It was a ‘changing of the guard’ on Monday evening as recently elected board members were sworn into office at the Dec. 12 Oakdale Joint Unified School District board meeting.
Winning seats in the November election were newcomers Clayton Schemper (Area 1), Bill Duvall (Area 2), and incumbent board member, Diane Gilbert (Area 4). All were sworn into office at the start of the meeting by OJUSD Board President Tina Shatswell.
Board member Shatswell was appointed President at the meeting and new board member Schemper appointed as Clerk.
OJUSD Superintendent Dr. Dave Kline and the OJUSD Board gave recognition to the Oakdale High Boys Cross Country Team, which recently won the State Championship.
“It was a season when the team came in with three goals,” Kline said to the board and audience. “Win the Valley Oak League, win the section and win the state. They were able to check all three off the list.”
Kline went on to share that three of the top 10 runners at the state level were OHS team members.
“Oakdale’s first California State Cross Country title,” Dr. Kline proudly stated. “Not only was the first state championship won by an Oakdale Cross Country Team, but it was a first state cross country championship by any high school in either Stanislaus or San Joaquin counties.”
Each of the runners were brought before the audience and acknowledged by the board with certificates. The team proudly brought their three awards with them, sharing in the presentation.
Coach Victor Moreno addressed the board and the audience with some words about the team.
“You might ask yourself where did this come from, how did this happen?” Coach Moreno shared of the team’s transformation and unprecedented accomplishments. “About five years ago we began asking a lot more of our athletes. Asking them to put in more miles, put in more time, do everything right. As a coach you can ask and ask all you want, but you’re never going to have success until you have buy-in from all your athletes.”
Moreno offered special recognition and kudos to senior teammates Dax Daley and Caleb Cavanaugh, noting those two as the first to “buy in to everything” coaches were asking of them.
“Without their dedication, the ones that follow behind them, the rest of the boys you see up here wouldn’t have followed in their footsteps,” Moreno said.
Head Coach Guy Fowler went on to share of all the teams ranked in the country, the OHS boys team ranked 29th overall.
“All of these individuals up here, they’re family,” Fowler continued. “They do everything together. They love each and every one of each other and I’m just so proud to be part of this team.”
In other business, the Interim Financial Report as of Oct. 31, 2022 was reviewed by Chief Business Officer Kassandra Booth.
Upcoming events were reviewed which included dismissal of school for Winter Break from Dec. 19 to Jan. 2. All Oakdale schools will resume classes on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023.
The next OJUSD board meeting will be hosted on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023 at the OJUSD Tech Center. Open session will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m.