Longtime School Board Member Honored for Service

For nearly two decades, Janice Schaefer has spent at least two nights each month serving the community.

The longtime trustee of the Newark Unified School Board of Education was honored Tuesday, which was the last meeting she would attend as a board member.

Schaefer is leaving her seat on the school board after 18 years, and her colleagues said they were thankful for her years of service. Her seat has been filled by trustee Gary Stadler, whose term officially begins today. 

Board member Ray Rodriguez was among the 10 other individuals with Schaeffer who decided to run for the school board in 1994. That year, Schaefer was the lead vote-getter.

Rodriguez, who served as board president during Schaefer’s last year on the board, said he’s had a great time serving on the board with Schaefer.

“She’s just all about the kids,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve been very fortunate in Newark to have such a dedicated individual who is in it for the right reasons.”

Schaefer leaves as the longest serving member of the board, and Board Vice President Nancy Thomas and trustee Charlie Mensinger thanked Schaefer for guiding them in their early years as board members.

“Thank you for your years of service, and we will miss you,” Thomas said.

Mensinger added, “I felt so honored to serve with you. … For someone to do this for 18 years is just phenomenal. … Thank you is not enough.”

And Board President Jan Crocker echoed that Schaefer’s first priorities have always been with the students the district serves.

“Her heart is where it needs to be at all times – with the kids, with the truth and with integrity,” Crocker said.

Since 1994, Schaefer has served the board in various capacities. She has been board president for five terms, and vice president for three terms. Schaefer has served on various committees, including the community’s Strategic Plan Committee, the Bond Committee, the Audit Committee and the City Schools youth Task Force.

Schaefer has also been a member of the Alameda County School Boards Association, a state delegate for the California School Boards Association and a member of the Mission Valley Regional Occupational Careers Board.

Her commitment to serving on those boards was also honored by various regional leaders Tuesday, including, Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), Senator Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro) and Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont).

Although Schaefer is leaving her role as a board member, she will continue serving local youth.

Schaefer is a third grade teacher at Pioneer Elementary School in Union City, and she said her growing responsibilities as an educator is reason why she decided to retire as a Newark school board member.

“And it’s been hard to make the cuts, when the cuts are happening to me [as a teacher],” Schaefer said.

Before officially exciting her post as board member, Schaefer thanked the community for the opportunity to serve on the board of the school district her own two children are products of.

“All I can say is that I’m very thankful for this experience to be able to have served,” Schaefer said. “...I think it’s time, and I do appreciate everything I’ve personally taken from all of this.”

See a video clip of what else Schaefer had to say in the media gallery above.

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