Published in the Nov. 25-Dec. 8, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
CLICK HERE FOR APPLICATION LETTER FROM MHUSD: MHUSD Board of Education – Notice of Intent
CLICK HERE FOR CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACKAGE: Board of Education Candidate Information Packet
By Staff Report
The Morgan Hill Unified School District board set a deadline of 5 p.m. Dec. 4 for candidates to apply to fill the vacant seat on the board created after trustee Amy Porter Jensen resigned last month.
The trustees voted 5-0 at a special Nov. 12 meeting to appoint a seventh member. Trustee Ron Woolf was not present.
Current board members will interview verified candidates at a Dec. 8 special meeting. They’ll go through at least two rounds of questions until the board votes on a finalist.
Potential candidates must be at least 18 years of age and registered to vote within the MHUSD boundaries. They will serve as an appointed trustee until November 2016, the date Porter Jensen’s term is set to expire.
Candidates who are interested in filling the appointed trustee position are encouraged to attend a special meeting at 7:30 p.m Nov. 19 at the district office where three board members and MHUSD staff can answer any questions about the board position.
Candidates must obtain a copy of the Candidate Information Packet, which includes a candidate application, and submit the application by the deadline to the superintendent’s assistant Jayne Giangreco at the district office, 15600 Concord Circle.
The board has a deadline of Dec. 29 to make the appointment. If they do not, Santa Clara County schools superintendent Jon R. Gundry, as required by law, will order an election which will cost several hundred thousand dollars.
“Foremost, we are hoping to attract candidates who want to use a trustee role for guiding the district in the best interest of students,” said MHUSD Superintendent Steve Betando. “We have a thriving district with impressive employees, involved parents, and business or community partners. We have reinvented our neighborhood schools with great new programs, improved curriculum and instruction, and high expectations in our Morgan Hill, San Jose, and San Martin communities.”
Porter Jensen left the school board Oct. 28 because of stress arising from a recall campaign against school board president Bob Benevento initiated by the group Parents For Positive Change. Several board members including trustees Benevento and Porter Jensen said they received numerous emails on a daily basis from recall organizer Rob Guynn to the point they called “harassment.”
Porter Jensen filed papers with the Santa Clara County Superior Court in October, accusing Guynn and his wife, Monica Guynn, of inundating her with hundreds of emails concerning the recall. She also claimed Rob Guynn made a “disturbing” phone call to her.
The court granted her a temporary restraining order against Guynn. The situation caused her to fear attending school board meetings, she said. Guynn must stay 100 feet away from Porter Jensen until a Nov. 17 hearing in San Jose.
Despite the controversy now facing the board, MHUSD schools are doing well in the mission to educate young people, Betando said.
“Our schools have never looked better and our budget outlook is exceptional. Our administrative team is stronger than any I have seen. The students are achieving in tremendous ways,” he said. “I invite community members who wish to help us continue on our trajectory of even more success to consider applying as an appointment candidate for the Morgan Hill Unified School Board for the one-year term.
