By KATHERINE PETERSEN
The Fremont Union High School District Board of Education elected Randy Okamura and Homer Tong as its president and vice president at its Dec. 17 meeting.
Nancy Newton, the previous vice president, would have been in line for the presidency as positions rotated, but she declined the job.
Okamura, said that given the issues the district is facing, he feels honored that the board thinks he's the best person for the job.
"They think I'm the one to make sure the board's issues are worked out. We need to work with each other instead of against each other," he said.
One of Okamura's short-term goals is to complete successful negotiations with the Fremont Education Association; teachers in the district are currently working without a contract. Okamura would also like to look at the way the school does business, examine other redesign efforts and ways of delivering education.
"We have to remember that we're a school district, not a business," he said. Block scheduling for classes and other programs are already under way at many of the district's schools. Okamura wants to see community-wide dialogue about education.
"Our schools are looking at ways to enhance the learning experience of the students so they can be ready to do what they want to do, whether they're college-bound or not. It's hard to do all this when we're looking at a 1950s model of compensating our teachers instead of a 1990s one," he said.
Tong, who used to be clerk of the board, said he wanted to be vice president rather than president.
"I look forward to seeing the board working together as a team. I certainly think that's a worthwhile goal in itself. The public can't see our board as being divided for much longer," he said. The problems of the past were put aside at the Dec. 17 meeting, Tong said.
He hopes to see problems with the teachers contract solved as soon as possible.
"In a way, that overshadows some of the issues we need to look at. I'm very optimistic about our whole district because it has the basic ingredients to do great things," he said.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, December 25, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.