All New?
That would place a bright sheen of newness on the leadership of the School District.
Supt. Dr. Myrna Rivera Cote just marked her 6-month anniversary in Culver City.
Substantial issues, the grass-roots kind, are coming forward, Mr. Maxwell said.
There are voices in the community clamoring for attention.
Keeping Pace
In spite of spending nearly a year and a half in Europe while his wife taught at a university in Germany, Mr. Maxwell has closely monitored the pulse of the education community.
He said he has attended many of the twice-monthly School Board meetings. I have commented during the meetings when certain issues have come up, he said.
How to Prepare
He has participated in focus-group meetings, and he has button-holed voters, all in an effort to determine the issues that are worrying school families most.
I have had plenty of time to conduct research during the last four years, said Mr. Maxwell.
Among his red-flag subjects during the campaign will be immersion programs and a desire to shift all grade 6 students back to their elementary schools instead of keeping them beneath the umbrella of the crowded Middle School.
An Open Derby
Two School Board seats will come open in November. President Marla Wolkowitz and former Board President Mr. Bubar have indicated they are retiring, leavng the race open without a clear indication about the size of the field.
Mr. Maxwell appears to be well back from the last election. He lost on the flimsiest of tiebreakers.
The retired juvenile probation officer, who has children at Farragut School and at the Middle School, appeared to have scored an impressive upset in his first try for office in November of 2003.
Vanishing Edge
However, his 8-vote edge gradually vanished as absentee ballots were counted. He and Mr. Bubar ultimately finished in a deadheat.
The moment of decision arrived early on the evening of Dec. 1, three weeks after Election Day.
They Came to Chronicle
National and hometown media crowded into the School Board meeting room in School District headquarters on Irving Place.
With hardly space to breathe, let alone perspire, the drama began to unfold some would say unravel.
Journalists were attracted by the innovative method of resolving the tie in a strategy-free environment.
Playoff Environment
With a prestigious seat at stake, District Supt. Dr. Laura McGaughey asked each contestant to draw one marble out of a bag.
He who plucked the marble with the correct color would be deemed the winner of the School Board race.
Mr. Bubar triumphed. Mr. Maxwell, who was watched closely, did not flinch.
At the End
He congratulated the victor, surveyed the room, remained absolutely even, externally, in what had to be one of the larger disappointments of his life.
While the jubilant Mr. Bubar was a thrilled center of attention, Mr. Maxwell, head held as high as Mr. Bubars, eventually departed.
(In Part 2, Mr. Maxwell will analyze language immersion and other issues.)
