Incumbent Margie Barrios and new comer Randal Phelps won the two
seats in the Hollister School District race.
Barrios received 5,297 votes or 48.5 percent, Phelps received
3,188 votes or 29.2 percent and Spandri received 2,399 votes or 22
percent.
Hollister – Incumbent Margie Barrios and new comer Randal Phelps won the two seats in the Hollister School District race.
Barrios received 5,297 votes or 48.5 percent, Phelps received 3,188 votes or 29.2 percent and Spandri received 2,399 votes or 22 percent.
The two board members face tough budget cuts and an increase in the number of students in classrooms in the district. Last June, the district cut $2 million to balance its budgets. Teachers and parents were upset by the increasing class size as well as a new kindergarten schedule.
“We still have a lot of unfinished work…,” Barrios said Election night shortly after hearing the figures from her brother. “We’ve got a lot of tough decisions to make in the future. But because I have a lot experience in that department, I feel I can play a big part in balancing our budget.”
Barrios, 55, has spent 12 years on the board and believes the district still faces many challenges. The self-employed accountant served as the treasurer for the 1997 Measure G school bond, which raised $6 million for the district to build multi-purpose rooms and other facilities. She believes her communication skills and positive attitude make parents and teachers feel comfortable discussing district issues with her.
She also wants to lower class sizes when the economy improves.
“If we end up getting additional funds, that will be an area I would really like to look at and go to before we made the budget cuts,” Barrios said.
“I’m excited and I think I’m up to the challenge,” said Phelps, 44, when he heard the results of the race.
Phelps works for Apple Computers on educational projects as well as being the father of two children who attend Ladd Lane Elementary School. Before working with computers, he worked as a teacher and administrator for nine years in Rifle, Colo., and in three different communities in Kentucky. He helps out in his children’s’ classroom and frequently attends HSD board meetings, he said.
As he enjoyed Mexican food with family and friends in downtown Hollister’s Las Palmas Restaurant, Phelps described how he plans to focus on decreasing the number of students in classrooms and also maintain the “great teachers” in the district.
Campaigning door to door with fellow candidate Chuck Spandri, Phelps said the major concern among voters is for a board that will listen to people’s concerns.
“The biggest thing is they don’t feel part of the process in the district,” he said. “No one had a specific big issue. They wanted to be heard.”
He believes the trend across California for the next two years is to see more “very deep cuts” at school districts. When the economy starts to level off, he hopes the board will “design a fiscal system without the peaks and valleys.”
Candidate Chuck Spandri, 43, and his wife Maria Spandri often spend time in the classroom as a parent of a second grade student at Cerra Vista School. He works as a compliance specialist for Calpine Co.
“I’d like to say congratulations to both my fellow candidates and thank the people who voted for me,” he said.
Michal Cook, president of the Hollister Elementary School Teachers Association, played an active role in the Phelps-Spandri co-campaign.
“I describe them as two very committed men – committed to the education of all the students of Hollister schools,” she said.
