St. Helena Star's Editorial Board: Elect Kevin Alfaro

ELECT KEVIN ALFARO

Thursday, October 01, 2009

The Star’s editorial board interviewed school board candidates Roger Adams and Kevin Alfaro this week seeking the candidate who can best serve children, parents and other taxpayers who expect their trustees to oversee a top-notch education for all students, at the best cost, while keeping the teachers, administrators and support staff working in harmony.

Ballots will be mailed to all district voters beginning Monday.

Although the two candidates have opposing views on this winter’s pending recall election — Adams is against the recall while Alfaro helped organize it — the editorial board focused instead on this special election, called to fill the seat vacated by Jim Haslip’s May resignation.

The board was looking for a candidate who can analyze budgets, improve communication between the district and the community, act diplomatically, lead the administration rather than follow, visualize school improvements despite fewer dollars, and make a commitment to stick around.

Although both candidates share a sincere interest in improving the school district, their approach to the job differs greatly.

Aside from tweaking the public comments policy at board meetings, Adams seems pleased with the district as it is.

While Adams said he would not seek re-election, basically becoming a lame duck upon his election, Alfaro said he would seek re-election in November 2010. He said he was planning to run next year even before Haslip resigned.

Although Adams offers years of experience as a former superintendent, principal and teacher, he lacks specific knowledge about St. Helena’s school district. Alfaro — a parent with three kids in the school system, seven years of experience as treasurer of the Boys and Girls Club and currently a member of the RLS Parent Group — has first-hand knowledge of the district’s workings.

Adams should be applauded for his willingness to serve the community in a time of turmoil, and he is sincere about wanting to do a good job for the children, teachers and principals of the district, but he admitted he lacks understanding of the International Baccalaureate program, the district’s administrative overhead or how to use computers.

Asked what he knows about the IB program, Adams replied, “I don’t have a good concept of that.” Asked about his use of computers, Adams said he doesn’t use e-mail because he prefers “face-to-face” discussions. Asked his assessment of district spending on administrators, Adams didn’t directly answer the question, but rather spoke about the need to preserve its television/audio-visual department.

Alfaro, on the other hand, had specific ideas about how to reduce spending in the event of further funding cuts. He said he would think twice before offering early-retirement payments to retirees. He said he would use his experience as a certified public accountant to help the board understand financial options. He said he would ask the board to take a hard look at reducing the administrative staff inside Vintage Hall.

Also, Alfaro said that, while Superintendent Rob Haley is a skilled administrator, he needs to work on improving communication, developing people skills and getting more involved in the St. Helena community.

“I’d rather be judged on my skill sets and merits — I know finance, I’m a parent and I’m open-minded,” Alfaro told the editorial board.

Alfaro demonstrates clear qualifications for this position. Despite his leadership in the recall and his involvement in litigation over special education, the editorial board was assured, based on Alfaro’s calm demeanor and diplomatic nature, that he will work to smooth relations between the school board and the community.

As he intends to seek re-election in November 2010, Alfaro should use his first year as a trustee to prove he has the temperament to play peacemaker and work to help the board focus on the business of running the district.

We recommend Kevin Alfaro to school district voters.

(Editor’s note: St. Helena native Tom Giugni participated in the Star editorial board interview with candidates Alfaro and Adams. Giugni, a former school superintendent who currently advises school districts throughout the state, served on the Star editorial board from 2006-2008.)