Bill Cooper Bill Cooper (October 31, 2003)

By Julie O'Shea

Bill Cooper says he's paid his dues and he's ready to take on the Los Altos School District board.

The advertising sales representative and father of two ran for a board seat two years ago and lost. In the last 24 months, he's beefed up his resume by joining the budget review committee and serving as a leader in the district's successful parcel tax campaign.

Cooper says he has "a real good handle on the issues" and considers himself a solid contender in this year's race.

If elected next week, Cooper, 44, will be the only Los Altos school trustee who lives in Mountain View. His two sons - George, 12, and Henry, 7, -- attend Springer School, and Cooper said he has long been an active volunteer at that campus.

"I am very definitely one of the two candidates with a track record in the district," he said.

Communication is the underlying theme of Cooper's campaign, and it is something he hopes to help the district improve.

"The district is not perfect," he said. "Communication is going to be the key."

Cooper, an East Coast transplant who moved to California in the early 1980s, says getting parents in tune with district news will be at the top of his "to-do" list if elected.

Although he's missed only a handful of school board meetings over the past few years, Cooper realizes it is not everyone's favorite way to spend their Monday nights. He says that on some nights, he is the only one sitting in the audience.

Cooper said he plans to explore the possibility of having school board meetings televised on the local cable station. He would also like to revamp the district Web site to include key discussion points and actions taken by the board of trustees. On a personal note, Cooper vows to spend more time on each of the district's eight campuses. Also, Cooper said he plans to attend at least one PTA meeting at rotating schools per month.

"This district does just a phenomenal job to serve all students," Cooper said. "Every decision I make will be dedicated to ... our consumers - 4,000 plus kids."

Cooper said he is "totally in agreement with all the decisions the (current) board has made so far." That goes for the Bullis Charter School decision, too. After heated debate, the school board decided to wipe its hands clean of the issue and agreed to let Santa Clara County oversee the new school sought by Los Altos Hills parents over recent months.

Cooper said the next big hurdles will be the discussion of where to house the charter school and the best way to utilize the old Bullis campus, which the board voted to close last February in order to save the district money.

But Bullis won't be the only tough topic Cooper anticipates he will have to tackle if elected to the board. Decisions will have to be made about next year's budget and how to divvy up funding for the next phase of the district-wide construction program.

Cooper grew up in New York and attended Ohio Wesleyan University where he majored in political science. Upon graduating, Cooper, a self described "news junkie," moved to London for six months, where he was a freelance radio reporter. He has been a Mountain View resident for the past 14 years. In his spare time he likes reading, traveling and rooting for the San Francisco Giants.

Bill Cooper

Goal: Cooper wants to improve communication between school leaders and the parent community. He says he'd work to get school board meetings televised and revamp the district Web site to include key school board discussion points.

Profession: Advertising sales representative

Age: 44

Civic service: Former member of the Los Altos school district curriculum council. Current member of the Los Altos school district budget review committee. School chair of Measure A and Measure H campaign.

Residence: Mountain View

Education: Ohio Wesleyan University, BA in political science