Do You Know Your Sonoma School Board Trustees?
My late grandfather, Ernie Smith, served on the Sonoma Valley School Board until he was in his mid-'70s. When I was staying with him and my grandmother at their home in Glen Ellen, I remember late nights nervously waiting for him to get back from board meetings which he insisted on attending even as his health was failing. As Gramp's driving abilities diminished, during stormy winter weather, I'd drop him off and pick him up at the entrance to Altimira Middle School where the meetings were held so many years ago.
This 1968 newspaper clipping shows him hard at work with other Sonoma Valley citizens who were then spearheading an effort to gain voter support for a school bond to provide more money for public education.
I recall his frustrations and the struggles he and the others confronted as they lobbied on behalf of improving the quality of public education. Serving on a local school board is time-consuming and challenging and very often those who do are not recognized for their efforts.
These days when funding cuts are the norm the work of our current Sonoma Valley School Board Trustees must be even more difficult. Imagine having to decide which programs to trim back and, even worse, which to cut altogether.
Our public schools are so critical to the future of our community, our state, the the nation. So I was wondering how many people living in Sonoma know the folks who are now serving on the Sonoma Valley Schools Board of Trustees? I thought it might be a good idea to show their names and faces so the next time you see them around town, you can thank them for all they do for the children of Sonoma.
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