South City has chosen its new school trustee

Hsieh received the most support among trustees in a round of ranked voting over Kayla Powers and Reem Nasrah, who advanced to the final round of consideration after applicant Scott Grindy was eliminated in the first round.

Trustees congratulated Hsieh after her appointment, while acknowledging the merits of other candidates who received consideration as well.

“This is a difficult decision and it is good to have a difficult decision because it means we have three fine candidates and I think all three would be an asset to the district and its students,” Trustee John Baker said.

Hsieh, the senior dean of planning and institutional effectiveness at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, distinguished herself from other applicants as an expert in the education industry. Prior to joining the northeast Bay Area community college, Hsieh held a similar position at Cañada College.

Board Vice President Mina Richardson said she believed Hsieh would fit in nicely with the district, while offering a valuable perspective drawing from a long background in education administration.

Richardson was the staunchest advocate for Hsieh initially, as Baker and board President Daina Lujan favored Powers and Trustee Pat Murray supported Nasrah. Three trustees needed to back one candidate to make a motion proposing appointment, and in the absence of consensus, officials pivoted to a ranked voting system.

Before initiating the ranked voting round, Baker attempted to persuade Richardson to back Powers. Citing her commitment to addressing social equity issues as well as her support among students, Baker made his case.

“She is the most unlike anyone on our board, and that’s a good thing,” Baker said, noting that Powers lived on the east side of town, an area underrepresented among existing trustees.

Murray, meanwhile, cited the outpouring of support from community members who sent emails or publicly commented in favor of Nasrah.

“We are respect the many of our stakeholders, not just the few,” Murray said.

With neither arguments effectively persuasive for Richardson, officials cast ranked votes according to their preference for the three candidates. Hsieh collected nine points in her favor, ahead of Powers’ six points and Nasrah’s five.

“I won’t disappoint you,” Hsieh said, when trustees unanimously voted in favor of her appointment after the ranked voting outcome.

Hsieh will fill the vacancy left by Flores’ departure in January after his appointment to the South San Francisco City Council.

In other business, officials praised new mascots proposed for South San Francisco High School.

Students generated a variety of logos, shields and graphics built featuring the school’s traditional blue, black and white color scheme. The new mascot was inspired by Trojan or Spartan warriors — a departure from the abandoned Native American imagery considered insensitive and unnecessary.

A student committee received 500 responses backing the proposed designs. Considering the participation that went into selecting the preferred looks, officials largely deferred to the choices of the school community.

“I think it is a great idea. I think you guys did an excellent job,” Murray said.

Lujan concurred.

“I commend the students and staff to gather input, take the input and come up with a very innovative way to brand South San Francisco High School,” he said.

austin@smdailyjournal.com

Note to readers: this article has been amended to correct the spelling of Reem Nasrah's name.