Candidates share their views with local voters
Published in the May 11-25, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO OF THE CANDIDATE FORUM
By Staff Report
Photo by Marty Cheek
Tom Arnett and Pamela Torrisi shared with voters their views on issues related to local education.
Tom Arnett and Pamela Torrisi focused their answers at the school board candidate forum May 5 on being positive and bringing the Morgan Hill Unified School District’s board of trustees back to a state of civility if elected in the special June 7 election.
The two candidates are running for a seat that was open when trustee Amy Porter Jensen left the board in October. The term of the seat ends in November.
Topics ranged from the state of technology in the district, the availability of counseling services at the schools and how to improve the working relationship of the current board.
In his introduction, Arnett described how he grew up in Morgan Hill and graduated from Live Oak High School. Over the years, he has developed an interest in education innovations that leverage technology for personalized instruction for students and provide data for teachers to tailor lessons to individual needs.
Answering the question “What would I do to bring civility back to the board,” Arnett said he would reach out and try to get to know all the board members and always maintain an air of civility and respect.
In introducing herself, Torrisi described herself as a Live Oak graduate and said she is running because she has had a 34-year passion for teaching children. She developed leadership and negotiation skills while working for the service employees union for the district.
Answering the question on civility, Torrisi said she has worked with a diverse group of students and employees, teachers and administrators and always managed to find a goal and work toward that goal. That’s how to return civility to the board — by choosing goals, working toward those goals and getting them accomplished, she said.
Morgan Hill Life video-recorded the forum and it will be posted at www.MorganHillLife.com.
