Andrea Bennett and Jason De Muro – the top vote getters in last month’s election – were sworn in Thursday night as the newest members of the Denair Unified School District Board of Trustees.

Bennett earned the most votes in the Nov. 5 election in a five-way race for three seats. She received 2,089 votes, or 29.9%. De Muro was second with 1,423 votes, or 20.4%, and incumbent Ray Prock, Jr. was third with 1,404 votes, or 20.1%.

Incumbents Kathi Dunham-Filson and Carmen Wilson finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Dunham-Filson received 1,197 votes, or 17.2%, while Wilson earned 868 votes, or 12.4%.

Bennett works as a dental hygienist and is the mother of three sons. The two oldest are in the Dual Language Immersion program at Denair Elementary Charter Academy and the youngest will start school next year.

She began attending board meetings during the pandemic and often expressed concerns regarding school closures and the impact of distance learning on students. 

“At first, it was very frustrating as our voices seemed to fall on deaf ears,” Bennett said. “Over time, I realized there is much more to these decisions than one vote at one meeting. I continued attending the meetings to hear the decisions being made and learn more about how a school district works.”

She said her goals are “to learn and listen with an open heart and mind; to foster communication across all members of the district; to aid in continuing to develop a district culture where employees feel valued, respected and heard; and to encourage parent and community involvement in board discussions and meetings.”

De Muro is a software engineer whose wife is a teacher at DECA. Their three sons all attend DECA. He has been a regular attendee at board meetings and said he was inspired to run after the district decided to change minimum days from Fridays to Wednesdays this year – a move opposed by some teachers and families.

“I tend to be an outspoken person and my wife asked me if I would go to the meeting and say something,” he said. “It became very clear very quickly that the time to ask questions was several months prior to that meeting and that didn’t sit well with me. It was the first time I had heard about the change and I couldn’t help but wonder what if a family couldn’t make that pivot to accommodate for childcare or work.”

De Muro said one of his priorities is supporting ways to improve students’ academic performance while being a voice for the community. 

“My hope is that I can ask questions that help the district increase its proactive strategies,” he said. “As a parent to kids in the district, and the spouse of a teacher in the district, I hope I can provide greater insights to the board that they might not get otherwise, and instead of being in the gallery knowing any question I have may come too late to make a difference, I can be in the room and ask it when it might make a difference.”

Prock was re-elected to his third term on the board. He works as a business development and relationship manager for a bioenergy company that converts organic waste into renewable energy. 

The other trustees are Crystal Sousa and Billy Myers. They will be up for re-election in 2026.

In other action Thursday, trustees elected Prock to be the board president for 2025 and Myers to serve as clerk. Superintendent Terry Metzger remains the board secretary.

Denair students across all grade levels made gains on one of the most-watched measures of academic performance, Superintendent Terry Metzger told Denair Unified School District trustees Thursday night.

Metzger reported on the district’s progress on what is known as the CA School Dashboard, which was created about a decade ago. It tracks not only academic indicators, but also things like chronic absenteeism and suspension rates, which impact classroom performance.

“There are different calculations for each indicator on the dashboard, which can make it challenging to interpret the barometer shown for each area,” Metzger explained. “However, once someone understands how it works, there is a lot of great information to help understand how well our schools are performing.”

Saying “we have a lot to celebrate,” then Metzger walked trustees through many of the main indicators.

“The most exciting news for us is that all schools in the district made progress. DECA made progress in every indicator,” she said. “Key trends include improvements in chronic absenteeism, graduation rates, and English learner performance. While our English and math scores are still low, we are performing within the range of our neighboring districts (in some cases outperforming).”

Metzger said the dashboard statistics afford a “higher-level view” of student performance, as opposed to iReady test scores and end-of-unit assessments that provide more real-time feedback to teachers. Still, the dashboard influences classroom strategies.

“Last year, we really focused on English learner strategies as a district and that paid off in terms of improvement on the dashboard,” Metzger said. “This year we added a math focus based on last year’s data and expect that we will see growth in next year’s dashboard.”

The superintendent told trustees that she is proud of the progress the district has made.

“We have a sense of urgency as a district to ensure that our students are prepared for the next grade level and ultimately for whatever comes after graduation,” Metzger said. “It’s hard work and our staff have put their hearts and souls into learning how to meet students’ needs. Our 2024 dashboard results are a direct impact of that work.”

In other action Thursday, trustees:

• Approved an early retirement incentive of $2,000 for any employee who submits a notice of their intent to retire to the district office by 4 p.m. on Jan. 31. The retirement cannot happen before May 24, 2025.
• Unanimously supported a plan for the district to apply for an Environmental Protection Agency grant that could cover the entire cost of a new electric bus, which cost between $400,000 and $500,000.
• Listened as Metzger and Daisy Swearingen, the district’s chief business official, reported that $11.9 million worth of Denair’s school bonds from the recently approved Measure Z were sold this week. For now, the money will be put in the bank; the district expects to make $32,000 a month in interest. In coming years, another $22.3 million in bonds will be sold. The bond funds will pay for facilities updates across the district, including a relocated and rebuilt kitchen at DECA and the replacement of portable classrooms with permanent buildings at the high school.
• Heard a report about two of the career technical education (CTE) pathways at Denair High, which provide insight into and practical knowledge about potential areas of employment after graduation. Principal Breanne Aguiar, teacher Melissa Treadwell and paraeducator and ag advisor Christian Obando teamed up on the presentation, which included photos and videos of students. Treadwell talked about the emergency medical response that was added this year. She teaches two courses. One of the goals is for all students to learn CPR, first aid skills and BLS certificates. Obando talked about the three ag pathways — agriscience, ag floral and ag mechanics – all of which include three classes students must pass in order to complete the pathway. There are 185 students enrolled in one or more ag classes, Obando said, plus another 40 in ag biology. Students who receive a B grade or better in pathway classes also can receive college credits at Modesto Junior College.

Once again this holiday season, current and retired Denair Unified employees as well as students are partnering with businesses and the Lions Club to make things a little brighter and happier for children and families in the community.

There are three programs to assist Denair residents. 

The first is the hygiene basket program, which was launched in 2020 by members of the Denair Middle School staff as the COVID pandemic was affecting so many people. The idea was to put together baskets of products such as shampoo, toothbrushes and tooth paste, towels, soap, hand sanitizer, toilet paper and other every day necessities to complement food baskets already created the Lions Club. 

Denair staff members funded the project the first year, but it has since grown to 100 baskets thanks to donations from nearly two dozen local businesses and organizations.

Families sign up to receive one of the baskets, which are distributed on the last day of class before winter break. This year, that will be Dec. 20 between noon and 2 p.m. at Denair Middle School’s parking lot. There still is time for families to register. Anyone interested should call DMS at (209) 632-2510, ext. 3211 or 3115.

“This program has not only benefited Denair families, but it has also provided an opportunity for high 

school students to earn community service hours by helping with assembly and/or delivery of the baskets,” said Maria Olivas, a retired Denair teacher who helped create the hygiene basket program along with mental health clinician Lina Mateus and representatives from Sierra Vista Child & Family Services and the Center for Human Services.

The second program is the Lions Club food baskets, which began almost 30 years ago. The service club partners with local businesses to provide boxes of meals that include turkey or ham with all the side dishes, plus dessert. Students and school district employees helped raise money and organized food drives this year. Staff at the Denair campuses also identified families who would benefit from the program.

This year, 60 food baskets were distributed at Thanksgiving – 20 each to deserving Denair families, senior citizens and local military veterans – and another 60 will be delivered on Dec. 21.

“With the amount of support offered by DUSD this year, I feel there is an opportunity to expand the program next year so we can serve even more families,” said Billy Myers, who is the Lions Club secretary as well as a school board trustee.

Myers said families in need or anyone who knows one can reach out to him at (209) 620-2485 to get on the Lions distribution list.

The final program is Letters to Santa, which is coordinated by Elvia Brizuela, a bilingual secretary at Denair Middle School. About 50 Denair students from kindergarten through high school are privately identified by their teachers, counselors or other staff members as being a good match. Parents are contacted and asked if they would like to participate.

Volunteers at school then fill a bag for each child with clothing (pajamas, socks, a school logo sweater and toys). Distribution of the bags began Dec. 9. Some parents pick the items privately so they can take them home to wrap; others bring their children with them. Either way, the gratitude of the families is more than matched by the feeling of goodwill among the volunteers.

“I feel so blessed to be able to be the hands and feet of Jesus and see the children as well as the parents’ faces light up and even tears of joy,” Brizuela said.

Last month, voters in the Denair Unified School District overwhelmingly approved a plan to sell $34.3 million in bonds to pay for major facility upgrades. Monday, the district’s Board of Trustees took action to make some of those bonds immediately available to investors.

In the final count of the Nov. 5 vote prepared by the Stanislaus County Elections Office, Measure Z received 2,712, or 64.2%, “yes” votes and 1,511, or 35.8%, “no” votes. It took 55% for the measure to pass.

At a special board meeting Monday, Denair trustees unanimously agreed to accelerate the sale of the first series of bonds, valued at $12 million. There are two strategic reasons behind the decision, according to Denair Superintendent Terry Metzger.

The first has to do with how many bonds – collectively worth about $40 billion – were approved by California voters last month.

“There will be a lot of competition in February and March when most of these bonds go to market,” Metzger explained. “There is currently a very small supply of bonds available for investors and getting to the market now will likely provide favorable results for the district.”

The district’s bond advisors expect that Denair will be one of the few districts statewide trying to sell bonds between now and the upcoming holiday break, making it more likely that Denair can raise the money it needs at a lower interest rate, which ultimately means less cost to taxpayers. 

The second key reason to sell some of the bonds now is that it makes the money available immediately to pay for urgent projects. Metzger cited the leaky gym roof at Denair High School and the relocation of the Denair Elementary Charter Academy kitchen to the gym as two examples.

The remainder of the Measure Z money – valued at about $22.3 million – will be raised in bond sales over the next couple of years, Metzger said. Those funds will pay for a range of much-needed improvements across the district, many of them at DECA, the district’s oldest campus. The DECA projects include:

• Construction of two new classroom wings
• Creation of a drop off/pick up and bus zone (like at DMS) on Madera Avenue for efficiency and safety
• Conversion of the old cafeteria into an administration building
• Security enhancements, including making DECA a single-point entry campus

Measure Z money also would be used to make Denair Charter Academy a single-point entry facility, Metzger said. At Denair High School, the 400 wing of portables would be replaced a permanent classroom building and other security upgrades will be completed. Denair Middle School, the district’s newest campus, also will receive some classroom upgrades and repairs.

As part of its passage, Measure Z includes a bond oversight committee. Metzger encouraged residents interested in serving on the committee to contact the district office.