Marc Friedman Hits the Ground Running as School Board Trustee

When Marc Friedman is sworn in as a trustee of the San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD) on July 28 at the school board meeting, he’ll hit the ground running. Having served as a trustee of the for eight years (two terms) and as co-chair of the successful  bond campaign last fall for SMUHSD, he’s well acquainted with boardsmanship, the high schools and local school politics.

The SMUHSD Board of Trustees appointed Friedman to serve out the remainder of former trustee term at a special meeting on July 14. That seat became open after Pine’s election to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors in May. Friedman will serve until the term ends in November and has indicated he intends to run for election this fall for the next full four-year term.

The Board chose Friedman from a field of seven candidates who applied to fill the vacancy: Rhonda Collins, Friedman, Elizabeth Frykberg, Jose Gonzalez, Michael Loy, Robert Mason and Charles Zelnik. Collins however withdrew her application prior to the interview process on July 18.

“Dave Pine was very encouraging and helpful when I expressed an interest in applying for the seat on the board,” said Friedman. Friedman’s first plan of action this summer is to tour all six high schools with Pine at his side when school is back in session in August.

In his professional life, Friedman is a part-time professor at the Keller School of Management in Fremont and an independent management consultant. No doubt his background in finance and management will serve him well as a board member.

Friedman sees three priorities (not necessarily in any order) for the school district and for his focus as a board member. “We need to continually improve our educational offerings at all the schools,” he said.

Even though the district is high performing overall, he sees the need to close the achievement gap. Two schools, San Mateo High and Capuchino High are currently in Program Improvement status under the federal No Child Left Behind law. That means these schools have not achieved “Adequate Yearly Progress” for two years in a row. He believes improvement can come through small steps.

Strong fiscal management is another area of focus for Friedman.

“There are a lot of uncertainties with the district’s budget and the state budget,” he said. “The district has built up reserves and so far hasn’t had to make significant cuts, but this may change in the future, depending on what happens with property tax revenues and with the state budget.”

Having served on the district’s Budget Advisory Committee, Friedman is well acquainted with the ins and outs of the district’s budget.

His third priority is continuous oversight of the bond monies, and the school construction and enhancements currently in progress throughout the district. That includes the athletic field renovation currently underway and the new industrial arts building being built at Burlingame High.

“We’ll want to make sure the work is done as promised in an efficient manner so that we can provide adequate facilities for the next generation of students,” he said.

In addition to being involved at the district level, Friedman has been a parent volunteer at Burlingame High. While his older daughter is off to Northwestern University in the fall, his younger daughter will be a junior at Burlingame High. As his daughter is on the lacrosse team, he’s been active in the parent lacrosse association, not surprisingly serving as its treasurer. He has also helped the football coach, particularly with the football team’s website.

Friedman sees many positives in the high school district. “Students have many choices throughout the district, and it’s relatively easy to transfer within the district,” he said. “None of the schools are especially big and each of the schools has distinctive qualities.”

He’s particularly impressed with the biomedical program at San Mateo High, the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at Capuchino and the small learning communities at Hillsdale High. “We have a high-performing district and much to be proud of,” he said.