CANDIDATE PROFILE: Jeff Conwell

By Jesse Duarte
STAFF WRITER

Friday, December 25, 2009

As a member of the Napa County Grand Jury in 2003-2004, Jeff Conwell learned he had a knack for keeping tabs on public officials.

Now he wants a seat on the St. Helena School Board so he can bring that oversight to bear on the local school district.

Conwell is running for Trustee Cindy Warren’s seat in the Feb. 23 recall election. But he stressed that “I don’t view this election as me versus Cindy Warren.”

“This is Cindy Warren running on her past as a boardmember,” he said. “If people vote ‘yes’ on the recall, then I want people to think I’m a worthy replacement who could fill her term.”

Conwell leads a local Cub Scout pack, is involved in the American Legion and serves on the board of the Napa Valley State Parks Association. He spent one year on the Primary School Site Council.

He described himself as “approachable and willing to listen to all points of view.” He said he’d bring a positive attitude to the school board.

The district has strained relationships with some members of the community and a few local agencies, but he would “improve our district’s image by offering a fresh change of perspective and outlook,” he said.

He said that as a trustee he’d draw on his grand jury experience, which taught him to “do the research and read the information so I can ask the questions that need to be asked.”

He also has three children attending St. Helena schools, “so as an active parent I’m very interested in making sure them and their classmates get the best education possible,” he said.

The district benefits from a generous community, skilled teachers and dedicated parents, and reasonably good facilities, notwithstanding some outdated buildings at RLS Middle School, he said.

The main thing that’s holding the district back from greatness is the board, said Conwell.

He cited board by-laws which call for the district to be “responsive to the values, beliefs and priorities of the community.”

Instead, trustees have a “cozy relationship” with each other and with the administration, and they do business in a way that lacks transparency, he said.

“Everything seemed closed-off, and that’s what ignited the recall,” he said.

The classic example was when the board hired then-Assistant Superintendent Robert Haley to replace the retiring Allan Gordon without conducting an open search for other candidates, said Conwell.

“When they announced this at the board meeting and the board did open high-fives in celebration, it really set off this group that charged ahead and asked, ‘What can we do to change this?’” he said.

The recall campaign gathered steam when parents realized that the board had given Gordon and former high school Principal Jim Zoll generous retirement packages, said Conwell.

He said that if he’s elected, he’d push for the board to take a close look at the budget and reconsider the district’s fiscal priorities.

“We’re spending a lot on legal costs, and that’s all money that’s not going into the classroom,” he said.

Conwell, a pilot for United Airlines, is a union member, so he understands employment contracts, he said. Right now the district’s contracts with its employees don’t address what would happen if the district loses its Basic Aid status and faces a steep decline in revenue, he said.

The board needs to make sure that if times get tough, the district’s employees take a fair cut, he said.

Conwell also wants to make sure administrators’ salaries aren’t tied to teachers’ contracts.

“Right now, if the teachers get a big raise, consequently the superintendent does too,” he said. “It doesn’t seem right that the superintendent is negotiating something that they receive a return on.”

Conwell said he likes the International Baccalaureate program overall, particularly the training teachers have undergone. But he’s concerned about “a few hiccups,” such as problems with prerequisite classes at the high school.

“We’ve jumped with both feet into this program and we’re trying to do it on a very aggressive timeline,” he said. “Not everything has worked. We won’t know how successful the IB diploma program is until we’ve had a few graduating classes.”

Conwell said that if he loses this time, he’d “definitely run again."