Alameda County Board of Education area boundaries.
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Three Alameda County School Board members face unprepared challengers in the March 5 election.
None of these challengers are worth serious consideration. The couple doesn't even understand what the job means. Instead, voters should re-elect Angela Normand, Janet Cole and Eileen McDonald.
Normand represents Area 2, which includes Alameda, parts of Oakland, and parts of San Leandro. Cole represents Area 5, which includes Hayward, Union City and northwest Fremont. McDonald's represents Area 6, which includes Newark and most of Fremont.
In Area 3, which includes most of the Piedmont and Oakland, Ken Berwick has no opposition. After Keith Carson filed for re-election to the county school board, he announced that he would not seek re-election to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. That means Berwick is also one of nine candidates running to succeed Carson.
The seven-member county school board is different from a regular school board. There are very specific responsibilities and limits on authority.
Sets policy and approves budgets for county education departments. The County Office of Education provides education for teenage mothers and students in the juvenile justice system, teacher training programs, curriculum development and technical assistance to school districts.
The board hears appeals for expulsion of students from local school districts and transfers between districts. And in most cases, California's county school boards are the only appellate venue left for charter schools that may have been unfairly blocked by local school boards.
Incumbent members running for office do not necessarily agree on the issues facing the board. However, each of them has a strong academic background and a clear understanding of the job for which they have been chosen. The same cannot be said about his opponents.
Area 2 – Norman
Normand, who has been on the job since 2020, is a special education teacher on leave to serve on the board of the California Teachers Association, which represents Contra Costa and much of Alameda County. While the CTA has worked tirelessly to limit charter schools, Normand expressed gratitude in an interview for some of the charter schools that have been approved by county boards of education.
Her opponent, construction manager John Lewis, could not offer any meaningful reason for running. He had never dealt with the county school board, never attended its meetings, and had no idea what the school board did.
Area 5 – Cole
Mr. Cole, who was elected in 2020, is a primarily federally funded program aimed at halting intergenerational poverty by providing resources to ensure students attend college and get jobs. He works at Hayward Promise. Mr. Cole holds a master's degree in public administration and policy and serves as the program's liaison with parents, teachers, and government officials.
Prior to her election to the county board, she was one of the founding directors of Hayward College Charter School. While she supports charter schools, she emphasized that they must be as accountable, diverse, and equitable as traditional schools.
Her main opponent, Guadalupe Angulo, has no teaching or management qualifications and is adamantly opposed to new charter schools or the expansion of existing charter schools. Charter schools, which provide a meaningful alternative to failing school districts, should not expect a fair hearing if Mr. Angulo is elected.
Another candidate, Hayward City Schools Commissioner Joe Ramos, did not participate in our interview. He recently made offensive and derogatory comments toward senior district administrators. “Some of the parents here should take a rope and tie you up,” Ramos said. That's not acceptable language for anyone, and it certainly goes beyond common sense for an elected official.
Area 6 – McDonald’s
After 20 years on the county school board and 13 years on the Newark School Board before that, MacDonald clearly understands his job and offers a balanced perspective on charter school issues. I did.
Her opponent, John Guerrero, a former communications manager who is also running for a seat on the Alameda County Republican Central Committee, did not understand the position he was running for. Or, as he said when he couldn't answer a basic question, he was “completely out of touch with the actual technical stuff.”
