Dublin USD Special Election: Blackman Vs. Natarajan

DUBLIN, CA — One of two vacancies on the five-seat Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees will be filled in a special election Tuesday. Vying for the Trustee Area 4 position are Niranjana "Nini" Natarajan, who briefly served on the board before being ousted by a citizen petition in February, and Gabrielle Blackman. Area 4 is in a northeastern part of Dublin.

Only three of the five seats on the Dublin school board currently are filled and the troubled school district has been without a permanent superintendent since March, when Leslie Boozer, who had led the district since July 2016, suddenly resigned. Joe Giannini resigned from the Area 4 seat last October and at-large trustee Dan Cunningham resigned in March for personal reasons.

The school board voted 3-1 last December to appoint Natajaran to fill the rest of Giannini's term, which expires in December 2020, but she was removed from the post in February after a group of residents successfully petitioned to nullify her appointment and call a special election instead.

Cunningham's seat will remain vacant until a special election in November.

In her ballot statement, Natajaran describes herself as "a working mom with a passion for education" and promises to "provide the best educational experience for our children that prepares them academically and emotionally for the future." Natajaran said, "I will foster a culture of shared beliefs and values that promotes increased transparency and accountability at all levels of administration" and said she will champion "leadership and growth management to ensure student-centered curriculum and programs at all Dublin schools."

Blackman, who unsuccessfully ran for a spot on the school board in 2016, wrote in her ballot statement that, "As the mother of three school-age children, a leader in educational planning and design, I will bring solutions-driven leadership and extensive academic experience to our school
board." Blackman said, "For 10 years I have advocated for our children at both the school board and City Council meetings to help remedy the impact Dublin's growth is having on our schools."

Blackman said that if she's elected, she will "continue to serve our community, bringing the depth of my experience and breadth of my expertise to usher in a new era that embraces equality of education for students all across Dublin, with access to innovative curriculum and state-of-the art facilities, that will foster the kind of learning that is required in today's competitive world."

Voting for the Area 4 board seat will take place at polling places from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, and vote-by-mail balloting is already underway. CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF POLLING PLACES.

Former Newark Unified School District Superintendent Dave Marken is serving as Dublin's interim superintendent and the school board hopes to hire a new permanent superintendent by the end of August.

—Bay City News