School Board Members Retain Seats

Talk about a “landslide” election. Two incumbents on the Millbrae School District Board of Trustees have won four-year terms since no challengers joined the race.

Trustee Frank Barbaro and President Pro Tem Jay D. Price were both uncontested for the Nov. 8 election. Candidates had until Aug. 12 to file paperwork for the race.

Barbaro said the absence of candidates shows that the community is satisfied with the school board. “Most people, in general, are happy with the results of the last few years,” he said.

When Barbaro first ran for the school board six years ago, he said parents were angry with board members.

“A lot of people in the town wanted to see a change,” Barbaro said. “They wanted to see more people connected to the schools. Not these people that are retired.”

Barbaro, who had two children in the school district at the time, narrowly lost the 2005 election. He was handedly elected in 2007.

With a daughter starting out at this year, Barbaro said he wants to keep the district on a path of revitalization and fiscal responsibility.

“There’s a lot more work to be done,” he said. “Four years isn’t enough.”

Barbaro said he is proud of the district’s work in making the schools handicap accessible under , the $30 million bond voters approved in 2008.

Contractors put in low bids due to the poor state of the construction industry, he said. “We got $38 million worth of work for $30 million,” Barbaro said.

Although no school board candidates will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot, voters will decide on to continue school renovations. The measure requires 55 percent voter approval.