Photo Courtesy of UCFSD

The School Board members and Superintendent Dr. John Sanville (left). From left to right, Jeff Hellrung, Victoria Baratta, Jody Allen, Mary Kate Loomis, Brain Schartz, Rashi Akki, Steve Simonson, Erin Talbert, and Elise Anderson.

Aliz Uejima ‘25

FEATURES EDITOR

The school board has a vital role in students’ education, but many don’t realize just how broad their policies stretch, and how far the effects span. In order to make such important rulings, a number of people are involved in the decision-making process.

The board features 9 members: Victoria Baratta (President), Erin Talbert (Vice-President), Jody Allen, Mary Kate Loomis, Steve Simonson, Elise Anderson, Rashi Akki, and Jeff Hellrung. However, beyond just adult participants, UCFSD boasts 2 student representatives as well: senior Aliz Uejima, and junior Khushi Naraynan. These students act as a bridge between the board and the student population, providing feedback on a variety of different issues from international trips to cell-phone policy. “Having two representatives really demonstrates the values of our district, and allows administration to get almost-immediate, direct feedback, especially considering not all the districts in the area have student members on the board,” says student-representative Khushi Naraynan. As part of their role, these students also provide a monthly report on the events throughout the district, allowing all of the community to listen in to everything occurring. Also participating in the discussions include members of district administration such as Superintendent Dr. John Sanville, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Tim Hoffman, Director of Finance Mr. Joe Deady, Director of Communications Ms. Nikki Laroya and Director of Student Activities Mr. Patrick Crater.

At each meeting, there are discussion, informational, and voting items within the 8 different departments. These items are first introduced to the board by the chair of that department, and then opened up to the board for questions and comments. If the item is a voting item, a vote will then be taken, dictating future action.

Even though it’s only the beginning of the year, the UCFSD board has been busy. At the September board meeting, various items were approved, with one of the highlights being the UCFSD goals for the 2024-2025 school year. “These objectives truly act as guiding principles for the board throughout the year, shaping our actions and the culture of our community,” says vice president Erin Talbert. Among this list includes preparation for the implementation of full-day kindergarten in 2025, enhancing “school climate and physical safety and security”, which includes changes to the cell-phone policy, and improving “academic achievement and growth” including a possible schedule change to the middle school.

Also approved were furnishings for a Robotics STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) room at the high school, which were put on hold due to the COVID pandemic, but finally came into reality due to the Board's diligent work.

As the year progresses, the school board will continue to make meaningful decisions for the district, and while such decisions may be in a multitude of different areas, they all exist for one common purpose: the wellbeing of all members of the UCFSD community.