The Sun Sunnyvale's Newspaper New board members are poised to take on new job District could get cash from Proposition 1A By STEVE ENDERS One day after the Fremont Union High School District's three open board seats were filled, Superintendent Joe Hamilton quickly convened a meeting with the two newest boardmembers, Avie Katz and Kathryn Ho. The purpose of the meeting was to acclimate them to the Ralph M. Brown Act and to inform them of an upcoming statewide school board- member convention, where they'll get insider knowledge on how to be effective leaders and get to know existing board members. Cupertino resident Kathryn Ho, a parent of two former Lynbrook High School students, was the school board race's top vote-getter, raking in 21,535 votes, or 29.1 percent. Incumbent Randy Okamura gets his seat back and teacher Avie Katz will become the other new board member. Katz secured 23.8 percent of the vote, and Okamura 24 percent. Mike Boyd fell narrowly behind, gathering 23.1 percent of the vote. All three will be sworn in at a board meeting on Dec. 8. "My first goal is to familiarize myself with the Brown Act. It needs some serious attention," Katz said, adding that he's also eager to be sworn in. Katz said he's ready to "jump right in" and begin fulfilling some of his campaign promises, including opening the lines of communication between board members and getting private industry more involved with the district. Kathryn Ho also said she's excited to have won the election and is ready to get to work. Ho, the top vote-getter, said she did so well because she has been very involved and is well-known in the district. She said her relations with students and teachers contributed to her win, as did her involvement with the Asian American community of Cupertino. "There is a great network. I have a lot of experience with the Chinese," Ho said, also citing support from members of the Asian American Parents Association, and board members from both the Sunnyvale School District and Cupertino Union School District. Ho said she wants to make an effort to reach out to Sunnyvale residents. Because she's in Cupertino, Ho said she feels slightly distant from parents there. The new board members are going to have to quickly get up to speed on current changes, especially the new statewide bond measure. Proposition 1A, a $9.2 billion bond, was passed handily Tuesday, and the Fremont Union High School District could reap nearly $25 million from it. Announced last week by Hamilton, it was confirmed after the election by Bill Savidge, the district's director for facilities and modernization. Savidge said there's no guarantee on the money yet, because the district just began its own facilities renovation project with the $144 million bond passed last year. If they want the money, districts have to match funds from local bonds and submit plans to the state. He said that since many school districts around the state are already well into renovation projects similar to FUHSD's, the district will come in at the end of a long line of applicants. Therefore, chances they'll ever get any money dip slightly. "We're going to go for it. We think it's gravy to a certain extent because most [renovations] will come from the local bond," he said. Savidge said that along with the bond came an overhaul of the state's process for accepting such proposals as well. It's now easier to apply, he said, and the process will go slightly faster than in previous years. Officials previously thought the district wouldn't be able to qualify for any bond money because it leases Sunnyvale High School. Under old regulations that were reversed with Prop. 1A's passing, districts that leased space couldn't qualify for bond money. If FUHSD does get some of that money, Savidge said it might allow the district to renovate other school areas that weren't included in the local bond, including athletics facilities. [ Back to Contents Page | Sunnyvale Sun Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, November 11, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.