Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - AntiochPress_08.22.08 - Index

8A | brentwoodpress.com education august 22, 2008
Three vie for Liberty
school board seats
by Ruth Roberts
staff Writer
One actual race and one cancelled race
headline Brentwood’s two school board elections
this November, as two Liberty Union
High School District (LUHSD) School Board
incumbents face off against a one-time board
president, while the Brentwood Union School
District (BUSD) will forgo an election and fill
its two available seats with one incumbent and
one newcomer.
The LUHSD election will be a three-way
race for two seats entailing four-year terms.
Incumbents Holly Hartman and David Dal
Porto will face off against long-time educator
and former Board Member and President
Ray Valverde.
Having served 13 years on the board,
Valverde says he has a lot to offer. “We have a
lot of things going on that I was a part of and
that I have a lot of experience with. We have a
lot of new challenges too: budget constraints
and the new high school we are going to need.
I’m ready to jump back in.”
Incumbent Holly Hartman has served
consecutive terms on the LUHSD Board
since 1991, and said she believes in the work
the board continues to do.
“By serving on the board, I am able to
see the differences that I make right away in
the policies I implement and the changes
we make,” said Hartman. “What we do as a
Alejandro Prieto, M.D.
Cardiovascular Specialist
“I believe cardiac health care should start before heart
disease does. If we’re going to make a real impact in the
health of our community, it’s going to be through prevention
and an understanding of the risk factors.”
Dr. Prieto completed an internal medicine residency and
general and interventional cardiology fellowships at Michigan
State University before becoming an Assistant Professor in
their Department of Medicine. He is a fellow of the American
College of Cardiology and the Society of Cardiovascular
Angiography & Intervention.
2220 Gladstone Drive, Suite 3
Pittsburg, CA 94565
925-432-3318
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Springhill Medical Group
3720 Sunset Lane, Suite A
Antioch, CA 94509
925-779-9601
board affects the cultures of our schools and
the community.”
Also running for a seat on the LUHSD
Board is rancher David Dal Porto, who was
appointed to the LUHSD last January following
the resignation of Mark Schwartz. Dal
Porto could not be reached for comment.
Since only two candidates are running for
a grand total of two seats on the Brentwood
Union School District Board, no election
for those posts will be held. Incumbent Carlos
Sanabria and newcomer Lori Strauss will
serve out the four-year terms.
Sanabria said he believes one of the biggest
challenges facing the district is financial.
“We’re going to have to work hard to get
a handle on the finances, which is especially
hard when you’re trying to build a quality
program,” he said. “We’ve had to make some
heart-wrenching changes and we’re going to
have to learn to get creative.”
Homemaker and school volunteer Lori
Strauss will be making her debut on the
BUSD board this fall, and said that while she
has a lot to learn, she is hopeful her experience
as a classroom volunteer and member of the
district’s education foundation will serve her
well.
“I know that I have a great deal to learn,”
she said, “but I welcome the opportunity to
contribute to a board that works as a team to
provide all of Brentwood’s children with the
best possible educational experience.”
Alejandro Prieto, M.D.
is accepting new patients.
2400 Balfour Rd, Suite 230A
Brentwood, CA 94513
925-634-0425