Editor’s note: Look for a story on the Hollister School District races Tuesday.
In the San Benito High School District Board of Trustees race, three candidates are vying for a seat in the Nov. 6 election.
The three candidates include Steve Delay, a retired SBHS teacher and administrator who was appointed to fill a vacancy on the board midway through the current term; Jennifer Coile, a grant writer and project manager; and Victor Anyeneh, a registered environmental health specialist with San Benito County. They are vying for a two-year term on the board. Incumbents Evelyn Muro and Ray Rodriguez are running unopposed for two four-year terms.
The candidates for the two-year term seat shared a few comments via email this week.
Victor Anyeneh,
environmental health specialist
Anyeneh cited his work as a teacher at the elementary, high school and college level, work in management positions in corporate America and his current work with the county as contributing to his readiness to join the board of trustees. Anyeneh said his main reason for running for the position is that he is passionate about education and wants to “extend my service to the community, especially by offering my strong academic background and offer my exposures – international experiences included – to provide conscientious good leadership to San Benito High School affairs.” He said his passion for education and community service dates back to his youth when his father was a long-time elementary school principal and his mother was a community leader.
On the topic of a bond measure to support expansion of San Benito High School – something current board members are considering – Anyeneh said he would allow the majority to decide if it is something they want. Anyeneh did not state a preference on how San Benito High School should expand, but said the decision needs to be “allowed to run through competent and due process.”
With 120 years of history, he said the high school has already weathered many challenges and will continue to meet those challenges.
“To remain an exceptional high school, the leadership, staff, student and the immediate community need to do our best to keep San Benito High School strong, stable and balanced, come what may,” he said. “I am sufficiently educated. I am passionate, caring and a highly experienced professional.”
Jennifer Coile, 58, grant writer/project manager
Coile said she has attended numerous board meetings as a member of the public and that she has a long history of volunteering for San Benito High School as well as with other local schools. She has been involved with the arts booster for 10 years and was a founding board member of the Pinnacles Partnership, a nonprofit that supports Pinnacles National Monument. Coile said she is running because she “would like to apply my professional management skills and knowledge to assist in aligning utilization of the District’s resources ($22 million budget and excellent staff) with the Board’s mission to educate all students to their highest potential to ensure each student has the greatest range of options upon graduation.”
On a bond measure, Coile said she would need to see an approved capital facilities master plan and financing plan before she makes a decision. She said she would support a parcel tax that would support operating costs for the high school. She said she does not have a preference on how the high school is expanded, but would want input from the community and ideas that offer collaborations with other entities such as the San Benito County Free Library, Gavilan College and the YMCA.
She sees the budget as the biggest challenge facing the district.
“Class sizes are straining at the breaking point, exacerbated by including numerous special needs students but no longer with the support of aides,” she said. “Teachers tell me they are exhausted trying to accommodate special needs students while still reaching the ‘middle ability’ and brightest students in such large classes.”
Steve DeLay, retired administrator
DeLay, a retired teacher and administrator, received a mid-term appointment in May to the San Benito High School board of trustees when a former trustee resigned. In his 32-year career at San Benito High School, he worked as a vocational instructor and then as chief fiscal officer. As chief fiscal officer he developed and monitored the school’s budget, and oversaw planning and construction of facilities, maintenance, operations, transportation and food service.
“My education, on the job experience and current Board membership contributes to my understanding of the job requirements and helps to provide a knowledge base for other Board members,” he said.
DeLay said while he is not personally in favor of asking voters to increase their taxes with a bond measure to expand San Benito High School, he said the decision will ultimately be up to voters. He said he will continue to encourage wider and more aggressive community input as the Board explores a bond measure and other options. In terms of expansion, he said with the lack of state or local funding that splitting the existing school into smaller academies is the best option. But he would still like more input from staff, students and community members before a final decision is made.
The biggest challenge facing the school is funding, especially since state funding provides for operations and classroom construction, he said.
“As the former business manager for San Benito High School, I believe my background, knowledge and experience will be beneficial in providing the Board with seasoned fiscal knowledge and sound recommendations,” he said.
