CSBA delegates elect new officers during semi-annual Delegate Assembly in San Diego
Published: January 3, 2012
In a no-nonsense speech during which she promised to speak truth to power, veteran San Francisco Unified School District board member Jill Wynns succeeded Newport-Mesa Unified School District board member Martha Fluor as CSBA’s new president. Wynns officially took office on Nov. 3, at the conclusion of the association’s Annual Education Conference and Trade Show. But in remarks before the Delegate Assembly the day before the AEC and at various venues throughout the conference, Wynns made it clear that she will not tolerate late-night budget deals of the sort that resulted in the Legislature’s raid on Proposition 98 earlier this year.
“We need to tell the truth,” she said. “No more poison pills, no more deals in the middle of the night, no more smoke and mirrors.” Should lawmakers or even CSBA’s collaborative partners try such tactics, Wynns said, “I am not going to shake their hands and tell them it’s OK.”
CSBA delegates also elected Cupertino Union School District board member Josephine “Jo” Lucey vice president and Modesto City Schools board member Cindy Marks president-elect. Delegates also selected three directors-at-large, re-electing Emma Turner from the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District to the office of director-at-large, black, and D. Shelly Yarbrough from the Val Verde Unified School District, director-at-large, American Indian. Delegates selected Mike Walsh from the Butte County Office of Education to the office of director-at-large, county.
Fluor remains on the Executive Committee as immediate past president. She said she has loved her “daunting and exhilarating year” as president but continues to be “as mad as hell” about the dismissive way that California schools are treated during state budget deliberations. As a farewell tribute, her colleagues in Region Region 15 established a scholarship in Fluor’s name, raising more than $1,500 during the AEC for professional development and board training scholarships. Fluor, who made school board recognition a priority during her term, distributed commemorative pins to delegates, directors, officers and past presidents.
Delegates from nine odd-numbered regions re-elected their incumbent directors to the CSBA board: Jennifer Owen from Ft. Bragg USD in Region 1, Cindi Clinton from Novato USD in Region 3, Laura Rich from Menlo Park ESD in Region 5, Laura Canciamilla from Pittsburg USD in Region 7, Chris Ungar from San Luis Coastal USD in Region 9, Don Sedgwick from Saddleback Valley USD in Region 15, Carol Skiljan from Encinitas Union ESD in Region 17, Marguerite LaMotte from LAUSD in Region 21, and Robert Cruz from Charter Oak USD in Region 23. Directors from Region 11 elected a newcomer to the board, Suzanne Kitchens from Pleasant Valley SD, who succeeds John Walker from Ventura USD.