October 22, 2004

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Publication Date: Friday, October 22, 2004

Juan Aranda

Two years after resigning from the Mountain View-Whisman school board because of prostate cancer, Juan Aranda said he is feeling better and wants his old seat back. He has the experience needed to guide the district through a superintendent search and school closure, he said.

First elected to the Whisman school board in 1996, Aranda stayed on as a trustee when Whisman merged with the Mountain View district in 2001. But by the following year, the number of meetings went up and his health plummeted. Aranda said he lacked the energy to serve, so he stepped down. Today, Aranda, who was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in New York's Hell's Kitchen, said he is ready to go again and promises he is in it for the long haul this time. "I think my energy level is enough to maintain it," he said. "If I can still give, I'll give." "I felt like I made a difference," Aranda added. "I know I can make a difference." Aranda, who was a tax representative with the State Board of Equalization, said he understands the school district is in dire financial straits.

To balance the district's budget, he said he might evaluate whether there is currently funding for teacher training, for example, and whether it could be postponed. Aranda said he thinks there should be open meetings during every step of the budget process. Cutting back, he added, will be inevitable, starting with the superintendent search. A strong supporter of Superintendent Eleanor Yick, who currently has a 10-month contract with the district, Aranda asked if it is wise to spend thousands of dollars on a nationwide search for am administrator when there is a viable candidate already doing the job. "If you have no money, why would I commence a search for someone else at this time?" he said. "I am not going to go that route until I find out what's in my hands." One way to funnel extra money into Mountain View-Whisman's coffers is to close a school, which would save hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to district officials. Aranda, who closed Whisman School when he was on the Whisman board, said he has no idea which school he'd choose to close.

"I want to make sure I know all the facts," he said. "This board has always been proactive. If they have to make the decision now, so be it." More pressing, Aranda said, is the potential loss of $1.6 million in parcel tax funds if the lawsuit against Measure J moves forward in court next month. Aaron Katz, who is contesting the tax, said he plans to ask a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge to freeze the funds until litigation is completed. Aranda said it's time to start appealing to other school district's and state entities "If we lose this parcel tax, we're in trouble," Aranda said. "We have no choice. We have to fight this case."

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