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Mark Box resigns from Menlo Park school board

by Renee Batti

The superintendent of the Menlo Park City School District is recommending that the school board avoid a costly election and instead appoint a replacement for board member Mark Box, who has announced his resignation, effective June 30.

Mr. Box, whose term ends December 2012, said in his letter of resignation that he and his family plan to move to Barcelona, Spain, for the 2011-12 school year.

Superintendent Ken Ranella said in a letter to the school community that the board has scheduled a special meeting for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 31, to decide whether to call for an election, which would take place in November, or appoint someone to the five-member board.

Among Mr. Ranella's reasons for recommending an appointment is the cost of an election, which he estimates at about $45,000. Also, he said in the letter, "candidates should not be encumbered with running a campaign for a seat that would expire 13 short months later."

Mr. Ranella also noted that it would be wise to have a full school board in place as a new superintendent begins work in July. "A November election would leave a seat vacant for the first few critical months of this transition," he wrote.

Mr. Ranella is retiring at the end of June; Maurice Ghysels was hired last month to replace him.

If the board follows Mr. Ranella's recommendation to appoint Mr. Box's replacement, it will decide on a process for residents of the district to apply for the position, which would be filled again by voters in November 2012.

Mr. Box was elected to the board in 2008, after serving as president of the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation and as chairperson of the district's 2006 bond campaign.

"Mark leaves big shoes to fill," Mr. Ranella wrote. "He has exemplified both integrity and selflessness in his service. His volunteer contributions to the Menlo Park school district and the community have helped to ensure that our schools continue to provide the best educational experience possible for our students."

Posted by Menlo Parent, a resident of the Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park neighborhood, on Jun 2, 2011 at 11:52 pm

We trusted this guy with our vote, and he leaves office not for personal hardship, but because he simply wants to spend a year in Barcelona? Wow, what a guy.

Posted by Grateful Mom, a resident of the Menlo Park: Allied Arts/Stanford Park neighborhood, on Jun 3, 2011 at 8:27 am

Many thanks to both Mark and his wife for thousands of hours of unpaid work supporting Oak Knoll and Hillview, the MPAEF, and the School Board ... as well as Little League and other activities benefiting our children.

Aside from wishing them the very best, I hope they will continue to support academics in Menlo Park by reporting back what they find in the schools in Spain -- be they American schools, International schools, or local Spanish schools.

We obsess in MPCSD about the achievement gap between low-income Hispanic and African-American children and mid- to high-income White and Asian children ... while ignoring the growing gap between our schools' curriculum demands and those of the rest of the developed world.

Mark's family is about to get a rude introduction to this achievement gap -- whichever of the three school systems they join. It would be wonderful if they'd let us know what they experience and where we must focus on keeping all our kids internationally competitive.

Posted by district parent, a resident of the Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park neighborhood, on Jun 3, 2011 at 8:46 am

I know how hard it is to pop the bubble we live in and realize how extraordinarily privileged our children are. This is an affluent area, and most parents were educated at top schools and want the best for their kids. I am far more concerned about keeping stress levels down than about being "internationally competitive." Please.

The issue that is at hand, however, is the one that was discussed in the other thread (you gotta love how the Almanac starts multiple threads on the same topic, thereby confusing everyone, including probably themselves). That is: does the board appoint someone to the vacancy, or is there an open process. Given that the board has long been a clique, seems to me that an appointment is most in line with tradition. However, it would be nice to try to diversify the board composition by actually encouraging non-insiders to apply for the position.