It’s time the Antioch School District had a majority of board members who will put the interests of the students, first while protecting the taxpayers.

Appointed incumbents Fernando Navarro and Alonzo Terry, who have each served less than a year on the board, filling vacancies due to resignations of past board members, have been doing well during their brief time in office. They’ve proven themselves to be good listeners, fiscally responsible and honest about the problems in the district.

Navarro, who has two children in Antioch schools, is the only Hispanic member on the board and candidate in the race, is fully bilingual and bi-cultural. He is the only one who can effectively reach out to that part of our community.

Crystal Sawyer-White, a substitute teacher in another school district and owner of a tutoring business, has a Masters in Education, and a child in the district, as well. She has demonstrated her commitment to the students in Antioch, having served on a site council and LCAP committee.

All three support bringing back shop classes to the schools, as well as entrepreneurship classes, teaching students how to start and run their own businesses. That should serve both the students and our community well, as we work to grow our local economy and create local jobs.

These three are also the only candidates to address the realities of the serious problems facing the district, citing the statistics of how few students are proficient in math and English, as well as the dangers of the district’s continued deficit spending and reduction in the reserves. They will serve the district well and have committed to getting the school board meetings either televised on local TV or at least live streamed on the district’s website – and in their first year in office. That will bring the district and board meetings into the 21st century for greater transparency.

The other four candidates, incumbent Diane Gibson-Gray, former school board members Joy Motts and Gary Hack, and news site publisher Mike Burkholder, joined forces and based upon a false assumption, chose not to participate in the televised candidates’ forum the Herald sponsored. They chose to play politics instead of being available to answer questions from residents and other candidates, and even refused to answer questions we emailed them four days prior to asking them at the forum.

The worst thing is three of them, all but Burkholder, proved to be untrustworthy by offering one reason they couldn’t attend, then the day before stating it was due to their false assumption. Burkholder just simply never committed to attend the forum on Friday night, which is just as bad.

This was after two attempts to reschedule the forum to accommodate their schedules, that week, costing the other candidates money in lost business and child care expenses.

We were both surprised and disappointed in their actions and poor decision-making. Not being willing to answer questions that other candidates are asked and answered from us, the public and fellow candidates disqualifies the four from serving in public office.

We need citizen representatives on the Antioch School Board who will put students first, and protect the taxpayers.

It’s time to put the problems of the past behind us with leaders who are afraid of transparency and the use of 21st century technology to keep the public informed, and move forward with three responsible, respectful and available leaders on the board.

Fernando Navarro, Alonzo Terry and Crystal Sawyer-White are those leaders. We encourage you to join us in voting for them on November 8.

The existing Brentwood Center is costing $68,000 a month and its location is not suitable as it sits in a high density retail establishment.

The new center is planned to be completed and open approximately September, 2020 to support student needs in a 17-acre environment in the Trilogy/Marsh Creek Road location.

I support the Governing Board’s decision to go ahead with the center as part of phased plan for enrollment with the first phase planned to support forecasted enrollment with a future phase to increase capacity as enrollment increases.

The initial facilities that are being constructed will provide what is required for the existing student population and is not expected to reach capacity for many years, at which point the 2nd phase of the project will be reviewed for additional construction. This is a smart approach as it ensures that the costs are aligned with the needs of students when it opens and for future students.

Mr. Enholm’s positions have resulted in numerous delays. Delaying the construction of the center would not serve the needs of the district or its students and would ultimately result in higher costs with no benefits to the district, its students and its taxpayers.

Delays also impact the jobs of workers who would contribute to its construction.

Mr. Enholm who was an instructor at DeVry and Heald, the two failed for-profit institutions, four years ago ran on the platform opposing the 17-acre campus and advocated for a 110-acre campus.

He voted for the Brentwood Center as part of the Governing Board recommendation and helped in its bond passage, but continues to pursue a bigger campus even though no location is available and a bigger campus is not approved by the Community College Board.

If a bigger campus were to be built it would mean a tax increase for working families. The need for a larger campus is not practical or a wise use of taxpayer dollars. The LMC campus has unused capacity and forecasted enrollment trends shows that an extension Center will meet the needs of future students as enrollment starts to creep up. The trend of on-line classes also continues to grow reducing the need for increased facilities.

There were discussions early on to move from the planned Trilogy and Marsh Creek Road location, however a feasibility study concluded there is no reasonable alternative to the original site, and the governing board voted 4-1 not to move the site, which it had already purchased. BART had urged possibly moving the site to Highway4 and Mokelume Trail, however, the BART Board had made no official decision to pursue property for a future eBART station near the intersection of Highway 4 and the Mokelumne Trail.

We have no secured land for a site near an eBART.

It would take an additional three or four years and cost an additional $750,000 or more in site-selection processing expenses alone. The move would also need to be approved by the California Community Colleges Board of Governors or the district could risk losing lose $1.1 million per year in current revenue. Pursing a new larger campus could result in a 10 year delay at a minimum and impacting the services that are required for students.

The existing construction at planned facility at the 17-acre center is estimated at this time to be $43.6 million dollars. The costs to move to a 110 Acre campus would be astronomical in comparison with the taxpayers footing the bill for this increase, with no current basis for its usage based on enrollment needs and trends compared to the approved 17 acre campus.

Mr. Enholm’s delaying tactics in stalling the construction has already cost the district thousands of dollars.  Mr. Enholm continues to advocate for a larger campus for Antioch, Oakley and Brentwood. However, unless those communities are willing to pay an increase in taxes, as the entire District taxpayers would not support it based on past tax increase elections. A key reason Measure E passed was because there was something for every taxpayer.

Mr. Enholm continues to advocate for a campus in Antioch and Oakley and stated in part that the reason he won his first election was that he went before those communities and told them he would help build a larger campus. However, these communities were informed that Mr. Enholm did not have the authority of Board approval for such a statement.

Mr. Enholm’s desire to move the campus may be more in self-interest as these new campuses would be in Ward 5, which he presently represents. The planned Brentwood Center is located outside of his ward.  Self-interest is never a reason to lobby for change that is not beneficial to the larger community, especially our students.

We need fresh eyes, new ideas, and a leader who can bring people together in order to solve problems with practical ideas and future thinking.

Fernando is listening. Fernando has the education, experience, and commitment to bring needed change.

Vote wisely November 8^th.

Valerie Romero-Lopez

Ward 5 resident

Pittsburg

By Lou Davis

For as many years as I can remember, I’ve always been a strong advocate of giving praise to groups of special people, and individuals in our society who help to keep us safe, and enable us to live in freedom..

Unlike too many people nowadays, who claim that police officers are searching for black men to kill, I see this as a two-sided dilemma. If fewer crimes are committed, fewer police officers would be needed to go into the hood to check out complaints. Also, if more parents, school teachers and college instructors  are available to teach younger people how to stay out of trouble, and how to respect authorities there will not be as many arrests and shootings.

And why does Kaepernick and other multimillion dollar NFL players show outward disrespect for the Flag and National Anthem that our military forces have fought and died to preserve?   Now this unhealthy movement is even taking hold in our high schools.  You have to wonder if NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is proud of the fact that he’s allowing Colin Kaepernick to dictate policy for the League he should be running?

As for myself, I proudly served this country for 20 years, including wartime service in Vietnam, along with millions of other veterans.  Now, we must stand by and personally be insulted by these young, wayward football-playing millionaires.  They obviously did not learn enough in school, nor in college to understand like real adults, what national pride is all about.

These ill-advised protesters should also realize that every time they take to the streets  and occupy public places to air their grievances, they also broaden the potential of a worsening race and class warfare in our country.

The enemy from outside our country; ISIS and other terrorists take advantage of a breaking down of forces inside America to launch more effective attacks on all of us.  It should be enough that our so-called “leaders” in Washington are willfully diminishing our fighting forces, and inviting even more potential terrorists to unlawfully enter our country.  And, Hillary Clinton is planning to invite 500 percent more “refugees” into the country than President Obama has done already.

I’m happy to congratulate law enforcement people in Antioch and other parts of Contra Costa County who, working together arrested two hate criminals who recently tried to burn down the home of a nonwhite family.  These criminals could have been planning to commit this arson for a number of sick reasons, or they could have been incited to take revenge on people of another color, as part of their own undeclared race-hate war.

Whatever the reason, I say, to law enforcement who arrested those responsible people, and all other  brave crime fighters – Thanks for your service!

In November, there are three dates which we should all be aware of:  On November 8th, be sure to vote, for someone, who will help transform this country into one we can continue to be very proud of. On November 11th, lets remember to say thanks to our veterans for helping to keep our country free.

And, on Thanksgiving Day, whether you eat turkey or not, take time to thank God that we live in the greatest country in the world, and let’s ask our Creator to help us do all we can to keep it that way.

“if you cherish free expression, and free speech rights generally, you should be worried”

By Allen Payton, Publisher & Editor

I rarely write about national issues on the Herald website or newspaper, but this one is too important not to, as what could happen in the next few days could affect not only my business, but any and all internet-related media and any business and individual who uses the internet.

The Obama Administration supports allowing the international takeover of the internet, which was developed here in America, first by our military, and is currently controlled by American interests.

If that happens, some non-elected body made up mostly of representatives of foreign governments, which in general oppose and work against American interests and the freedoms we enjoy in our country, will be in control of the most powerful information and commerce tool ever created.

The UN could ultimately take control and it is not favorable to America and hasn’t been for years. Back in 1985 while working as an intern for then-U.S. Senator Pete Wilson in Washington, D.C., I had the opportunity to travel to New York over Thanksgiving weekend to visit a college buddy. He had to work the day after the holiday, so I spent it being a tourist in Manhattan.

One of my last stops was the United Nations building. While in the gift shop I met and struck up a conversation with a delegate from the U.S. State Department and asked him what his thoughts were on the institution. His response was rather eye-opening.

“This place is a joke,” he said. “It’s the U.S. and Israel against the world and once in awhile our old friend Great Britain will abstain.”

Well, things haven’t changed much in the 31 years since then, and actually they’ve become worse. While I believe it’s always better to talk things out than to fight them out, as the delegates to the UN spend much of their time doing in that deliberative body, the decisions they can make once they have control of the Internet could prove disastrous.

Let’s remember who some of the nation states that are members and their policies toward the Internet in their own countries. China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, just to name a few. Do we want their views, which are anathema to our God-given, constitutionally-protected freedoms of religion, speech, and the press be the ones governing or influencing how the Internet operates in our country? What about even England, Scotland or France, where certain comments that we consider disagreements and debate, can get you arrested for “hate speech”?

In a television interview on Wednesday, Ajit Pai, a senior member of the Federal Communications Commission, said “This proposal is to essentially give up the US oversight role that it’s had for the last 20 years, basically for the entire commercial lifespan of the Internet to a company called ICANN, which is an international organization, which includes a number of foreign countries.”

Pai further stated, “[I]f you cherish free expression, and free speech rights generally, you should be worried, I think, when there’s — this oversight role’s going to be ceded to potentially, foreign governments who might not share our values.”

This needs to be stopped and now.

Congress is debating the issue today and the change will occur on Saturday. Our representatives need to hear from us, now. Please join me in contacting them and urging them to vote to stop the Obama administration from transferring oversight of the internet to an international body.

Rep. Jerry McNerney

Washington, D.C. Office (202) 225-1947

Antioch Office (925) 754-0716

Stockton Office (209) 476-8552

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier

Washington, D.C. Office (202) 225-2095

Walnut Creek Office (925) 933-2660

Richmond Office (510) 620-1000

Senator Diane Feinstein

Washington, D.C. Office (202) 224-3841

San Francisco Office (415) 393-0707

Senator Barbara Boxer

Washington, D.C. Office (202) 224-3553

Oakland Office (510) 286-8537

Editor:

Antioch is in trouble. Mayor Wade Harper and Councilwoman Monica Wilson are self-promoting failures.  They failed in their recent County Supervisor bids and are now running back to Antioch to keep their current elected positions.  They wanted out of Antioch, so let them stay out. Don’t vote for them.

Their impacts haven’t been positive in many ways.  Antioch is no safer since their elections. Their vision and actions for Antioch have turned it into a crime-plagued and increasingly crowded, unsafe community.

Some of Harper’s primary election campaign platforms were to improve Antioch’s public safety. He boasted “The City of Antioch will be a safer city on my watch” and “Stopping crime now starts with …. Wade Harper.”  He hasn’t kept you any safer.

Harper also promised “more police” and “less crime” in his support for more taxes.  What a farce that he has turned out to be. He was a main proponent for passage of the tax.  Same police, similar crime results since. Monica Wilson just went along and has had no solutions either.  Antioch’s police manpower has really not been increased, even with them at the helm, with almost the same number of sworn officers as before.  But, they did give big salary and benefit increases to certain employee groups, instead of using that money to hire more Officers (which they should’ve done), and they continually voted for more crime-contributing, uncontrolled growth.  That hasn’t kept you any safer.

Antioch’s crime rate hasn’t really been reduced. It’s been a misleading dog and pony show when publicly discussed by them and others.  As an example, where are the 20-plus “more” officers that were promised?  And where is the “less crime” they promised?  Nowhere is where.  Antioch’s documented high crime rate is much higher than the documented California and National average crime rates.

Let’s face it, Antioch’s Wade Harper and Monica Wilson are proven failures, and should not be voted for, again. We can do better without them.

Ralph A. Hernandez, Chair

Citizens For Democracy

Antioch

By Supervisor Federal Glover

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, the United States suffered the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. 9/11 has become a date that will live in infamy. It is our generation’s equivalent to December 7, 1941. Who can ever forget the jetliners crashing into the New York skyscrapers, bursting into flames, people jumping from the upper stories, the last calls of those trapped inside.

Who can forget the office workers fleeing the burning floors above them and the firemen  dragging their hoses with them, going up the stairs towards the flames.

Who can forget the towers toppling down on workers and the heroic first responders? The mayhem, the dust-covered office workers?

Who can forget other firefighters, policemen and other rescue workers going through the debris to find survivors?

Who can forget the people from all across the nation, including some from Contra Costa County, who dropped what they were doing and rushed to New York to help in the rescue efforts?

Who can forget Flight 93’s heroic passengers, including residents of the Bay Area, who fought the terrorists to prevent the jetliner crashing into the White House or Congress even though it meant their certain death?

The deaths of those 3000 people on 9/11 are seared into our collective memories. We will always remember what we were doing and where we were on that fateful morning.

But there is another memory I’ll always keep with me. I’ll remember the American people rallying around the towers, around New York, around the Pentagon and Flight 93 – that was perhaps among the finest hours of America. We didn’t think about the race of the victims or their rescuers. We didn’t ask if they were Democrat, Republican, liberal or conservative, rich or poor. For those few hours, those few weeks, after the horrible acts of terror; we were united as a country, we were all Americans.

That is what I’ll remember.

Glover represents District 5 on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors.

Editor:

As someone who has built a business around communication and relationship building, if elected to serve on the Antioch Unified School District Board of Trustees, I plan to take those skills and find ways to create more opportunities for the school district to reach the public.

Often times, as publisher of eastcountytoday.net, I am asked why I did not cover this school event or that student’s achievement or share how a teacher was recognized. Sadly, it typically comes down to no one from the District providing the information.

While I admit new Superintendent Stephanie Anello has done an outstanding job with media relations when compared to the outreach done by her predecessor—which I might add was like pulling teeth—she cannot go at it alone simply performing social media duties. She needs a team around her and needs additional tools.

If elected, I will make it a priority to improve communication to students, parents and the community. After all, the City of Antioch has an “image problem” and what better way to improve the overall image of the city than highlighting the many wonderful things occurring within the school district.

For example, over the summer, several Antioch students worked on a project which was so brilliant, it’s now being used by NASA after the Antioch Rotary Club helped fund the effort. This is a perfect example of the community working with students to create success–unfortunately it never hit the newspapers because no one knew about it.  This is just one example of many that could begin to change the way at how the public perceives the school district.

Through improved communication, it improves the relationship between students, parents and teachers—it creates buy-in because goals can be achieved together. Thus, it brings back to the joy of teachers teaching and students learning because all parties can be on the same page.

My communication plan for the District includes the following:

Public Information Specialist

There are teachers and staff doing great things. Both parents and the community should know about it. I would like to see the District hire a public information specialist to assist the Superintendent in gathering information from all schools and showcase to the community what great schools and staff we have.

This position can also respond to issues as they come up and help improve transparency in a timely manner.  There are a lot of things occurring in a school district that both parents and taxpayers may not even be aware of that can be an opportunity to shine a positive light. With this position, the District can now tell its story with better uses of press releases, photographs, social media, newsletters, announcements and other tools.

Ultimately, this position is a rather small investment cost wise for the amount of public trust that can be built if implemented correctly.

Put School Board Meetings Online

Currently, if you want to know what occurred at a school board meeting, you can view the agenda and minutes online. That is not good enough.

The District, at the very least, should place the audio from all school board meetings online—the cheapest option. I would go a step further and invest in web-only cameras to record all school board meetings and place the video online which most local governments already do.  This provides much needed transparency to those in the community who seek it.

While some may argue the District should invest in “live television” of a school board meeting, that is expensive and money can be better spent elsewhere on students—especially given how the District is in deficit spending mode.

Take Advantage of the Web

Today, anyone and everyone can take advantage of the internet. The school district is no different. The district should not be forced to rely on a newspaper to tell their story; instead they should simply tell it using their own website.

As publisher of eastcountytoday.net, I’ve built a business around telling stories and providing information. The AUSD can do it too with the creation of their own “news site” to produce information for students, parents, and the community—the newspapers can even pluck stories and photographs right off the website.

Thus, this is where my goal of a public information specialist comes in to help manage this undertaking–students could even become involved in the form of internships.  The goal of this effort would allow the District to stop relying on others (or social media for that matter) to distribute the Districts own information and instead take control of what goes out and how it goes out. I see this as a huge win for the entire community.

Empower Principals and Teachers

The school district has 18,000+ students; the daily face of the district is each site principal and the teachers. We must find ways to better allow them to shine whether it’s a morning breakfast with the parents on campus, hosting off-site coffee meetings, forums, etc. The goal, here is to provide staff with the ability to “do them” and interact with parents as best they know how under the Districts message.

Each school has a different culture that should be embraced, not try to force a one-culture fits all mentality.

Communication within the school district should be more than “feel good” actions; it should be real and sincere. By using a mixture of technology and empowering staff, the school district can improve its public perception. For Antioch, there can be no better way to improve its perception than showcasing its very own students and teachers.

Michael Burkholder

Burkholder is a candidate for the Antioch School Board in the November election. He has a child at both Orchard Park School and Carmen Dragon Elementary School. For more information about his campaign, visit www.mikeburkholder.com or visit him on Facebook.

Editor:

Thank you to the Antioch Herald for its recent coverage of the Frazier-Beall transportation plan, a smart, sensible bill that addresses our state’s transportation issues and provides a fair approach to funding provisions that will fix our roads and strengthen California’s economy. It is inarguable that our transportation infrastructure is rapidly deteriorating under the pressure of population growth that puts more vehicles on the road than the system was designed to manage safely.

The transportation funding plan put forth by Assemblyman Jim Frazier and Sen. Jim Beall offers a practical solution. It calls for an equitable distribution of funding responsibility among multiple sources, including gas and diesel tax increases and an annual fee for zero-emission vehicles. The bill encourages the use of public transit and other transportation alternatives. Frazier and Beall exhibit a commendable vision by balancing modes, understanding their net positive impact on relieving congestion and carbon emissions while off setting their impact on a corresponding net loss of gas tax receipts under the current program.

California’s transportation network serves as the lifeline for our personal mobility as well as an economic engine that makes the state the preferred originating point to move goods throughout the U.S.  We must fund consistent, long-term maintenance and expansion now to keep our lifeline open and ensure a safe, reliable transportation system that we can count on.

Art Hadnett

President, West Division at HNTB Corporation

San Francisco