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Mt. Diablo school trustees have faced repeated challenges during the pandemic. And they have shown they’re up for the task.
Which is why we see no reason for voters to replace the two incumbents who are facing challenges in the Nov. 8 election. We recommend voters reelect Debra Mason in the northern Area 1, which includes Bay Point and parts of Concord, Martinez and Pittsburg, and Cherise Khaund in the southern Area 4, covering Clayton and parts of Concord and Walnut Creek.
The Mt. Diablo Unified School District has come a long way from the deceptive and scandalous bond measure and secretive and politically charged administration of a decade ago. But today’s trustees have faced new challenges.
In 2020, months after Mt. Diablo trustees hired a new superintendent, Robert Martinez, the county Office of Education warned that the district was in danger of not meeting its bills. That was followed a couple of months later by another warning, this time that a tentative labor deal with the teachers’ union would create massive deficits.
Two days later, trustees fired Martinez — a gutsy, but necessary, move considering he had only been on the job 10 months — and rejected the contract that he negotiated. It was a recognition of the budget reality and a sign the trustees wisely were not going to jeopardize the district’s finances.
But the problems didn’t end there. Disgruntled parents, unhappy with slow school reopenings, threated in 2021 to recall the school board, an effort that fizzled. And then in March, teachers threatened to strike, asking for more money and changes than the district could afford. Eventually, the district and the teachers reached a three-year contract deal.
Through it all, the trustees balanced pressure from some parents to quickly reopen schools against health concerns of teachers. And they balanced the desire to increase teacher compensation and reduce class sizes against limited revenues made worse by continuing declining enrollment that has been plaguing the district for more than a decade.
No one said being a school trustee was easy. But Mason, Khaund and the rest of the board have performed well.
Mason was a long-time district volunteer who helped run a nutrition program for teens in East Contra Costa before she was first elected in 2014. Her opponents in the Area 1 race are A.J. Fardella, who runs a technology consulting firm, and Jeanette Green, a technology manager. Neither challenger offers a compelling case for replacing Mason. Indeed, their comments to us seemed to miss the big picture of the challenges the district has faced.
In the Area 4 race, Khaund is an engineer with solid education policy experience who has served on the school board since 2018, when she was elected without opposition. Her opponent is Herbert Lee, an engineer with an MBA who has run unsuccessfully twice before.
Lee, whom we endorsed in previous races, this time seemed confused about why he was running and overreached with his complaints about the district. For example, he said trustees were overspending but then complained that they had allowed teacher contracts to expire, ignoring the reason that teacher demands at the time were not affordable.
Mason and Khaund have had to make difficult choices and have had the courage to do so. They deserve reelection.
