Wilson, Blakely and Gutierrez lead in school board race

With all 33 precincts reporting, incumbent Jose Gutierrez and candidates Tamara Wilson and Laura Blakely appear to be the winners in the race for the Mountain View Whisman School District.

As of 9:25 a.m. Wednesday morning, Wilson solidified her lead with 7,516 votes (27 percent), followed by Blakely at 7,117 (25.6 percent) and Gutierrez at 7,117 (25.6 percent). Darrah trailed beyond the pack with 5,305 votes at 21.8 percent. The top three vote-getters will win a seat on the board.

Wilson, a Huff parent and Wagon Wheel neighborhood resident, told the Voice by phone that she saw an incredible amount of support from friends, neighbors and strangers who all helped get the word out and promote her campaign for the school board. She said the campaign trail has been an interesting experience, and she’s optimistic for the future of the district.

“It’s not like anything I’ve experience before,” Wilson said. “I’m really excited for the future, and as I’ve said throughout the campaign, I think the stars have all aligned for the district.”

Blakely, Gutierrez and Darrah, who were all gathered at an election party at the Tied House in downtown Mountain View, gave their victory and concession speeches once the results poured in. Blakely told the crowd that she is thrilled with the opportunity to serve on the school board, and that she was grateful for all the support she received. She assured the crowd that the new board will be looking out for all the kids in the district.

“It’s going to be a great four years — at least locally,” Blakely said, alluding to the presidential election results.

In an emotional speech, Gutierrez said that the election marks a pivotal point to re-establish respect and trust on the school board, and that the community wants, needs, and deserves strong leadership over the next four years. He said the district is at a crossroads, with lots of programs, construction plans and academic initiatives all kicking off in the coming years.

Darrah, who admitted that he probably doesn’t have the votes to pull ahead in the election, said he was confident that all four candidates in the field could do a good job and turn the district around after four difficult years.

“I lost tonight, but I don’t think it matters that much,” Darrah said.

If the results hold, Wilson, and Blakely will join the board — and Guttierez will retain his seat — as the district launches into a major construction phase, building new classrooms and facilities at nearly all of the district’s schools over the next two years using the $198 million in Measure G bond funds. The district is also in the early planning stages for opening a new school at Slater Elementary, bringing a much-needed school to the northeast area of the city.

The new and returning board members will also have the final say on revised school boundaries, which will be designed to accommodate Slater and re-balance enrollment at some of the district’s most crowded schools — Huff, Bubb and Landels elementary. A half-year effort to re-draw attendance boundaries last year fell flat, when the board outright rejected the district’s Boundary Advisory Task Force recommendations.

The school district is also launching several efforts to close the achievement gap among the more than 1,000 students in the district who are considered English learners, socio-economically disadvantaged or students with disabilities. These initiatives include a new committee of community members called the Specific Learner Task Force, which is aimed at finding ways to better design curriculum for English learners and special education students, which will be meeting through May of this year.

These efforts to close the achievement gap come after a district-commissioned audit report found that the district’s English language development (ELD) programs were failing to meet the needs of students and could be outright counterproductive, and that the quality of special education across the school district varied significantly from one campus to another.