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Saturday's Internet Edition, March 13, 2010.
Meet the candidates
Five to vie for two elementary board seats
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By Rachael Ackerman
Herald Editor
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With district restructuring taking place this year, the Galt joint Union Elementary School District is looking different, but the feeling is the same – educate Galt’s smallest students to the best of everyone’s ability.
Campaign 2008 will see two seats open for consideration as the district moves through change. This week The Galt Herald will introduce you to the candidates for these seats.
Profiles will be presented in the order randomly drawn by the Secretary of State in the ballot order drawing.
Susan Richardson
Incumbent Susan Richardson, 60, has lived in Galt for 11 years. She is the mother of 10 children and has 11 grandchildren with one great-grandchild on the way. She has been married to her husband Dennis for 37 years. She has no criminal record.
Richardson is retired and currently has lots of fun, and says she is learning a lot in her retirement job as a yarn maker with her daughter.
Richardson, who has served on the board for eight years, one as board president, has her master’s in governance through the California School Boards Association. She has read the Brown Act and much of the No Child Left Behind legislation. She has completed nearly 60 college credits in classes that include math, history, writing, science, English and Spanish, and said she has had occasion to use everything she has learned in her capacity as a board member.
Richardson is currently working with both school districts and the city to develop a Youth Master Plan for Galt, which she would like to see include all youth to the age of 22. She has participated in the building of two new schools, and has helped restructure the district in order to meet budget restrictions and to improve student learning, save teacher jobs and meet NCLB requirements. She has been instrumental in updating district policies and has participated in service learning through teaching spinning to students.
Aiming at green policies for the district, Richardson said she would like to see all schools, and public facilities, in Galt equipped with solar panels to help balance budgets as enrollments decline. She would also like to see all of Galt’s schools score at 800 or better on the Academic Performance Index.
“I would like to see better communication with our parents,” said Richardson. “This could go a long way in improving student learning and, as a consequence, test scores.”
Ervin Hatzenbuhler
Incumbent Ervin Hatzenbuhler, 75, has lived in Galt for 41 years. He has served on the board for 18 years and has no criminal record.
Hatzenbuhler has his master’s degree in education. He is a retired Galt High School teacher and football coach of 27 years, and has had a football field at GHS named after him in recognition of his contributions to the Warrior football program over the years.
He said he would like to continue to do the things he has done as a board member during his 18 years on the board.
“This board is a winning team,” said Hatzenbuhler.
Tamara Anstess
Tamara Anstess, 35, has lived in Galt for more than 13 years. She is married and has two boys. She has no criminal record.
Anstess is the trade shows coordinator for Tony’s Fine Foods in West Sacramento. She coordinates, reviews and audits the setup and data of each trade show while adhering to the various dates and deadlines for each department and process.
Anstess has her Bachelor of Science degree in business administration, which she earned while working full time and raising two babies.
Anstess earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2005, and a Community Service Recognition award from the Galt Sunrise Rotary. She has a long-standing commitment to the Parent Teacher Association (PTA). She has been an officer of the Marengo Ranch PTA for eight years, and with McCaffrey Middle School for three years. She has also served as a counselor for PTAs in the Third District PTA Board since 2005. As part of her PTA board duties, Anstess has started new PTAs, including at McCaffrey and Lake Canyon, and she is in the process of establishing a PTSA at Galt High School.
Anstess has also served on the GJUESD Budget Committee for four years, on the Marengo Ranch School Site Council and has regularly attended monthly school board meetings for the past seven years. She has served as facilitator for Fred Jones for teaching Parent Edition Workshops from 2005 to the present. In addition, Anstess has been an active participant in local Scouting, soccer, baseball and football teams.
Anstess said she is running for a board seat due to a desire to improve the lives of students and families in Galt. She feels that board support of teachers and staff is critical to school improvement.
Anstess said one of the greatest frustrations she would like to end is the deficiency in communicating in a timely and accurate manner, saying the issue is simply not about sending notes home; it is about sharing changes being discussed, programs that are working, and what federal and state changes mean in Galt.
“A properly informed parent can lead to a more involved parent, thus a student’s opportunity at success is drastically improved,” said Anstess. “My experience as a parent, coupled with my ongoing involvement with Galt schools, will be a positive asset to the GJUESD Board.”
John Gordon
John Gordon, 39, has lived in Galt for four years. He is married and has two children. He has no criminal record.
Gordon is employed with the California Department of Education as a Schools Facilities Analyst in the School Facilities Planning Division. His job duties include review of architectural plans for new schools and renovation/modernization and building additions to ensure they meet state standards. He also reviews new school documentation to ensure schools meet health and safety standards. Gordon also oversees the Proposition 1D: Career and Technical Education Facilities Program, a $500-million program approved by California voters.
Gordon has earned his master’s degree in public administration from the University of San Francisco, where he gained a solid understanding of how public organizations operate. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from CSU Sacramento and an Educational Facilities Planning Certificate from University of Riverside, Extension Professional and Continuing Studies, which he said increased his knowledge of school facilities planning from a school district perspective.
Gordon is also athletically accomplished, having completed three 50-mile ultra marathons, and 22 marathons/50K races. Gordon said he believes perseverance and determination are essential character traits of successful leaders, and that training for and finishing these endurance events demonstrates a strong sense of dedication while pushing beyond limits.
Gordon said he wants to ensure that all students have the same learning opportunities regardless of what school they attend, and that he would like to find a way to bridge the ideas and programs that are successful in one school and consider the possibility of incorporating them into other schools. He would also like to see high academic achievement in an environment that promotes individuals to reach their potential.
“I believe that the elementary and high school districts can successfully partner to ensure our middle school students are ready for high school,” said Gordon. “All students should have skills that would provide them an opportunity for a successful and productive life beyond high school. Through academic rigor and/or career technical education, there are several paths we can prepare our students that will lead to success.”
Doug Vanderkar
Doug Vanderkar, 42 has lived in Galt for nearly five years. He is married and has two children. He has no criminal record.
Vanderkar is the director of Community Bus Service at the Sacramento Regional Transit where he oversees the bus drivers, supervisory/management staff, and the administrative staff that operate RT Neighborhood Ride services throughout Sacramento County.
Vanderkar has his Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural and managerial economics from UC Davis. He has also attended multiple courses and other specialized training in collective bargaining, labor regulations, effective leadership and management and public sector budgeting.
Vanderkar said his greatest achievement in life has been in having his children and that their wellbeing and education are of the utmost importance to him. He is proud of his mission trips through his church and in making his time available to assist in his children’s schools.
Vanderkar said, since arriving in Galt, he has been dismayed at the lack of parental input into district decision making, saying the “straw that broke the camel’s back” was last year’s district reconfiguration process that he said the board, who has a distinct lack of communication with the community and parents, “fumbled.” He said he would make improving communication a priority, saying Galt is now too big to rely on the “trickle down” theory for getting the word out. Vanderkar said better use of the district Web site, mailers, take homes and public meetings, and phone trees are just a sampling of either unutilized or under utilized methods of better communication.
Vanderkar would also like to see an improved support system for the school staff and students in expecting more from students and giving them the tools they need from a district level. He would also like to see additional parental support through PTA, school trips and classroom help, and by encouraging our children to rise to the expectations, fundraising, or simply verbal encouragement of school staff.
Vanderkar said he would focus on facilities improvements as well, saying some Galt schools need more attention than others, and that the board must find creative ways to improve facilities and the business process in order to provide the best learning and working environment for Galt kids and school employees.
“As a board member, I commit to being accessible and available to you as a conduit of information from your school district,” said Vanderkar. “By opening dialog with all school staff and parents, there may be many low/no-cost ways to improve school facilities as well.”
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