LA MESA-SPRING VALLEY BOARD OF EDUCATION APPOINTS NEWCOMER REBEKAH BASSON TO EMPTY SEAT

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Board passes over ex-PTA president/LMSV bond oversight committee member and former teacher’s union representative to select church worker

By Kendra Sitton

Read full transcript of meeting here.

August 5, 2017 (La Mesa) -- Rebekah Basson received the appointment to the La Mesa-Spring Valley (LMSV) Board of Education during a special meeting on Aug. 3, just two days before the deadline for an expensive special election to be held in its place.

“Public education is a necessity and public schools are the foundation of our communities,” said Basson in her opening statement to the Board. She was the first of five candidates who were publicly interviewed by the Board of Education with standard questions chosen in a closed session on Aug. 1. The questions tested the candidate's knowledge of the LMSV district as well as what their priorities are for the direction of the board.

Per her resume, Basson was not a stand-out candidate as she has never worked or volunteered within the district and currently serves as an administrative assistant at Foothills Christian Church. However, Basson proved herself to be an articulate, well-researched, committed candidate during the interview in which she emphasized that her youth and passion were an asset that would benefit the Board.

Basson, Schnaubelt and Steiger said that they are committed to run in the November 2018 election, which will lead to a competitive race between current Board Members David Chong and Bob Duff whose terms will expire, along with Basson’s. Even by the close of the special session, Schnaubelt was already approaching people for their endorsement in 2018.

Schnaubelt was the first to receive a motion to appoint from Duff, but it died for lack of a second. Schnaubelt, who retired one year ago from teaching in the district and from his leadership role in many committees including the La Mesa Spring Valley Teachers Association, assured the members in his interview that he would serve the interests of the Board, not his former advocacy groups. He also requested that the Board consider his body of work, and not how people perceive him. Schnaubelt later talked about going from classroom to classroom to take pay cuts in 2008 during the budget crisis so less people would be laid off, which did not always make him a popular figure. The rest of the Board expressed discomfort in appointing him so soon after leaving those groups, and felt that it would be better for him to run in 2018 when there was more distance. “I believe the process was fair and impartial. I think they made the right decision tonight because I’m too close to the issue having just retired, but I will be ready in 2018,” said Schnaubelt.

The Board spent much longer debating between whether Steiger or Basson should be appointed. The Board members discussed the weight of making a decision in place of the voters. Duff even said he had not slept for the past two nights while thinking of the responsibility the Board must undertake in place of the voters. Chong and Member Jim Long were concerned that Steiger lost in three previous elections for the Board of Education. “The last thing I want to do is step in the way of what the voters have already said,” said Long.

President Emma Turner argued passionately on the side of Steiger. “He came in very close. Jay got a lot of votes in the last election, just not enough votes,” said Turner. The Board agreed he had many qualifications as Steiger has served as chair of the LMSV District Advisory Council and member of the School Site Council, the Prop M and Prop U Citizens Bond Oversight Committees, and LMSV Budget Study. He has also been a Parent-Teachers Association (PTA) president and vice president at district schools.

Turner also thought that the Board needed to consider the opinion of other elected officials the voters had spoken on. The endorsement from Supervisor Dianne Jacob, La Mesa Mayor Mark Arapostathis, Vice Mayor Guy McWhirter and La Mesa councilmember Kristine Alessio were especially significant because many of them controversially crossed party lines to endorse Steiger, a Democrat. The only elected Democrat in La Mesa is City Councilmember Colin Parent and there are no Democrats of the unincorporated areas in San Diego County which would include Spring Valley.

One Board member did bring up the issue of the vacant seat belonging to the most conservative, most outspoken member of the Board who was elected for 19 years. Turner stated that former Member Rick Winet’s name was not on the seat and their job was to fill it with someone who cared about the children of the district, not someone who thought the same way as him. Turner also expressed her own discomfort at appointing someone over two more qualified candidates.

Steiger seemed to anticipate the issue his party affiliation could present and emphasized in his interview that he is a budget conservative and highlighted his work during the Great Recession to balance the district’s budget as deep funding cuts occurred. Turner also brought up that Steiger, despite losing three elections, remained committed to the district and its children. “He keeps coming back, nothing deters him,” said Turner. The other members commended his work, but it still did not sway them from fearing they would be subverting the will of the voters. “I remain absolutely committed to this district, the children of this district and the community at large. That’s what I’ve done for years since my kids started, and I will continue to do so and seek opportunities to serve this district,” said Steiger after the meeting adjourned.

Long stated that he saw himself in Basson when he was added to the Board because he had done little work in the district, but the voters picked him and his distance made the opinions he formed on the Board more impartial. Chong, in his final comments before the motion to appoint Basson began, pointed out that in her many personally-worded endorsement letters from school board members of other districts and current and former employers including three pastors from Foothills Christian Church, he found a common theme: she was a sharp mind and a quick study. These skills could not be expressed in a resume, but would serve the Board well, said Chong. She described her process of researching issues as they are brought before the Board and demonstrated how much she already researched the district in her interview. While all five interviewees mentioned funding and many mentioned English Language Learners as issues needing to be addressed by the Board, Basson was the only one to discuss an influx of refugees as well, something which swayed Duff and helped earn his vote. When the motion to appoint Basson went forward, the vote was three to one in her favor, with Emma Turner voting no.

The audience broke into applause as the meeting adjourned. Basson hugged her husband, still in an EMT uniform, before she began meeting Board members. Superintendent Brian Marshall quickly swore her in before the crowd dispersed.

“It is an honor to be considered to this and not just to be considered, to be appointed, because I am young. But I do feel that I have the heart and also the relatability to a lot of the parents in our district. I am very eager and excited to see where this leads,” said Basson.


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