On Wednesday evening, January 13, I was honored to be sworn into office on the Long Beach Unified School Board by Superintendent Chris Steinhauser. I’m grateful to the voters and to the many community members who welcomed me to this city, advised me during the campaign and honored me with election to the School Board.

My wife Dianne and my son Paul, friends, teachers, librarians, staff and administrators attended the ceremony. I thank them as well as my daughter Michelle, her husband Richard and many more family and friends for their support and generosity during the campaign.

Finally, I thank Superintendent Steinhauser and Board members Mary Stanton, President, Felton Williams, Vice President, David Barton and Jon Meyer who’ve been so welcoming and supportive. I look forward to serving the students, parents, teachers, administrators and staff of the Long Beach Unified School District. Together we can preserve and promote the quality of education for the children of our District even during these difficult economic times. I’m proud to be a part of this endeavor!

For more on the swearing-in ceremony visit: http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_14184999

To learn more about the Long Beach Board of Education, visit: http://www.lbschools.net/Main_Offices/Board_of_Education/

Dianne and I want to thank the voters of Long Beach who entrusted me with the responsibility to serve on the Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education. I will work hard to earn the trust you put in me.

I also want to thank those who contributed to our campaign, walked neighborhoods with me and made phone calls on my behalf. In those efforts we learned that the residents of our community care deeply about the education of school children. They were gracious and eager to discuss education issues with us. I’m honored to serve them.

I look forward to working with my new colleagues on the Board, with the administration, faculty and staff, with students and parents, and with the many business and community organizations that make Long Beach such a dynamic city.

Again, thank you!

John

The Long Beach Press-Telegram profiled me in its article McGinnis Touts Experience on December 17. The article highlighted my 40 years in public education, twenty as a teacher and twenty as a college administrator. It also covered my intention to use that experience to help preserve programs such as visual and performing arts, school libraries, career counseling and athletics during these economic hard times. Read the entire article here.

The Association of Long Beach Educational Managers (ALBEM) endorsed my candidacy for School Board. ALBEM represents Long Beach Principals, Vice Principals, Supervisors and Counselors. I am honored to receive this group’s endorsement.

These education leaders join Delaine Eastin, former State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jon Meyer, Member of the LBUSD Board and Felton Williams, Vice President of the LBUSD Board in endorsing my candidacy. I thank them for their trust and support.

A few weeks ago my wife and I attended Renaissance High School’s production of The Wiz at the International City Theatre. The students were wonderful! Their singing, dancing, and acting talents and their enthusiasm brought back memories of my years as a high school teacher. Back then, my wife and I would take our own small children to high school productions. They later went on to become members of their high school bands. To this day our children’s participation in those school activities continues to shape their lives.

If you look past Renaissance High’s remarkable production values and the students’ amazing talents and enthusiasm, what you’ll see are young adults of all ability levels and backgrounds learning to work together to achieve common goals. What you’ll also see is the participation of those students’ families – parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles – in the productions and in the audiences.

This is why I will fight to preserve visual and performing arts programs, school libraries and athletic teams at all levels. They are not extracurricular activities. They are integral to student success. They help close achievement gaps, reduce drop-out rates and propel students to become lifelong learners better prepared to succeed in higher education and to become productive members of our community.

Dr. Felton Williams, Vice President of the Long Beach Unified School Board, endorsed me yesterday for the District 3 seat on the Board of Education. I am honored to receive Dr. Williams endorsement. Dr. Williams is the former Dean of Long Beach City College’s School of Business and Social Science. He had been an educator for 30 years.

Check out the article in the District online, “The Amazing Race?.” Theo Douglas’s story is accompanied by Luke McGarry’s political cartoon of the five candidates.

In the article, Douglas mentions two of my endorsers, Jon Meyer, member of the Long Beach USD Board of Education and former LBUSD teacher, coach and principal, and Delaine Eastin, who Douglas refers to as,  ”…the race’s most prestigious endorser, having served as California Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1995 to 2003. (Eastin endorses McGinnis, having worked with him during his time at the helm of the California Academic and Research Library Association and the California School Library Association.)”

One of the questions the article raises is whether any of the five candidates intends to use this seat on the Board as a jumping off point to other political offices. Douglas writes, “McGinnis is blunt: ‘I’m 64 years old. I have no intent of going on to higher office,’ he says. ‘I’m running because I have a long history of service to higher education.’”

My commitment is to serving the educational needs of our students as a member of the Long Beach Unified Board of Education.

This morning the Long Beach Press Telegram published my letter in support of Measure T. You can read the letter here.

Measure T is a parcel tax of $92 a year, 25 cents a day, that will help Long Beach Unified defray some of the enormous cuts imposed by the state legislature on public education. Without the passage of Measure T, Long Beach Unified will have to layoff teachers, clerks, maintenance workers and other staff. These layoffs will result in larger class sizes and the elimination of programs that have successfully and measurably improved test scores and reduced achievement gaps.

I fully support passage of Measure T. I encourage everyone in the District to vote Yes on Measure T.

Barbara Jeffus, CDE School Library Consultant, Gary Strong, former State Librarian, Kevin Starr, former State Librarian, John McGinnis

Today two former California State Librarians endorsed John McGinnis in his bid for a seat on the Long Beach USD Board of Education. Gary Strong served as State Librarian from 1980 to 1994. Kevin Starr served as State Librarian from 1994 to 2004. Both worked with John McGinnis on statewide projects affecting education and libraries. See the complete news release.

Today I received the endorsement of Jon Meyer, member of the Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education. I am honored to have the endorsement of Mr. Meyer, a man who has given so much to Long Beach Unified School District as a teacher, a principal and now a school board member. I am grateful for the faith he has put in me. See full news release.