Two people applied for the vacant trustee position in Area 2 of the Woodland School District.
Jacob Whitaker, an administrative analyst for the Yolo County District Attorney, and Laura Brubaker, a local mom who runs a small design business, are the candidates that current board members will choose from.
The application period ended Thursday at 4 p.m.
Whitaker, 25, says he attended school in the district from kindergarten until he graduated high school.
“I believe that my experience as a former student of WJUSD, only eight years removed from my high school graduation, will give me a unique perspective that will be an asset to the school board and our community,” he said in his application.
He does not have children of his own, but wants to “serve on the school board to advocate for children who live in poverty or do not receive the support that they need to succeed in their education … I will vigorously support additional funding for new social worker positions to work directly with disadvantaged youth.”
Brubaker’s 5-year-old son attends Maxwell Elementary. She says she is a “dues paying member of the Maxwell PTA, but has not been directly involved in the PTA meetings at this point,” according to her paperwork.
On why she’s running for the position, Brubaker says:
“I have been searching for a way to help better our community and also feel like I am making a difference in not only my own childrens’ lives, but in the lives of many people. I am also hoping to bring a different perspective as a parent of Autistic children who are attending or will be attending WJUSD schools. While I know that the focus of my input can not be solely at improving or maintaining special education, I do hope to be able to give a perspective as some one dealing with the program on my child’s behalf.”
One question on the application asked for ideas the candidates have that could improve communications and relationships among the Board, staff, students, parents and the community, to which Brubaker answered:
“I want to make sure we are not having any families fall through the cracks of the automated phone alert system. Last year there was an incident at Maxwell when a person jumped the fence and the school was put on lockdown. Unfortunately, the families of the Leaps and Bounds program never got the notification about the incident and so instead of being notified by the school, we had to hear about it on the news. Thankfully this ended up being a benign incident, but it shook myself and many families because, sadly in this day and age, that could have been a very different outcome and we would not have had any forewarning.”
Whitaker answered the same question, saying in part: “I believe that the school board as a whole should solicit feedback directly from the teachers, students, and parents of each school by holding one ‘listening tour’ event per school year at each site … By treating students as equal partners in the process of governing the school district, we can give them a stronger sense of investment in their education. By going to our constituents rather than expecting them to come to us, the school board would improve its standing in the community.”
The seat for Area 2 has been vacant since September when Tico Zendejas resigned after moving out of the designated service area. In order to be considered, applicants must reside in Area 2 and be at least age 18 and a registered voter.
Trustees commit to attending regular board meetings plus special board meetings and other events as needed.
Although the original plan was to hold oral interviews and likely select and swear-in the new trustee at the board’s Jan. 24 meeting, Superintendent Thomas Pritchard says candidates will instead be interviewed at a “special board meeting during the first full week in February.”
The Area 2 representative will join current board members Deborah Bautista Zavala, Rogelio Villagrana, Karen Rosenkilde-Bayne, Teresa Guerrero, Debbie Decker and Morgan Childers.
