North Monterey County Unified School District

Total Revenue: $39, 094, 846
Dollars/Student: $8,502
Total Schools: 8
Total Enrollment: 4,707
Average Class Size: 26
Student/Teacher Ratio: 22.1 to 1
Average Teacher Salary: $58,410
Average Years Teaching in District: 12.5
Four-Year Dropout Rate: 5.9 percent
Graduates with UC/CSU Required Courses: 29.5 percent
Students Receiving Free or Reduced Lunches: 54.3 percent

The Candidates

Vote For Three

GARY S. DE AMARAL

Age: 50

Occupation: Technical Services Manager

Number of years in the district: 20

How many kids do you have? 3, ages 14, 16 and 18.

How many kids do you have attending schools within the district for which you are running?

My oldest son, Jonathan, graduated from NMCHS with honors last year and is attending USC.

My second son, Gary Jr, is a straight A sophomore at NMCHS

My daughter, Faith, graduated as Valedictorian of NMCMS and is now a freshman at NMCHS.

All three are involved in athletics; Faith is also a member of the NMCHS Marching Band.

What are the top two issues facing the district? If elected, how will you address them?

Retention of quality educators. Solution: Provide facilities, compensation and leadership comparable to adjoining districts.

Financial resources necessary to assure (teacher retention) is obtainable. Solution: Efficient and business-minded financial management.

What issue flies under the radar of the current board or the public?

The negative influence of at-risk teenagers from Central Bay (Continuation School) using the high school transportation system without appropriate oversight.

What will you accomplish that your opponents cannot?

The infusion of business management standards for information gathering and decision making.

What endorsements have you received, if any?

I enjoy the support of many community members. Among the more prominent are:

Lou Calcagno, county supervisor, District 2, North Monterey County

Ron Stephani, division chief, North Monterey County Fire Department

Judy Burditt, executive director, North County Recreation & Parks District

Eric Tynan, general manager, Castroville Water District

Denise Amerison, executive director, North Monterey County Chamber of Commerce

Leah Barber , executive director, Prunedale Senior Center

What is your education-related background (work, volunteerism, education)?

I maintained all computer systems for Liberty Family Academy, a large charter school that was located in Prunedale. As part of that function I developed an IT department for first level computer support made up of high school students and I taught a class where we built and repaired computers for home school students. I also coached basketball for 5 years at the North Monterey County Recreation Center and then for 6 years at North Monterey County Middle schools.

What other civic experience do you have?

I am currently Vice President of the North Monterey County Chamber of Commerce and the Castroville Artichoke Festival Committee. I am a Past-President of the Prunedale Chamber of Commerce and have sat on many public boards and advisory groups.

What is the one book that every school kid ought to read before graduating from high school?

A very difficult question but I would choose “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. It provides insight into understanding diverse perspectives.

EUGENE GUGLIELMO

Age: 48

Occupation: Consultant/Computer Scientist

Number of years in the district: 12

How many kids do you have? How many kids do you have attending schools within the district for which you are running?

One child at North Monterey County High

What are the top two issues facing the district? If elected, how will you address them?

First is tactical: ensuring all operational tasks are funded sufficiently based on current market trends, which includes employee salaries, facility maintenance, academic, arts, and athletic programs, etc. Second is strategic: planning for upgrades and expansions of capabilities to improve academic, arts, and athletic programs. My objective is to study the financials and ensure that the district is in a financial position to address both short and long term issues.

What issue flies under the radar of the current board or the public?

Importance of preparing students for standardized and computerized tests that they will face in college and/or the workplace.

What will you accomplish that your opponents cannot?

I cannot speak to what my opponents can or cannot do. I hope to be able to leverage my experience in the corporate world for over 20 years including tenure as a C-level executive in a multi-billion dollar international company. Have spent considerable time dealing with financial, tactical, and strategic issues throughout my career as well as being accountable for multi-million dollar budgets. I hope to be able to apply the financial lessons learned to the school district.

What endorsements have you received, if any?

Am not aware of any at this time.

What is your education-related background (work, volunteerism, education)?

Possess a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. Responsible for developing and training corporate and client staffs throughout my career. Taught undergraduate courses at CSUMB in computer technology for a semester. Taught graduate course at Chapman University in education for prospective K-12 teachers for two and a half years.

What other civic experience do you have?

Member of Monterey Chapter of Sons of Italy. Have coached Little League and Pony baseball as well as ASA girls softball in which my children have played.

What is the one book that every school kid ought to read before graduating from high school?

“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain.

RACHELLE MORGAN-LEWIS

Age: 45

Occupation: Incumbent/Elementary School Principal

Number of years in the district: 20

How many kids do you have? How many kids do you have attending schools within the district for which you are running?

My husband, Dave, and I raised four children, all of whom attended district schools. The boys are from my husband’s first marriage, and the girls are ours together. (I only mention this because of the difference between my age and my oldest son’s.) Ben is 31. He, his wife, and four children live in Lincoln, Calif. Tony is 28. He, his fiancé, and her two children live in Gilroy. Rozalyn is 25. She is expecting her first child. She lives with her husband in Columbia, South Carolina. Meghan is 22. Her fiancé is leaving for the army on Sunday. We are currently putting together her wedding for Oct. 13, 2007.

All four graduated from North County High. Most of my kids went to Gambetta Middle; Meghan attended Moss Landing Middle. Because of moves when we were first married, our kids attended three of

the four elementary schools; the kids never went to Castroville although we have lived here in town for most of the time.

Although I no longer have children in North County schools, the kids of our community are still “my kids” and I stay involved for their sake.

What are the top two issues facing the district? If elected, how will you address them?

Like schools all over California, we share a concern for student achievement and providing the best possible education available to our kids. Another issue that keeps me involved is our need for improved facilities. I want schools that are warm, safe, and welcoming for our students. We passed a bond earlier in my tenure on the board with a plan to improve our schools and build a new middle school. We made wonderful and necessary improvements to our schools. The problem is that we did not ask for a sufficient amount of money to do all we needed to do, let alone hoped to do. I feel an obligation to remain on the board to see through a process we started. How do I plan to address those needs? I am seeking a third term and have been on the board for eight years. I will use the knowledge I’ve gained throughout my tenure and my career to provide oversight and ideas for the betterment of all of our kids.

What issue flies under the radar of the current board or public?

I don’t think most voters are aware that a developer and Monterey Peninsula Unified School District have petitioned the county office of education to take land that has been in the north Monterey County district boundaries. There will be many impacts if this is allowed to happen. There will be impacts to the education of those students who will live in that development. There will be impacts to the families in north county. For now, I’d like to address the impacts to the families that currently live in north county. The petition asks that the new home owners of that development not be required to pay their share of the school bond passed by voters a few years back. This would increase costs to current north county residents. The loss of developers’ fees, property taxes, and students would jeopardize our goals for further improvements within our districts.

What will you accomplish that your opponents cannot?

I am able to be a more effective board member than someone walking into the district at this point because I have the knowledge of what has gone on over the last eight years – 20 if you count my time as an involved parent. I know what decisions were made and why. I have the districts’ history.

What endorsements have you received, if any?

I have been endorsed by both CSEA and NMCFT, both unions.

What is your education-related background (work, volunteerism, education)?

I was a teacher for 14 years before moving into school administration. Actually, I began my involvement as a parent helper in a classroom. My son’s teacher encouraged me to go back to school and earn a credential.

What other civic experience do you have?

I bring a wealth of perspectives to the board, given my years of involvement. As a board member, I am not allowed to work for North County. So I also bring the perspective of the two other districts that I

have been employed by – I have brought ideas in from other districts and shared successful ideas from North County with the districts that I have worked for.

What is the one book that every school ought to read before graduating high school?

I think every student should read a book that they find enjoyable before they graduate. I don’t think any one book has enough answers to appeal to all students, but if student develop a joy for reading from their experience with that one great book, they will want to read the next.

VICKI LYNN TESTA

Age: 55

Occupation: An attorney and the real estate broker and owner of North Monterey County Real Estate, a successful small business.

Number of years in the district: 14

How many kids do you have? 2

How many kids do you have attending schools within the district for which you are running? Zero.

What are the top two issues facing the district? If elected, how will you address them?

Construction of the new middle school and deteriorating infrastructure. New Middle School Plan: We need to review district finances and using of Measure E monies and consult state officials to see where matching funds are available. We should hire an outside consulting group to investigate where the money has been spent and to get a better picture of the district’s finances and the causes of the failure to build the new school, and provide that information to the voters. We need to enlist community input through several community meetings in response to that information. All school board meeting minutes and information about the new middle school will be provided on the district’s web site. Using the information provided by the outside review and community meetings, we will determine a course of action.

Plan for Deteriorating Infrastructure: Enlist community, staff and student input through school board and special meetings to establish a list of infrastructure related priorities. Using the audit of district finances to determine what district funds and state and federal matching funds are available for infrastructure improvements. Creating a public-private partnership program to enlist financial support from business, individuals, and organizations. The program could be similar to a sponsorship program.

What issue flies under the radar of the current board or the public?

Parent involvement is the issue that flies under the radar of the current board. We need to find ways to better involve parents in our student’s education.

What will you accomplish that your opponents cannot?

I will work tirelessly to build a new middle school. The district needs someone who understands the complex land use and building laws in order successfully build the new middle school. Otherwise, construction will be stopped again because of legal violations, lawsuits, and poor planning.

What endorsements have you received, if any?

Various community leaders and many parents whose children attend or did attend district schools.

What is your education-related background (work, volunteerism, education)?

Education: Juris Doctorate in Law, Golden Gate University, 1977. Bachelors of Science, University of California Berkeley. Environmental Science, 1974.

Activism: President of the Moss Landing Middle School Parent Teacher Group, Secretary of the Moss Landing Middle School Parent, Secretary of Elkhorn Elementary School Parent Teacher Group, member of the Moss Landing School Site Council, North Monterey County High School parent activist, Elkhorn Elementary Homeroom mother for many years.

What other civic experience do you have?

Proud sponsor of Little League, Soccer and Football teams, Prunedale Chamber of Commerce member, National Park Ranger.

What is the one book that every school kid ought to read before graduating from high school?

“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.

BRYAN REES and DIANA JIMENEZ didn’t respond to the Weekly’s questionnaire.