By Khalida Sarwari
Two incumbents and a young newcomer make up the faces of the candidates running for the Campbell Union High School District board. Among the priorities on the minds of all three are improving achievement scores, decreasing dropout rates and building stronger community ties.
The candidates are vying for two of five district board seats that are up for election on Nov. 5. The contenders are incumbents Rick Costanzo, 65, of Campbell; Diane Gordon, 51, of Los Gatos; and newcomer Kalen Gallagher, 29, of San Jose. All three are full of ideas.
Costanzo is nearing the end of his first term on the board and currently serves as its president. Costanzo, who retired in 2006 after 30 years of service in the district as a teacher, coach, dean and principal, said he was persuaded to run again by teachers and others in the community.
“People throw around words like ‘passion’ and ‘commitment,’ ” he said, “but I do think that that applies to me.”
Costanzo said, if re-elected, he would continue to focus on maintaining the public’s trust and delivering a sound education to students despite a shrinking budget.
“The school district is doing as well as can be expected,” he said. “I have a lot of hope that this coming year we’ll continue to improve our test scores, continue to guide more students and help them graduate and prepare for the next level.”
Gordon, an insurance professional, is running for her third term on the board. She said that for her, it’s important to come back for another term and support the new staff, which includes superintendent Pat Gaffney.
“I think it’s important that the board have some stability and help support the new people we have in place and make sure we’re still working in the same direction that we were going before,” said Gordon.
Saying that “there is still some work left to be done,” Gordon said if re-elected she would focus on student achievement, maintaining a balanced budget and finding ways to do more with less.
Bullying is another issue she would tackle, Gordon said, and “seeing what things we can do to change the culture in schools to make sure that that’s not happening.”
What he lacks in experience, Gallagher said he would make up with a background in law–he graduated from the UC-Davis School of Law–and familiarity with the district as a graduate of Westmont High School. Currently employed at an educational startup called ClassDojo, Gallagher taught from 2009 to 2011 at San Jose’s KIPP Heartwood Academy.
“I was always interested in public education,” he said. “I live in the area still and saw some issues at the schools that still exist. I think I can take my experience in law and teaching and hopefully apply that to the school board.”
Gallagher said he would address dropout rates and achievement scores by applying best practices from other successful school districts in the area. Updating technology in classrooms is another goal, he said.
“Getting technology up to date in the schools and just really engaging the community and giving teachers the tools that they need to succeed,” he said.
The board position is a four-year term.
