The San Ramon Valley Unified School District is also lucky to have four qualified candidates running for its board in the Nov. 7 election. All of the candidates are aware that customer service needs to improve within the district, especially with parents of special education students.
We heartily endorse incumbent Joan Buchanan. She brings intelligence, knowledge and experience to the table, along with the leadership qualities needed to work with others. She has been on the board since 1990 and says she wants to serve one more term to improve the curriculum for all students and to see more Measure A projects through to completion. We say, give her the chance.
Buchanan came under attack from neighbors of Monte Vista High School and others in Alamo for supporting the new 400-car parking lot across the street. But this lot took student cars off Stone Valley Road, remedying a dangerous situation. It also increased the size of the back yards of the immediate neighbors. Buchanan said she would do the same at each high school if the opportunity were there, and we laud her for this stance.
Rachel Hurd is running on a ticket with Buchanan and we also endorse her. She is passionate about literacy and has strong ideas about how special education children can be helped, gleaned from her experiences as a mother. She has worked her way up through the ranks of PTA, including heading the San Ramon Valley Council of PTAs and is familiar with all the schools in the districts and their needs.
We also would like to see Jim McVay on the school board. He has done his homework and brings a new voice regarding test scores and curriculum. He voiced the importance of keeping gifted students working at full capacity, quoting studies that show they slow down as they get older. His experience as a manager for Tesoro Corp. has taught him the importance of working with others, and his engineering background gives him the impetus to improve the technology curriculum in the district.
Bill Clarkson, who was elected to the school board in 1998, is well integrated into the community as a past president of San Ramon Rotary Club, a broker and owner of ERA Golden Hills Brokers, and in the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce. He feels a huge effort will be needed to pass a new parcel tax, and we hope he will again put his energies toward passing it as he did the Measure D School Facilities Bond of 1998. We like his dedication to civic activism and applaud what he has done toward making the district financially solvent and its new facilities. But we feel the other three candidates would be best on the board at this time.
Appeal over redevelopment project at old Chevron HQ coming to San Ramon councilApril 6, 2026 10:32 pm
