New CSBA officers and directors take office
Published: December 11, 2013
Josephine (“Jo”) Lucey, a member of the Cupertino Union School District Board of Education in Region 20 since 2001, took office as CSBA’s president following the association’s Annual Education Conference and Trade Show in San Diego last week.
Calling public schools “the foundation of our American democracy,” Lucey acknowledged the external challenges schools continue to face in funding, equity and other areas, and she urged her colleagues around the state to study the issues, advocate for solutions and “continually strive for excellence.”
“Our challenge … is to continually adapt and improve our educational system so that the initial eagerness that children exhibit on their first day of kindergarten is still there when they graduate high school,” Lucey said. “Together we can strengthen our educational system, graduate students with the skills and knowledge they need to be successful and, in doing so, strengthen our communities and our economy.”
Lucey succeeds Cindy Marks, a trustee with Modesto City Schools in Region 8, who will serve another year on the association’s Executive Committee as CSBA’s immediate past president.
Joining Lucey and Marks on the Executive Committee is President-elect Jesús Holguín, a board member in Region 18’s Moreno Valley Unified School District, and Vice President Chris Ungar of Region 9’s San Luis Coastal Unified School District, both elected by acclamation by CSBA’s Delegate Assembly.
Delegates re-elected D. Shelly Yarbrough of Val Verde Unified as director at large, American Indian, and Mike Walsh of the Butte County Office of Education as director at large, county. They also elected Darryl Adams from Norwalk-La Mirada Unified as director at large, African American, a post that was formerly called director at large, Black.
New members of CSBA’s Board of Directors following elections in odd-numbered regions include Jill Wynns, a past president of the association and San Francisco Unified board member in Region 5; Anne White of Livermore Valley Joint Unified in Region 7; Tami Gunther of Atascadero Unified in Region 9; and Victor Torres of Castaic Union in Region 22.
Heidi Weiland from the El Dorado County Office of Education joins CSBA’s board as president of the California County Boards of Education.
Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, a Los Angeles Unified School District trustee who was long active in CSBA, died following her re-election as Region 21 CSBA director. She was eulogized by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and in the Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles Unified board will recommend an appointment for President Lucey’s consideration.
Also re-elected to the CSBA Board of Directors were:
- Jennifer Owen, Fort Bragg USD, in Region 1
- Cindi Clinton, Novato USD, Region 3
- Suzanne Kitchens, Pleasant Valley SD, Region 11
- Susan Henry, Huntington Beach Union High SD, Region 15
- Carol Skiljan, Encinitas union ESD, Region 17
- Robert Cruz, Charter Oak USD, Region 23
The Delegate Assembly also adopted minor changes to CSBA’s Policy Platform following a major reorganization last May of the document that guides all of the association’s work. Watch for complete coverage of the Delegate Assembly in the January 2014 California School News.