With Ken Mintz (who was first elected 30 years ago) not seeking re-election as a SRVUSD school board trustee, we lose a great resource of historical knowledge regarding funding, policy, ed code (law), procedure, process, broad community awareness representative of all school sites (Alamo, Danville and San Ramon) along with the uniqueness of students, teachers, administration, staff and partners connected to those sites. As someone who has attended many school board meetings, town halls, served on district committees and volunteered from the classroom and beyond, Jerome was the only name I recognized when reading the announcement of the 3 candidates that filed for the Area 1 School Board seat for the November 8th election.
Jerome has been attending meetings as long as I’ve lived here, consistently showing up for our schools in addition to having served as a longtime volunteer for the SRVUSD from 2015 through 2021 on the SRVUSD Facilities Oversight and Advisory Committee, including more than 3 years as chair. This committee ensures transparency for taxpayers in spending on school campus construction projects and provides recommendations to District leaders on project design to deliver the promise of the school bond enacted by voters.
School Board Trustees oversee the biggest government services in our community. They set local policy relating to constitutional principles (examples: separation of church and state, freedom of speech, equal protections for all under the law). By profession, as a lawyer, Jerome understands the weight of this role. In fact, he ran for school board against 3 long standing incumbents in 2014 – something no one in this community has done for decades. He was brave enough to run then and continues to show resilience now by running again.
As a product of this district, he is the only candidate that has lived the SRVUSD K-12 experience first hand. He believes so strongly in this community that he returned here to start his family. He won’t need a learning curve. He’ll be ready on Day 1. Our teachers agree as he is the candidate they have endorsed (including an endorsement by our State Superintendent, Tony Thurmond).
Jerome will put kids first while also supporting staff and understanding the needs of our community. He will approach this role with a district lens, not with national non-profit and organizational views. With a deep understanding of budgetary issues our district faces, he will do the work to provide a safe, supportive learning environment for parents, teachers, and students at all SRVUSD schools. He will ensure all schools maintain longtime traditions of excellence as well as build on that excellence. His calm temperament, collaborative leadership style that respects others’ views, a desire to work to build consensus and ability to balance discussions of the business of running our district while paying close attention to the district’s priorities and strategic plan will be a welcome addition to our school board.
To learn more about Jerome or contact him.