Oakdale Joint Unified school board appoints former district administrator as trustee
Oakdale Joint Unified School District trustees have appointed a former district administrator to the school board.
The board voted Dec. 13 to make an appointment rather than hold a special election, which trustee Diane Gilbert said could cost over $157,000. The seat will be up for election next year.
The open seat was left by Barbara Shook, who resigned from her at-large position at the end of October. Superintendent Dave Kline interviewed nine candidates during the meeting last Monday, asking each person the same four questions over 10 minutes each.
The four board members ultimately chose Terri Taylor, who has worked as a teacher, principal, and administrator in the district. She joined the board for the remainder of the meeting.
“I know that my experience and my commitment could help you very quickly,” Taylor said during her public interview. “It wouldn’t take me long to come up to speed.”
When asked about how she’d approach disagreements within the board, Taylor said she doesn’t expect a group of six people to agree on everything, and that’s OK. “That’s how it’s supposed to be,” she said.
In response to a question about what she would change in the district, she said she wouldn’t advocate for changes now.
“I have full confidence in the staff that we have that we will do what’s right for the kids,” Taylor said.
In an emailed message to The Modesto Bee, Taylor said she has lived in the community for 48 years and graduated from Oakdale High School. She’s been a parent in the district for 26 years.
Taylor served as vice principal at Fair Oaks Elementary for over five years, and opened Sierra View Elementary as principal in 2005. She then became assistant superintendent for human resources, a position she held for seven years until retiring in 2018.
“Every step of the way, I was surrounded by quality people who truly cared about kids,” Taylor wrote. “That is one of the biggest reasons that OJUSD is such a successful district.”
Asked why she applied for the open board seat, Taylor said she has “seen divisiveness and incivility this past year that doesn’t reflect what I believe we stand for in Oakdale.” She said she wanted to help move past this and back to focusing on educating kids.
