Top educator preps for stepping away

“Over time, an organization benefits from new leadership,” said Campbell, who announced last year she would not seek re-election. Nancy Magee and Gary Waddell, her cabinet members at the county office, have since launched campaigns to fill her void.

With Campbell’s term officially ending next January, the lifetime educator stands to wrap a career spanning four decades. Beyond her eight years in the county office, she worked as a teacher at Abbott Middle School in San Mateo, a counselor at Hillsdale High School and principal at Ralston Middle School in Belmont before becoming the superintendent of the Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary School District.

Campbell took over the position from her predecessor Jean Holbrook following an unopposed campaign. With a guilty smile, Campbell admitted in the early stages of her career she was unfamiliar with the county superintendent’s responsibilities.

Fast-forward to her final months, Campbell’s enthusiasm for fulfilling the office’s support role as an intermediary between local school districts and state lawmakers remains evident.

Bridging the gap that can exist between the state Capitol and local school campuses is more important than ever in the local control era, when even the best laid plans can present hurdles, she said. While lauding lawmakers’ willingness to grant local districts greater authority in allocating state money to the best interests of their school community, Campbell said guidance is required in assuring the state’s broader education goals are attainable.

Implementing the local control accountability plan is a huge job and cumbersome process which continues evolving since its introduction roughly four years ago, said Campbell.

“We have policymakers who have a vision but it is not yet based in practice,” said Campbell, whose office is primarily charged with helping local districts manage their state education obligations.

Recently, the office’s staff has focused on assuring local districts identified by the state as those needing to improve academically or culturally are able to effectively implement the necessary changes.

Though Campbell said she is proud her office is a supplementary resource, she said more necessary for local school systems than county assistance is greater state funding.

Despite recent gains in the amounts shared by Sacramento, public schools across California remain woefully underfunded, said Campbell. While acknowledging districts with high concentrations of students who need additional assistance enjoy greater access to more funding under the local control system, Campbell suggested even broader changes may be in order.

With an assumption that the state’s general fund is stretched as thin as possible with little room to drum up more school dollars, Campbell said an examination of the state’s tax code may be necessary.

Most notably, Campbell said she believed Proposition 13 could be tweaked to generate additional money from corporate land owners which currently may not be paying their fair share in financing local schools.

Looking ahead, Campbell suggested she would favor further exploration of such an opportunity, while recognizing the corporate labor lobby’s significant sway may preclude the effort from gaining much traction. During her time in office, Campbell said she’s witnessed momentum build behind the idea which once may have been inconceivable.

Ultimately though, Campbell acknowledges these are likely not her battles to fight. Once she moves out of office, the educator said she has no plans to rejoin the full-time workforce.

Instead, Campbell said she hopes to eventually visit Japan next fall. More immediately, she looks forward to loading up with her wife and new dog in the camper trailer they recently purchased and traveling the nation.

When she’s gone from office in pursuit of a simpler life, Campbell offers her eventual successor an easily digestible piece of advice which was essential to her career.

“Focus on the kids and what’s best for them,” she said. “That’s got to be your North Star.”

austin@smdailyjournal.com

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