Photograph by George Sakkestad
Homer Tong hopes voters will give him another term as a trustee for the FUHSD.
BY LESTER CHANG
For Homer Tong, who is seeking re-election to the Fremont Union High School District board, improving education has always meant meeting the public and getting their advice.
When he ran for office the first time, trustees battled against a public perception that the board didn't respond adequately to the needs of the community.
Four years later, Tong, who has taught chemistry at De Anza College for 19 years, said he has helped to make a significant dent in that image problem.
He said he has also encouraged more educators, business people, students and residents to get involved in the planning and implementation of programs.
Next, Tong wants to set up public meetings to encourage suggestions for making the district better. He also wants to strengthen relationships among trustees, who have quarreled over the stalled teacher contract talks and over claims of preferential hiring by the district.
Tong also wants to encourage corporations and individuals to contribute money to the district to supplement state funds.
The extra money would go a long way toward helping to resolve the contract stalemate between the district and the Fremont Education Association, Tong said.
Both sides declared an impasse in August, following 10 months of futile negotiations.
The district has proposed a salary increase of about 6 percent, a three-year contract and health services teachers can select.
The FEA, meanwhile, has proposed a salary increase of about 12 percent, a one-year contract and continuation of a wide range of health services.
Tong said the district could face severe financial setbacks if it sets aside more than 85 percent of the budget-- $36.1 million for the current school year--for salaries.
"Of course I am sympathetic to the teachers," he said. "We need the best salaries to attract the best teachers. But it is the responsibility of the board to seek a balance among the salaries, programs and day-to-day maintenance of the district."
If re-elected, Tong proposes to promote a better sense of community as a way to improve education. He said he has made inroads in this area, in part by working to convince more people to join the Fremont Union High School Foundation, which holds fundraisers for the district.
On his advice, people like Dennis Whittacker, the first president of the foundation, and Hsing Kung, an active leader in the Chinese community in Cupertino, joined the foundation.
He also hopes to get more volunteers to help out with school programs on a rotating basis.
Tong said his ouster as board president in 1995 fueled his desire to seek reelection in 1996.
By a 3-2 vote, the board, over the objections of many residents, approved Tong's removal. As a chief reason for removing him from that post, the majority of the board cited his slowness in completing the performance evaluation of Superintendent Mary Panucci. She eventually received a satisfactory evaluation.
Tong said the evaluation process took time because the trustees had divergent viewpoints.
"I tried to do it, and I found out I couldn't do it all myself," he said. "That was the lesson I learned."
Tong believes his removal as president has triggered disharmony on the current board, and said he wants another four years to get trustees to work together again.
"We should try to work out things ... put aside egos and conflicts," Tong said. "I see our education community as one big family. When you hurt one member of the family, you hurt the entire family. What is the sense in doing that? Why can't we talk things out?"
Tong said controversies diminish the credibility of the board, as they did when he first ran for office.
At that time, residents were upset because they believed the board didn't heed their suggestion not to require ninth-grade students to take an integrated science course.
Through compromise, Tong and other board members eventually approved new rules that made taking that course voluntary.
"We are here to help the students," Tong said. "Students should be allowed to make choices on the courses they take, as long as they fulfill the state minimum requirements for graduation."
Before he became an instructor at De Anza College, Tong worked as a researcher and analyst for the Stanford Research Institute.
His family embraces the business of education. His wife, Joanne, and daughter, Tina, are teachers in the Sunnyvale and Evergreen elementary-school districts, respectively. His son, Brian, a Monta Vista High School student, has thoughts about becoming a high-school teacher.
His other son, Jason, also is a Monta Vista High student.
"Teaching is a way of life for us," Tong said. "Education is in my blood, for sure."
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, October 23, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.