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San Ramon Valley Unified School District board members Greg Marvel, Ken Mintz and Denise Jennison recently received certificates of recognition from the Contra Costa County School Boards Association in honor of more than 30 years combined on the local school board.
Marvel, the longest-tenured active board member and current board president, was recognized for 15 years of service. Mintz was honored for 10 years of service — although he’s actually in his 12th year on the school board — and Jennison for five years on the board.
The certificates came as part of the school boards association’s effort to recognize school board members from across the county for reaching service milestones.
“I have been honored to serve the students, parents and taxpayers of the San Ramon Valley since 2000 on the school board,” Marvel, who wraps up his fourth term this year, said in an email Wednesday.
“I spent the vast majority of my career in K-12 and higher education. I wanted to give back to my community and thought that helping the next generation get a great start in life by serving on the board was a great fit,” Marvel added, while acknowledging he plans to pursue a fifth term this November.
Mintz, who was re-elected by Valley voters in November 2014, is in the middle of his second stint on the school board.
He initially served from 1992-96, and then returned in 2009 when he was appointed to fill an unexpired term left vacant when Joan Buchanan joined the State Assembly. He was elected to his second full term in November 2010.
“While I appreciate the acknowledgment, what means most to me is being able to play a part in providing the best education we can in preparing our students to reach their fullest potential,” Mintz said of the service recognition in an email Wednesday.
“I’ve watched SRVUSD grow from a very good district with about 18,000 students when I was on the board in the ’90s to a 32,000 student destination district today where families move to the San Ramon Valley specifically because of the quality of our schools and well-qualified and effective teachers and administrators,” he added, while also commending the community’s financial support for local schools and the district’s focus on programs such as culturally responsive teaching and response to intervention.
Jennison, who earned re-election to a second straight term in November 2014, said she is honored to serve on the school board and have received voter support in her two elections.
“We have excellent schools because of the work of many selfless people who care about our students and our community,” she said in an email Wednesday. “I am proud to work alongside staff, my fellow board members and tireless volunteers to elevate the quality of education in this Valley.”
In all, the county school boards association handed out certificates of recognition to 21 school board members in Contra Costa County.
“School board members are at the heart of every community,” Christine Deane, president of the Contra Costa County Board of Education, said in a statement Monday.
“School programs in Contra Costa County are outstanding, largely because our communities elect well-informed, dedicated and student-focused trustees who oversee budgets, programs and policies. These are oftentimes thankless jobs, but they need to be recognized for the great work they do,” said Deane, who represents the county education board’s Trustee Area 2, which includes parts of Alamo.
