her candidacy but has taken out petition forms.
“I’m looking at the possibility of mounting this campaign,” she said in a press release. “I’ll use the petition process to assess my support.”
With two decades of experience in education under her belt, she has demonstrated a desire in recent years to tackle bigger challenges. Last year, she organized a coalition of local educators to rally opposition to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s education agenda. The group, Campaign Support Our Schools, opposed his funding proposals and ballot measures that threatened teacher tenure, union political activity and State funding minimums for education.
“I’ve been encouraged to consider this decision for several months and I’m anxious to get started,” Nichols said.
Lupe Rivas
A fourth potential candidate for the Superintendent post is Lupe Rivas. She has worked as a Bilingual Coordinator for the Pajaro Valley Unified School District for six years. Rivas has a doctorate in education from the University of San Francisco, as well as a masters and an administrative degree.
Before taking the job in Pajaro schools working with migrant students, Rivas served as vice-principal and principal at two Bakersfield-area schools.
As to the County Superintendent post, “The big issue is working to improve education services to all students … and to teachers,” Rivas said. “I see some of the needs first-hand that are out here in the area.”
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