The Hollister Elementary School Teachers’ Association (HESTA) is
demanding school board member and long-time district educator Carol
Cochran step down because they say she has moved out of the
county
Hollister – The Hollister Elementary School Teachers’ Association (HESTA) is demanding school board member and long-time district educator Carol Cochran step down because they say she has moved out of the county.
Hollister School District’s Attorney Guy Bryant, however, says Cochran, who has a house in Pacific Grove, has done nothing wrong because she is renting a room in Hollister and still has residency. Cochran, who has served on the board for four years, plans to keep her seat for the remainder of her term, which ends in late December. She will not run for re-election in November.
“The members of HESTA feel that any board member should do the right and ethical thing in this situation,” HESTA President Michal Cook said. “We really believe that ethically, a person who doesn’t live 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the area shouldn’t be a board member.”
HESTA paid for an ad in the Free Lance telling community members that Cochran moved out of the county in July, and asked them to call HSD Superintendent Judith Barranti, or the County Superintendent of Schools Tim Foley and ask for her resignation. HESTA claims Cochran “is stretching election laws” by renting a room in Hollister from district employee Diane Campbell, to declare residency, and that she is “being dishonest with the citizens of Hollister.” Cook asked for Cochran’s new address and matched it with Campbell’s. Campbell declined to comment.
Cochran, who is a past two-term HESTA president and taught in HSD for 20 years, said when she and her husband decided to move to Pacific Grove, she met with the district’s attorney for advice.
“When this move happened at this time (July), I spoke with the superintendent, the board members and the district’s attorney and tried to make a decision that would be the least disruptive to the students of Hollister School District because that is what’s most important,” she said of her decision to stay in her post.
Cochran is following the right procedures to keep her seat, and her situation is legal, according to the district’s attorney Byrant. Government Code 1770 defines residency requirements for elected officials. In order to continue to hold her seat, Cochran must either be registered to vote in the county, have her driver’s license address state that she lives in Hollister or receive her mail in Hollister, according to Bryant. The fact that she is renting a room in Hollister, and has had her driver’s license changed to the new address confirms her residency, he said.
“She can own property anywhere as long as her residency is still in Hollister,” he said.
Cochran said, from her Pacific Grove home, that she’ll spend as much time as needed in Hollister to complete her job.
With just two board meetings until the new elections take place and only four months of Cochran’s term left, fellow board member Margie Barrios wasn’t happy about the advertisement, and she pledged her support for Cochran’s desire to stay on board.
“I was disappointed and saddened by the ad in the Free Lance because Carol, I feel, is one of the most committed and loyal board members you could ever find,” she said. “I believe she wanted to finish her term because she feels loyalty and commitment to the community that elected her. She rarely misses meetings and I’m not even sure she ever has.… She and I don’t always agree, but we respect each other and she is a person of integrity, and I’m proud to sit on the board with her.”
Regardless of the legality, Cook said HESTA’s request that Cochran step down doesn’t have to do with her performance as a board member.
“I think she does her job just as well as any of the other board members,” Cook said. “But I don’t think she’s following the laws ethically. This is more of an issue about being forthcoming about where you live. It’s about being truthful.”
