Los Gatos Weekly-Times


Brian Grasser	Barry Bakken	Andrew Fanelli	Steve Glickman	Thomas O'Donnell

Five candidates vie for three seats on the board of LGUSD

By Michelle Alaimo

Residents of the Los Gatos Union School District have less than a month to decide who will replace three of their five-member school board. Brian Grasser, Barry Bakken, Andrew Fanelli and incumbents Steve Glickman and Thomas O'Donnell are all hoping to stake their claim on three board seats up for grabs this November. Current member Bruce Berwald is not running for re-election.

Brian Grasser

Fresh out of college and a newcomer to the political arena, Brian Grasser said he wants to get more involved in his community. After reading about the school board openings, Grasser, who has no children, said he decided to run.

A stockbrocker, Grasser said that Los Gatos is like "a little bubble." One of the 24-year-old's goals is to get the children of Los Gatos exposed a little to other cultures.

If elected to the board, he would like to keep the technology at the same level the district now has but at the same time expand it to more classrooms at more schools throughout the district.

Grasser said he did not file a candidate's statement with the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters because of a lack of funds.

Barry Bakken

As the president of the Los Gatos Elementary Education Foundation and the parent of twin boys, Barry Bakken said he would like to contribute to the board in a positive way.

Bakken, 49, has many goals that he would like to help the district and board achieve over the next four years, including helping to facilitate communication between the board, district and parent community through active participation by all groups. He adds that with all the turbulence within the board and district in recent years, the board has not been as good as it could be in communicating with the public.

Bakken would also like to take the district's vision and make it visible to all. Bakken said the district may have a vision right now but that it is not apparent.

In his candidate's statement, Bakken said "If we are not constantly re-evaluating what we do well as a community and improving upon it, we are falling behind."

Other school related activities listed on Bakken's candidate statement include planning and coordinating the district-wide "Thanks a Million" fundraiser for LGEEF and spending three years on the School Site Council at Blossom Hill School. He works as a manufacturer's rep.

Andrew Fanelli

While martial arts teacher Andrew Fanelli, 28, has no children, he says he stresses academics to children who study martial arts in his studio."I'm real big into education and academics," Fanelli said.

If elected, Fanelli said one issue he would like to pursue is excessive homework for certain grade levels. He says some mothers of his students complain that their young children sometimes spend up to four hours a night finishing homework. He hopes to help ensure that students aren't being given an unfair amount of homework for their grade level.

Fanelli said another issue is that the schools, in general, don't have a tremendous amount of money and he would like to find ways to raise money for the schools.

Fanelli did not file a candidate's statement.

Steve Glickman

A board member for the past eight years, Steve Glickman, 54, said one of the biggest issues facing the board and district is facilities. The district is growing by approximately 2 percent every year, he said, and that means that the board must continue to make sure all students are accommodated.

He believes that so far the board has been doing a good job maintaining a high level of education while finding places for all the new students.

Glickman, a single parent, operates a small software company and is professor of medical physics at the University of San Francisco.

He said that maintaining the district's level of technology is important. Since becoming a board member, Glickman believes technology has greatly improved with the help of donations from Steve Wozniak, and that technology is now integrated into the curriculum.

On Glickman's candidate statement filed with the Registrar's office, he lists a number of school-related activities, including volunteer computer science teacher at Fisher Middle School for the past five years and membership on the County Committee on School District Organization since 1997.

Thomas O'Donnell

A board member for 14 years and the current board president, O'Donnell says he brings a knowledge of the history of the board and district.

"I feel like we are in a period of transition," O'Donnell said of the board.

Over the past few years, several administrators have left the district and just last month, Mary Ann Park took over as acting superintendent after Bert Pearlman announced his intentions to leave in June when his contract is up. Because of the changes, O'Donnell, 60, said the last three or four years have been his hardest, but he sees smoother sailing ahead. He said now is the time for the board to pull together the faculty and administration and work jointly. O'Donnell sees growth and its complications as major issues facing the board.

O'Donnell, an attorney, is the father of two schoolteachers. His listed accomplishments include assisting the district in coping with "the increasingly complex educational legal framework."

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