Send this story Print this story

Adjust text size

Google manager joins school board
Mountain View Whisman picks 'math guru' Edward Bailey to fill vacancy

by Casey Weiss

With the local elementary school district facing steep budget cuts, last week its board of trustees appointed a local parent with a background in math and business to fill its vacancy.

Edward Bailey will be sworn in at the end of the month to replace Mountain View Whisman trustee RoseMary Sias Roquero, who is stepping down for personal reasons. Bailey will finish out the term, which ends this December.

"I have been passionate about education all my life," he said. "I believe the reason I am in the position I am today is my public education. I want to give back to the community."

Bailey's position as manager of business analytics at Google, and his background in math and education, are especially important now as the board faces almost $3 million in cuts under next year's proposed state budget, board president Fiona Walter said.

Bailey, who has a third grader at Bubb Elementary School, received his BS in mathematics from Michigan State and his MBA and MA in education from Stanford University. He had previously been involved in the school district, assisting with lessons and test administration in the second grade.

"We will need his analytical skills. He is a great math guru," Walter said. "Even with the complexity of a public school budget, I expect him to dive in."

The trustees held a public meeting last week to interview eight candidates about their involvement with the schools and their experience working in a collaborative environment. After ranking their top four candidates, each of the four trustees discussed their choices during the open session. Walter, who is the board's spokesperson, said she was impressed with Bailey's energy and educational background.

"Although we didn't agree on our number one, Ed was on three of our four lists," Walter said. "It seemed he had a good understanding of what being on the board meant."

Trustees made their final decision between Bailey, an African American, and another candidate who speaks fluent Spanish and could represent the more than 40 percent of Spanish-speaking students in the district. Sias Roquero was the only Spanish speaker on the board.

"We would like our board to reflect our community," Walter said. "At the same time, we need the highest qualified board member."

Bailey begins his term Feb. 28 and will spend the rest of the year addressing the budget and other important issues, including a local parcel tax which will be on the June ballot.

District board members, who receive a monthly stipend of just over $200, meet twice a month, serve on additional committees and participate in school events.

E-mail Casey Weiss at cweiss@mv-voice.com

Posted by GSB, a resident of the Castro City neighborhood, on Feb 22, 2008 at 9:17 am

Great choice by the school board. Both Bailey and the runner-up, Shondricka Burrell, were highly qualified.

Posted by Enough!, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 22, 2008 at 7:00 pm

Finally someone with a resume and experience to shake up the school district. (I just hope its not another version of the city's relationship with Google, that of a whore which will do anything for money.) Too bad they couldn't get a representative from the hispanic community on board as well, those poor people never seem to get any voice. It also seems that the board is even more heavily tipped now toward the Huff school neighborhood--looks like that's where all the power and money in this town comes from.

Posted by W.C.S, a resident of the Waverly Park neighborhood, on Feb 24, 2008 at 10:34 am

You mean tipped toward Bubb neighborhood? And I'm not sure that the Bailey family living in the Bubb neigborhood, assuming they do, directly influences what happens at Bubb. Mr Bailey seems, at first impression, to sincerely want to help the district as a whole, and support public education as many of us do. He is a great addition to the Board.

Google has attracted an amazing amount of talent and really nice people to the area; we as Mountain View residents are lucky. And as most all of Mountain View, Old Mountain View median home prices are holding steady:-)

As for Hispanic representation and support, MVWSD seems to be doing a great job. I can say for a fact that Castro school, with a much higher percentage of Hispanic students, has many more programs to assist the children than Bubb, Huff, and Landels Schools. Because of Demographics, Those schools' students perform well with less support.

W.C.S.