Springmeyer
By KATHERINE PETERSEN
Andrew Springmeyer lost his seat on the school board last week after missing three straight months of meetings.
The former trustee was often at odds with the majority on such issues as teacher compensation and hiring practices since his election to the Fremont Union High School District board in 1994.
Springmeyer's dismissal requires no board action. Essentially, a state law governing excessive absences of school board members kicked him out of office.
The board has 60 days to either appoint someone new or call a special election. The trustees will discuss the issue at their Feb. 4 meeting, said board president Randy Okamura.
Already, teachers' union president George Gredassoff has suggested a replacement: former school board candidate Otis Halliday. The retired Lynbrook High School teacher ran a close third to winners Homer Tong and Nancy Newton in November, losing by just 1.7 percent.
Halliday campaigned as the teachers' candidate and won the union's endorsement.
Trustee Frank Pelkey said he would like a woman to take Springmeyer's place on the five-member board.
"My rationale for that is half the kids we serve are female and half are male," he said, adding that Halliday could be a potential replacement.
Springmeyer could have kept his post if illness or out-of-state travel had prevented him from attending meetings. But that wasn't the case.
"There's a lot of justification for not attending meetings," Superintendent Mary Panucci said. "He has provided no reason for his absence,"
Attendance records show Springmeyer's last meeting was Oct. 15, although he contends he attended a special closed-session meeting Oct. 28. Regardless, Springmeyer said he won't fight to retain his post.
If the school board appoints a replacement, the new trustee would finish out Springmeyer's term, which ends in November 1998. After an appointment is made, citizens have 30 days to file a petition for a special election if they disagree with the board's choice. Such a petition requires 1,615 signatures, according to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters office.
If a petition does emerge, it will be directed to the Santa Clara County Office of Education for processing.
Springmeyer said he did not attend meetings because of infighting on the board, a harassment complaint filed against him by the district's head labor negotiator, lack of respect for his opinions and disagreements over the district's personnel hiring practices.
"The list goes on and on," he said.
Pelkey agreed that Springmeyer's opinion differed from those of other board members, but said each trustee treated him with deference.
"We really respect each other. I don't know why he decided not to come any longer. His opinions always gave me something else to consider," he said.
Tong said Springmeyer got what he deserved.
"If a person doesn't carry out his or her duties, he shouldn't be on the board. I would expect the same for me if I didn't come to a meeting for three months. There has to be accountability," he said.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, January 29, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.