FUHSD board members for Trustee Areas 2 and 5 will be decided on Nov. 5, as part of the 2024 U.S. elections. This will be the Board of Trustees’ first election since its 2023 decision to switch to By-Trustee-Area voting and draw sector areas. This fall, as current trustees Rod Sinks’ and Jeff Moe’s terms expire, Danny Choi and Aegean Lee are running for Trustee Area 5, and Pat Carpio-Aguilar and Frances Renteria are running for Trustee Area 2.
Danny Choi
San Jose Union School District teacher Danny Choi describes himself as a “local kid.” As both a ‘92 LHS alum and current LHS parent, Choi says that deciding to run for the FUHSD board came at the spur of the moment after receiving a mass text regarding running for public office. Still, he hopes to put his wealth of experience in public education to use.
“The public education system has been really good to me, and it’s something that I would like to have a hand in preserving for future generations,” Choi said. “I want to make sure people continue to get good opportunities, as well as education, from investing in their local public school system.”
Choi hopes to help FUHSD continue to prioritize students’ mental health. He appreciates recent initiatives like MVHS’ Wellness Room, which he says are important to ensure that all students can excel regardless of any challenges they may be facing at or outside of school. Choi is particularly motivated by his own high school years: moving from east San Jose to Cupertino when he was in high school helped him experience first-hand what he describes as “the transformative power of a healthy environment.”
“Making sure the kids are okay first and foremost has to be the priority,” Choi said. “I’m sure every candidate who runs for school board will say the same thing, but that doesn’t always translate in the same ways. And as somebody who’s worked directly in education, and continues to do so, I believe in making sure students have a lot of awareness about mental health and self care.”
Over the past few months, Choi says he’s spent most of his time meeting with officials from Cupertino, San Jose and Saratoga to gain endorsements, as well as campaigning door-to-door. He wants FUHSD community members to know that his goal is to help FUHSD continue the academic excellence it’s maintained, so that each of the schools can live up to students’ and parents’ emotional and personal investments.
“As teachers, we know what works in the system and how it might look to try and implement it,” Choi said. “I’m not looking to shake things up. This is a district that has been historically well-run. My role will be one of, ‘How can we see things better from a classroom perspective?’ Ultimately, my main goal is that people have a chance to succeed thanks to school, as opposed to in spite of it.”
Learn more about Choi’s campaign at www.dannychoi.org.
Aegean Lee
FUHSD parent Aegean Lee has been a prominent volunteer and educator within the Bay Area. Lee’s passion for the collective betterment of the community and personal philanthropy have directly translated into her projects for FUHSD and its surrounding schools. She has led parenting seminars and other educational initiatives for families during the COVID-19 pandemic, and continues to spearhead her own graphic design and art business, all of which has helped impact a large part of her community.
“I’m a full time volunteer with the Scouts, and since I was really young in Taiwan, I already felt my hobby was to volunteer all the time,” Lee said. “During the COVID-19 shelter in place, I added to this by spending three to four days in a food pantry, cleaning, sorting, packing and loading it in a car. I still work there three days a week, and now on average we serve 700-800 people a day.”
She chose to run for office in Trustee Area 5 because of her desire to give back to the community. Lee’s main goals during her campaign are to provide for all students and increase transparency with FUHSD parents amid major changes.
“I’ve already been deeply involved in the community for over twenty years, and after thinking for a long time, I feel like I want to continue to serve the community, when we’re facing the big change from At-Large to By-Trustee-Area,” Lee said. “I realized that the community really needs a trust bridge.”
Her aspirations of bridging the gap and supporting FUHSD families has helped her garner support from current leaders, which, to Lee, is a driving force behind her campaign. Despite being a new face in the FUHSD political scene, Lee hopes to make a big impact as a board member as a leader for the people.
“I’m just a simple educator who wants to use their knowledge and teaching experience to support kids and their parents. To me, it’s so new,” Lee said. “I belong to the community. I got support from community leaders. I just want to help people, and that made me step out and run.”
Learn more about Lee’s campaign at www.aegean4fuhsd.org.
Pat Carpio-Aguilar
Longtime Spanish teacher Pat Carpio-Aguilar is running to represent Trustee Area 2 in the upcoming elections. Her passion for helping students and extensive teaching experience, including her current position at Columbia Middle School and an administrative position at a school in Mexico, have often been recognized by her peers and current Board trustees, which she says drove her to campaign for office.
“I started to think about it more deeply, and thought that I was qualified to do this,” Carpio-Aguilar said. “The experience I have in the classroom and having been an administrator will allow my lens to have a clearer perspective on how we should be serving students.”
Carpio-Aguilar’s campaign is mainly directed towards inclusive solutions for all FUHSD students, an issue she is passionate about. While the Board has recently initiated reforms such as granting bus passes to students who live further from school, she hopes to continue to create a more equitable environment at FUHSD.
“Some high schools have more access in terms of getting to school and being able to participate in activities at school than others,” Carpio-Aguilar said. The students I teach right now would have to get up at 5:45 a.m to be able to get ready and get to school without being tardy.”
Being an integrated community member has given Carpio-Aguilar the perspective she believes allows her to properly connect with her community and understand their concerns. Given her time in administration and education, Carpio-Aguilar hopes to be able to use her experience to gain the trust of FUHSD families and represent their needs.
“You become approachable if you are a board member who is a teacher and working in the community, because that qualification is very meaningful to parents,” Carpio-Aguilar said. “They can approach me more in depth about what governance decisions are being made for their children.
Learn more about Carpio-Aguilar’s campaign at www.pat2fuhsd.com.
Frances Renteria
Frances Renteria is bringing her experience as a firefighter and Deputy State Fire Marshal to Trustee Area 2 of the FUHSD Board. Her motivation for working in the Fire Service was to improve her own lifestyle and give her child a better future. For her current campaign, she is simply extending that conviction to the entire FUHSD community.
As an FUHSD alum and former FUHSD parent, Renteria says she knows not only how important it is for students to gain skills and knowledge that will prepare them for the job market, but also how to support community members to ensure students are actually ready.
“It is not easy to be employed, raise children, hold up a household and stay financially stable all at the same time, especially if you are a single parent,” Renteria said in an email. “My basis for running for a governing board position was to be able to prepare students with a future that is fulfilling, happy and comfortable financially.”
Renteria’s main goal as a FUHSD Board candidate is to continue the fight against declining enrollment. She also hopes to thoroughly evaluate and improve current curriculums to ensure students remain in an environment of academic excellence. In addition, Renteria appreciates the impact previous Board trustees and community tax dollars have made in improving and maintaining each of the high school campuses’ facilities. As a candidate for the FUHSD Board, she promises to continue to use the money invested in the district well.
Growing up in Sunnyvale has given Renteria a personal investment in seeing students and the local community thrive. While she acknowledges that her transition from working with the Fire Service to running for FUHSD’s Board of Trustees has often been difficult, even overwhelming at times, she thrives on challenge.
“If I have the courage to run after a fire, and put the fire out, I have the courage to run for school board and put those fires out,” Renteria said. “I will do what it takes to be an effective board member.”
Learn more about Renteria’s campaign at renteriaforfremonthigh.com.
Sept. 28 2024, clarified that Carpio-Aguilar is a Spanish teacher at CMS and was formerly an administrator at a school in Mexico. This replaced a sentence that described Carpio-Aguilar as an administrator at CMS.
