OUR OWN LINDA DELEHUNT - CANDIDATE FOR COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS

Posted by Barbara Bontemps 
on Mar 30, 2014
 

Orinda Rotarian Linda Delehunt has tossed her proverbial hat in the ring for a run at becoming the next Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools.  Linda has an extensive background in education, having served at both the state and local levels and is hoping, if elected, to  make positive changes while facing some major challenges.

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Linda, a Cal graduate, received her Masters in Education at Cal State East Bay and subsequently obtained her Doctorate (Ed.D) at the University of the Pacific in Educational Leadership and Administration.  She went on to a challenging career as an elementary school principal in the West Contra Costa Unified School District, followed by postions managing state and federal projects for Berkeley Unified and as a consultant for the California State Department of Education.  She has published several articles about effective leadership and its influence on the academic performance of low-income students and school communities.

Her platform has three primary planks: "Trounce Truancy," "Find and Fix Faulty Systems," and "Meet the Unique Needs of Each Child."

"Trounce Truancy" recognizes the devastating effect truancy has not only on students, but on school systems and communities, as well.  Truancy has reached epidemic proportions in California and certain areas of Contra Costa:

  • Truancy robs our schools of $1.4 billion a year in attendance-related funding
  • It robs our economy of an educated and productive workforce
  • It costs taxpayers in the form of numerous social services programs needed to deal with the effects of truancy (crime, drugs, gang activity, teen pregnancy, etc.)

Failure to address the truancy problem has long-term negative effects on the future of our country, state and nation.

 

"Find and Fix Faulty Systems" recognizes that each district within the county has its own unique set of issues and challenges.  Linda believes that data collection and analysis of these issues is the first step in fixing ongoing problems.  Next comes alignment of systems so that all work together to make districts function effectively, making sure that the individual needs of students, schools and districts are met.

"Meeting the Unique Needs of Each Child" is, of course, the goal of all educational systems and perhaps the hardest goal to achieve. Linda hopes to provide leadership at the county level to ensure that each child in Contra Costa has the oppotunity to achieve his or her full potential.

Linda believes her experience and dedication put her in a unique position to be an innovative and effective Conta Costa County Superintendent of Schools. She appreciated the opportunity to address our club and hopes we will support her election!