Three candidates are vying for two seats on the Bolinas-Stinson Union School District board, an election that comes as the district faces low enrollment and what all candidates agree are facilities that could use some improvements.
The candidates, all parents of district students, are Cyrus Harmon, the sole incumbent and owner of Olema Pharmaceuticals; Georgia Woods, a postdoctoral researcher working in neuroscience at the Buck Institute in Novato; and Bob Demmerle, who does residential remodeling. All live in Bolinas.
Mr. Harmon emphasized his strong support of better facilities; Ms. Woods noted that her experience as a former Bo-Stin student, parent and professor put her in a unique position to relate to different groups; and Mr. Demmerle advocated for introducing a social and emotional learning program.
The trio took written community questions at a candidates night held last week at the Bolinas campus, where they talked about issues ranging from enrollment to facilities to bullying.
Declining enrollment has been a major topic of discussion in the couple of years. Currently 84 kids are enrolled, according to last week’s board meeting, down from over 100 two years ago. Of the 84, seven live in Stinson, 68 in Bolinas, four within district bounds outside the two towns, and five interdistrict transfers.
Many worry that the lack of affordable housing is impacting the ability of families to remain in town, while others have expressed views that a lack of rigor, particularly in math, is to blame. This year the school, which decided to combine some grades, assigned one teacher to be a dedicated math specialist.
The moderator at the candidates night, Ben Lowrance, a school bus driver and groundskeeper, asked the three whether there was a threshold enrollment number below which the district should close one of its two campuses. (Currently the smaller Stinson Beach campus hosts kindergarten through second grades.) Each of the candidates generally opposed both the idea of closing the Stinson campus and of a firm trigger.
“I’m not in favor of making any big bold move like that,” said Mr. Demmerle, who was on a school committee analyzing campus consolidation in 2006. He called the Stinson campus a “safe place for younger kids” before they switch to the older campus.
Ms. Woods recalled her own childhood at the school and noted that the switch is meaningful to students. “As a third grader, you look forward to coming over here,” she said. But, she added, if it became a financial issue in the future, she “wouldn’t be opposed to considering” consolidation.
Mr. Harmon, who has chaired a school board fiscal oversight committee, also advocated for keeping Stinson. “I see no reason in the next 5, 10, 15 years” for it to close, he said, saying it was an obvious place for a district-run preschool, which superintendent John Carroll hopes to open next fall for 4-year-olds.
Mr. Harmon also positioned himself as a strong advocate of improving the district’s facilities, and said he would continue to support a ballot measure for a school bond—which, at $9 million, failed two years ago—to fund a science lab and a gymnasium and performing arts center, as well as renovations of the art studios.
“There’s some major areas where I think the school can improve,” Mr. Harmon said. “I have worked—so far without any major results—to improve [facilities] and hope to continue the effort. I’d like to see the art shops renovated, the science labs built. I’d like to see improved spaces for physical education and performing arts.”
But Mr. Demmerle noted that some community members, particularly those on limited incomes, are concerned about the cost of those improvements. He also expressed skepticism about the need for a gym, though he wasn’t absolutely
opposed.
“I’m a gym rat… A few years ago I was supportive of having a gym here… but now I really wonder about that. I wonder if we really need that,” he said, adding that the cost of the gym had been a substantial part of the bond. “I think what we really need is a good multiuse building in place of the Quesada [building],” as well as renovating art shops and creating science labs.
Ms. Woods agreed that facilities needed upgrades. “The kids still play dodge ball in the same area I played dodge ball, and it was not sufficient then,” she said.
She also said she would support a new bond, but added that a new multipurpose room might be sufficient. “Right now [the Quesada is] really inadequate [for physical education]…especially because you have all that other material housed in there,” she said. “The ball always goes underneath the stage or underneath the tables… We’re in a rainy enough climate that you can’t expect to always be playing outside.”
The candidates were also asked about what the school should do about bullying, drawing different perspectives on how significant an issue it really is.
Mr. Harmon said that while bullying is “an issue we need to keep an eye on,” he believes most students are well behaved and that the school handles bullying adequately. ‘Things have cropped up from time to time, and I think those are effectively handled by the administration,” he said. “I don’t think we need to make major changes… I don’t see a prominent culture of bullying at the school.”
But Mr. Demmerle, who in 2014 took it upon himself to moderate morning foursquare games to address what he said were fervent arguments about points, said there was “definitely bullying” at the school, though perhaps not the stereotypical kind.
Instead, he described it as “emotional bullying” tied to the cliquish behavior that can develop at a small school, leaving some kids feeling isolated. “We have teasing, we have kids getting left out of groups. We have exclusive behavior, and a lot of it goes unnoticed,” he said. “I think we need a social-emotional learning program at the school, where teachers and staff will be trained and be on the same page… and that we have an overall language and plan of how to deal with the typical eight to 10 problems that will always come up.”
Ms. Woods concurred. “I do think that because of the small numbers” exclusionary behavior arises,” she said. “Those that aren’t chosen are just left to fend for themselves. So I do think it’s important to create an explicit culture of inclusiveness, particularly in a small school.”