BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Mountain View voters are faced with a choice this election between two school board members trying to enter a new chapter and two challengers with a fresh perspective.
“We have serious budget problems, questions about transparency and students who aren’t getting the support or academic challenge that they deserve,” candidate and parent Quintin Riis said at a debate on Sunday (Oct. 11) hosted by former board member Christopher Chiang.
Riis is running against incumbents Devon Conley and Bill Lambert and retired tech executive Sundar Subbarayan.
The district is at a crossroads after the departure of Superintendent Ayinde Rudolph in November 2024.
Rudolph was accused of wasteful and unnecessary spending, including a “master energy healer” who meditated with administrators for over $1,000 a session.
Since Rudolph left, Conley said the board has scrutinized contracts, published credit card statements, established a budget advisory committee and approved a new travel policy.
“We had blind spots,” Conley said at the debate on Sunday.
Lambert said he regrets not looking to the finances of Rudolph’s 144-unit teacher housing project that cost $88 million to build at 699 N. Shoreline Boulevard.
The district didn’t own the 1.8 acres of land underneath the building, and the ground lease was driving up rents so that teachers couldn’t afford to live there. So the board sold 53 apartments to the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District, bought the land for $53.5 million and transferred ownership to a nonprofit.
“Things did not make sense to me. I regret that I did not investigate that further,” Lambert said at the debate.
Lambert said he would consider changes to the district’s choice schools, where students are enrolled through a lottery and get specialized instruction.
Lambert said the choice schools have “concentrated disadvantage” at other campuses, like Castro Elementary.
Lambert’s apology for his part in past controversies has echoed through parent groups, Ris said.
“That really mattered to people,” Ris said at the debate.
Riis is more opposed to screens and Al in the classroom than other candidates. He said the technology strips students of their ability to think independently and critically.
Riis is in favor of more wood and metal shops and maker space classes in middle school.
Subbarayan, a former VP at Khan Academy and executive at Microsoft, said Al can help teachers be more productive and differentiate their instruction.
“Simple things like take a worksheet, make it different for students who like one kind of activity versus another,” he said.
Subbarayan said he would have more town halls, community forums, office hours and newsletters in multiple languages.
“With trust, we can actually make decisions that not everybody would agree with but at least people see the reason why we’re doing it,” Subbarayan said at the debate.
Two seats up for grabs
Voters will pick two candidates to join the five-member board for a four-year term.
Conley was elected in 2018 and ran unopposed in 2022. She taught Subbarayan’s daughter, now 22, in kindergarten at Stevenson Elementary School.
Lambert was elected in 2012 and 2016 and ran unopposed with Conley in 2022.
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