3 elected to Sausalito Marin City school board; 4th seat too close to call - 11/07/2006 - Marin IJ - by Don Speich

3 elected to Sausalito Marin City school board; 4th seat too close to call
Don Speich
Article Launched:11/07/2006 11:47:27 PM PST

Incumbents Whitney Hoyt and Shirley Thornton, along with newcomer Elizabeth Todd-Gallardo, won election Tuesday to the Sausalito Marin City School District board.

In a battle for the fourth seat, board president George Stratigos - the leader of the district's attempt to turn around 40 years of academic failure - was trailing challenger Mark Trotter, a former board member who was sharply critical of budget practices, by 53 votes

Officials said Trotter got 1,361 votes and Stratigos, 1,308.

Elaine Ginnold, county registrar of voters, said the outcome for the fourth board seat is likely to be determined by a count of absentee ballots.

"The Sausalito Marin City School board votes were so close as to make it impossible to call the race," she said.

Thornton received 1,498 votes or 25 percent, and Hoyt received 1,436 or 24 percent.

Challenger Peter Romanowsky received 333 votes or 6 percent.

Todd-Gallardo, who was challenging Robert Fisher for the remaining two years of his term on the board to which he was appointed in 2004, received 1,308 or 58 percent of the vote to Fisher's 889 votes, or 42 percent. Fisher is on trial for failure to pay child support.

The incumbents said they wanted to continue the job of trying to improve the schools, whereas Todd-Gallardo and Trotter said new leadership was essential.

Hoyt, 45, political director of the National Abortion Rights League and the former principal of Mill Valley Middle School, said, "The school district is going in right direction we and we think voters saw that. We need a united board that cares about all the kids and not one school versus the other."

Stratigos and Thornton, key players in a 1998 recall of several board members, pointed to improved test scores and said that the district was well on its way to achieving Vision 900, the board's slogan denoting a 900 API test score - a jump of more than 200 points from the district's current ranking.

Thornton, 67, a veteran educator and adjunct professor of education at California State University, Sacramento, said Tuesday, "I am just pleased that the community believes in our goals to improve the schools and just hope we continue to meet their expectations of quality schools for all children."

Trotter, a former board member who was defeated by Hoyt in 2004, argued that Willow Creek Academy, the district's charter school, is being short-changed financially by the district and is suffering from crowded classrooms.

He also said the board operated in a vacuum, reaching out little if at all to residents who felt alienated.

Todd-Gallardo said she decided to run because she saw the need for new leadership to assure academic achievement.

"They are bright kids and deserve the best," she said.

Fisher said Tuesday, "I hope the people got what they want. That's all I've got to say."

Read more Election stories at the IJ's Election page.

Contact Don Speich via e-mail at dspeich@marinij.com