District names its new school board member

So when an opening on the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District Board of Trustees again became available, Chin decided to seize his opportunity. He was selected Wednesday, March 21, to fill the vacancy left by former board president’s Nancy Kohn Hsieh’s departure.

Chin, whose two young children attend Baywood Elementary School, said he was thrilled with an opportunity to put his passion and expertise to use benefiting local schools.

“It’s great, I’m excited,” said Chin, 43. “I feel honored for this privilege of serving the kids. So let’s get to work.”

Plenty of work is ahead for Chin, as he joins the leadership team for a district weighing a potential tax measure while also seeking to build a new elementary school with limited funds, amidst the variety of other school administrative challenges.

Acknowledging the substantive hurdles on the district’s horizon, Chin said his work on a variety of community commissions and boards such as the county’s Measure K oversight committee, the county Office of Education’s Safe Routes to Schools group have prepared him for the job.

Board President Audrey Ng agreed, claiming Chin’s experience set him apart from his fellow candidates.

“He understands government processes,” she said. “We are very excited to have him on board.”

While acknowledging the variety of qualified candidates who applied for the position, Ng said she also appreciated the perspective Chin applies to school issues.

“He is someone who looks at the school and looks at the district and sees the schools are a part of the broader community,” she said.

Other candidates seeking appointment included Mollie Carter, Karen Chi, Cynthia Chin, Catherine Chou, Christine Douglas, Garrett Dunwoody, Nicole Fernandez, Omar Garriott, Katherine Goodman, James Kim, Ian McCullough, Thomas Morgan, Randi Paynter, Ruchita Sinha, Jacob Thiel, Annie Tsai and Shiraz Zack.

Ng lauded the qualifications of the candidates, noting the exhaustive interview process spanning almost six hours to narrow the pack and ultimately land on Chin.

“We had quite a lengthy process before choosing a candidate,” said Ng. “It was very difficult.”

The applicants sought appointment to the board following Kohn Hsieh’s announcement of her resignation in January to spend more time with her family.

For Chin, beyond the inherited challenges of balancing the district’s major financial and infrastructure issues, he said a key focus of his will be establishing and preserving a deep well of teaching talent.

“In order to have great schools, we need to have great teachers,” he said.

Educators are struggling to afford the cost of living locally, so Chin said he would like to investigate the options available to the district beyond merely wage hikes. The issue of staff turnover can be expected to worsen in the coming years too, he noted, as an older generation ages into retirement.

“If we can’t pay teachers more because we have a funding problem … are there other benefits we can give them? I don’t know what the answer is, but I do want to dive into that,” he said.

Chin received an opportunity to get right to work, as his first board meeting came only one day after he was appointed to the position. Now he’s prepared to hit the ground running.

“I’m ready. Being a stay-at-home dad, at the moment I have the luxury of having a little bit more time than other people. So I’m itching to start,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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