By Jacob Wilson/
Garden Grove Journal
Sergio Contreras is the new president of the Westminster School District Board of Trustees. His fellow board members unanimously voted him in for a one-year term at the Dec. 8 meeting.
“I want to thank the board,” Contreras said. “I look forward to working with you and for you and to continue to navigate our district through some colorful times.”
Outgoing president Jo-Ann Purcell will serve as clerk after a majority of the board approved Contreras’s nomination of her. Mary Mangold, the outgoing vice-president, voted no after nominating fellow board member Andrew Nguyen.
Dave Bridgewaters moved from the clerk’s chair to the vice-president’s chair. Mangold also nominated Nguyen for vice president.
Purcell will also continue to serve as the board’s political action representative to the Orange County School Board Association. Nguyen will join the Nominating Committee for the County Committee for School District Organization. Contreras will be his alternate.
Bridgewaters will serve on the WSD Budget Advisory Committee. Contreras is the alternate. Each appointment is for one year.
The Westminster Educational Leadership Association will host a breakfast on Jan. 20 to recognize students who have overcome adversity to succeed in academics.
Each school in the district nominates a student. WELA is made up of district leaders, including principals and district staff.
The Westminster School District Foundation continues to give “Bright Idea Grants” to teachers in the district. These small grants help teachers pay for special teaching tools and projects. The latest grant was awarded to Michelle Sale, a teacher at Stacey Middle School.
Sale’s “bright idea” is a Clean Slate Classroom Set that allows her students to share their answers with the class while seeing other answers at the same time. The students then get to discuss their answers and get immediate feedback.
The Board of Trustees routinely meets on the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. The next meeting is Jan. 14. Meetings are held at the district office, located at 14121 Cedarwood St. in Westminster.
