Board of Education appoints Ellis mother of three as newest member
For immediate release
Contact:
Alia Wilson
Communications Coordinator
Sunnyvale School District
(408) 522-8200 x 1084
SUNNYVALE, CA — May 11, 2017 — After four hours of interviewing and deliberating during a special board meeting on May 11, the Sunnyvale School District Board of Education appointed its newest member, Michelle Maginot.
Michelle Maginot is a Sunnyvale native and a proud product of the Sunnyvale School District. She has three children who attend or will be attending Ellis next year. She has been an active member of the school’s PTO board for the last two years and started an annual welcome back picnic at the school two years ago.
In 2010, she organized and continues to run a weekly music class for toddlers and parents free to the community. The following year she organized and continues to run a monthly mothers’ career development and support group. She has been active in her children’s sports leagues and is an active member of her church community. While she was in college, she did an internship for the U.S. Department of Education.
“I have a unique perspective of growing up here and attending schools in this district as a child and then now I have the privilege of being a parent of kids who are in this district,” Maginot told the board. “My goal is to continue the great work of the board and administration and continue to work to remove the barriers which prevent some of our students from receiving the high-quality education our schools provide.”
A vacancy on the Board was created by the resignation of Board Member Jeff Clarke, which became effective April 1, 2017.
The Sunnyvale School District received nine total applications to fill the vacancy by provisional appointment. Applicants had to be at least 18 years old, reside within the school district boundaries, be a registered voter at the time of appointment, and not be legally disqualified from holding civic office.
Of the nine, the board provisional appointment subcommittee prescreened applications and narrowed it down to six. The applicants were then invited to be interviewed at the public special board of education meeting on May 11. Candidates were asked to remain in a conference room during each other’s interviews to avoid an unfair advantage of hearing the questions and another candidate's answers. They were allowed a two-minute opening statement, then the board asked each candidate the same six questions, allowing two minutes for each response.
Potential candidate assets that candidates were ranked on included contribution to the strength of the current board, the degree of engagement, leadership and longevity potential, advocacy for all students, board fit, and represents the diversity of our community. Interview questions asked about motivation, qualifications, and advocating for all students.
A short recess was taken and time was allowed for any members of the public to provide input to the board on the process and/or candidates. No members of the public spoke. All candidates were then asked to each give a two-minute closing statement. The board then filled out two different evaluation forms, which were tallied. The top three candidates made it to the third and final round of follow-up questions before Michelle Maginot was selected. Board President Jeffrey Arnett took note of the outpouring of community support for Michelle.
“I was impressed with the number of community recommendations from all throughout the city,” Arnett said. “I do like the outreach, the extrovert quality that I see in Michelle as well.”
Board Vice President Reid Myers also mentioned the importance of needing another current parent as her youngest son will be aging out of the district next year.
“I think it’s really important right now at this point with three of us being community members and not engaged in the district as a parent, it’s really important that we have somebody on the board that can be on the inside out and gives us that inside perspective,” Myers said.
The board encouraged the rest of the candidates to continue to be involved with the board and to run for the board in the future.
Michelle will be sworn in at the next regular board meeting on May 18. The appointment will run until December 2018.
The School Board’s responsibilities are to:
• represent the people of the district
• provide leadership in the establishment of policies, and
• guide the governing of the school district in a manner consistent with the goals and purposes of the community, and in accordance with the State Education Code.
The powers and duties of the Board include governance, executive, and judicial functions. Among its many duties, the Board adopts the annual budget and approves all expenditures; establishes district policy; authorizes employment of personnel; approves curriculum, textbooks, and courses of study; and makes decisions on all contracts.