WCCUSD school board Area 2 candidates say addressing budget deficit is their top priority

This year, there are three seats up for election on the West Contra Costa Unified School District board, but only the Area 2 race will appear on the ballot. The other two candidates are running unopposed and will automatically get the seats.

For her second term, Incumbent Jamela Smith-Folds will represent Area 1, which includes part of Hercules, Pinole and the Hilltop neighborhood of Richmond. Incumbent Mister Phillips is leaving the board, saying he needs a break after eight years serving Area 3. Cinthia Hernandez is the sole candidate running for that seat, which represents San Pablo.

The trend of uncontested seats is not unique to WCCUSD. According to an EdSource analysis, 56% of the 1,510 California school board races analyzed will not appear on the ballot because candidates are either running unopposed or there is a vacant seat. 

For the only contested seat in the district, incumbent Otheree Christian will face challenger Guadalupe Enllana in Area 2, which includes the Iron Triangle, North & East and Point Richmond neighborhoods.

Historically, this area has had the lowest income in the school district, as well as the largest Black population and second-largest Latino population. That was true in district information culled from the 2010 census. The district did not respond to recent requests for newer data.

Both school board candidates are a product of the Richmond public school system from elementary to high school and have been active in the community. 

Christian is a pastor at Southside Church of Christ and works as a substitute teacher in Oakland. He is running for a second term, and his campaign focuses on continuing what he started on the board.

“With the challenges that we are faced, you need an experienced person to be able to handle the wheels on day one,” he said at a candidate forum on Oct. 22 hosted by League of Women Voters.  

Enllana is a parent and community activist who works for Richmond’s Children and Youth Oversight Board. Her platform is focused on a change of leadership and getting a parent’s perspective on the board. 

“I really feel that District 2 needs a better advocate when it comes to our students,” she said at the same forum. “This is what brings me to running for the board. I want to make sure that our voices are being heard as parents.”

The budget

WCCUSD is facing a deficit of about $15 million if the board can’t reduce spending or increase revenues. 

In separate interviews, both Christian and Enllana said the budget is their number one concern. They also emphasized the need to find new revenue sources.

Christian said he is focused on bringing additional revenue to the district through teacher workforce housing. The California Legislature recently passed several bills incentivizing school districts to convert land owned by the district into affordable housing for educators, which will also bring in additional revenue through rent.

Enllana said prioritizing student attendance, recruitment and retention in the district can increase revenue because state money to school districts is based on school attendance. She also said that marketing school facilities to rent could both build community and generate revenue.   

The LCAP

The school board upended the district budget in June, when it failed to pass a Local Control Accountability Plan, which is needed before a board can finalize a budget. The LCAP sets the district’s goals, through a committee of parents and community organizations. But this year, the board missed the June 30 budget deadline, as the LCAP was delayed for months because those involved in the process, which included district officials and board members, could not agree on goals for the students.

Enllana, who was on the parent committee for the LCAP, said the committee didn’t receive data needed to make effective recommendations.

“We need to be really transparent and stop underestimating the power of parents and what we understand,” she said

The board rejected the first presentation of the LCAP on a vote of two in favor, one opposed and one —  Christian — abstaining. Christian said he abstained because he didn’t think the plan was clear enough. He said he put a resolution forward focused on the students most in need.

“Area 2 has the most marginalized students, and Area 2 needs those resources in the elementary level,” he said.

Both candidates emphasized the need for high academic achievement in the schools budget budgets centered on student education. 

Christian said students who choose not to go to college should also know the path to trade schools, because electricians and plumbers also are needed.

Enllana said that increasing scores in language arts and math should be a priority.

Superintendent search

Superintendent Kenneth “Chris” Hurst announced on Sept. 30 that he will retire in December, after only three years leading the district. The board appointed Associate Superintendent Kim Moses as interim superintendent and will start a search for the district’s third superintendent in four years.

Both Area 1 candidates said communication is the key to building positive relationships with the new district leaders. 

Stege building issues

A Contra Costa Superior Court judge recently ruled in favor of the district in a lawsuit alleging a violation of student rights due to teacher vacancies and unsafe facilities at three schools, including Stege Elementary. Though the lawsuit failed in court, it prompted the district to close Stege for renovations three weeks before the school year began and move students to a section of DeJean Middle School. 

At an Iron Triangle forum, moderator and community member Don Gosney asked candidates if they would consider reducing funds to Kennedy and Richmond high schools to prioritize the modernization of Stege, which dates to the 1940s. Their responses were starkly different.

Enllana said she would not support that, adding the board’s original decision to prioritize Richmond and Kennedy above Stege was a mistake. 

“Decisions were made, mistakes were made, but now we are paying the consequences of that,” Enllana said. “Parents weren’t involved in this process.”

Christian said he and another board member are working with state, county and Congressional officials as well as Chevron to secure the additional $27 million needed for the project.

“Stege is going to be fully rebuilt,” he said. 

(Top photo: Area 2 School Board incumbent Otheree Christian (left), President Jamela Smith-Folds, who is running unopposed, and Area 2 candidate Guadalupe Enllana, by Renée Bartlett-Weber)

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Meet the WCCUSD school board candidates: Q&A with Otheree Christian and Guadalupe Enllana