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Little League president declares for HUSD school board
Martin Hoover, 24, teaches history at Encore High School
The first person to officially declare his candidacy in the 2010 Hesperia Unified School District election may well end up as one of its youngest.
Martin Hoover is only 24 years old, but he’s been dealing with students and parents for years. Hoover is the president of Hesperia National Little League, worked at Hesperia High School as a campus aide and is now a history teacher at Encore High School.
“If you really want to be in politics, you need to serve a two-year term on a youth sports organization,” Hoover said Thursday.
Incumbents Hardy Black, Robert Kirk and Lee Rogers are all up for reelection in November. None has yet declared their candidacy. And Hoover has not yet pulled candidacy papers yet himself, but instead declared his candidacy on a Facebook fan page: Martin Hoover for Hesperia Unified School District Board of Trustees.
The first inkling that he might want to run for office came last year, when the 2003 Hesperia High School graduate was reading the newspaper. Shortly after the HUSD school board had approved pink slip for 181 teachers, they were now discussing changing the name of Hesperia Junior High School to Hesperia Middle School.
“’You just laid off 180 teachers,’” Hoover recalled thinking, “And now, you make a proposal to change the name [of a school] adding that to the agenda ... with no thought to the expense.’”
With the HUSD in the middle of a multi-year financial crisis that will almost certainly mean more layoffs in the coming months and years, Hoover thinks the board needs to refocus its priorities.
“Here we have this big problem [and the board is] going to play political games,” he said. “There’s no time for that. ... We kind of need to have someone in there who’s going to be in the middle and maybe bring in some new thinking.”
The 10th grade teacher has no children of his own, but said he still has a stake in the work of the school board.
“I’m a community member and a community leader through the Little League,” Hoover said. “Eventually [HUSD students] will be community members. ... I think community members should have just as much of a say” as the other interest groups represented on the board.
In addition to facing the tough choices related to closing the $13 million budget gap facing the HUSD, joining the school board would also mean navigating the often-contentious meetings. Hoover is undeterred, he said.
“I know it’s going to be a knock-down, drag-out. ... It’s not going to be a stress-free job,” he said. “We need someone to say ‘hey, we need to get back on track.’ And I don’t see that right now.”
Beau Yarbrough can be reached at 760-956-7108 or at beau@hesperiastar.com. Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Hesperia.Star
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| Being a GREAT teacher is a full time job. There are only so many hours in a day, and being a school board member requires a major commitment in time and energy, something some of the current board members are lacking. You should be commended for wanting to help but as mentioned earlier, being a teacher that you are, I hope you realize that you would be taking away from your students OR not doing justice to the school board position. |
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| desertres - Jul 30, 2010 04:17:21 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Looking at the counties website, has he even filed his papers? |
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| Hopefully Not - May 17, 2010 09:17:45 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Last comment was for the story, Vogler vs. Riley |
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| bill - May 10, 2010 11:01:23 AM | Remove Comment |
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| seriously wrote, I don't see anyone else that is complaining getting out in the community and doing something about it. . .ONLY 1/4 OF 1 PERCENT OUT OF 100 PERCENT OF THE HIGH DESERT PEOPLE COULD GIVE A DARN OR EVEN KNOW OR CARE WHAT A CITY/TOWN COUNCIL MEETING IS. THAT'S WHY THEY GET AWAY WITH WHAT THEY DO. BUYING COUNTRY CLUBS ETC ETC. GET INVOLVED PEOPLE OR NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE. |
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| bill - May 10, 2010 10:59:19 AM | Remove Comment |
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| 10 yrs puts him a youth working with youth himslef. Does he have kids of his own? do they attend hesperia schools? Chris Bentley believes this is a criteria for board possitions. Having involvement with youth for any period of time does not replace real world experience. Running a school district is not a game of baseball, it is not a classroom of history students. FACT it that husd school board has the power to review and revoke the charter of Encore. If elected Mr hoover would be in a possition of influence, the conflict is clear. Again, I hope others choose to run so we are not forced to settle for the hoovers who think school board is a fun place to hang out. |
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| no more teachers - Mar 19, 2010 04:45:15 PM | Remove Comment |
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| no more teachers, you need to do some research. Hoover had not just worked as a teacher, but as a campus assistant as well. He has an understanding of both the classified and certificated job line. Plus, he has never been a memeber of the HTA. Also, how many years expereience does the current board have? Yeah, that experience is really paying off for them right now! Hoover has worked with the youth in our community for the last 10 years. If that isn't experience that counts in education then I don't know what is. Oh, and he is not employed by HUSD, so there is no issue about legality. |
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| Fact Checker - Mar 19, 2010 02:12:59 PM | Remove Comment |
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| school boards do not need more teacher influence, they get plenty of that from the unions. bring on the business owner. Hoover is too young to have the life experience needed in order to establish a solid moral compass and firm vision for the future. I question the legality of his abilty to be on the board while Encore is under the supervision of HUSD. I see more conflict of interest and potential corruption than experience that counts. i hope other more qualified people run so this guy doesn't slide in. |
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| no more teachers - Mar 18, 2010 10:49:51 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Beyond experience we need to talk about Hoover's education. He has a BA in History, Poli Sci, and Organizational Leadership and is finishing his Masters in Teaching.
How is Mr. Bently qualified? He is a parent. He didn't even have their kids, his wife did that. So his qualification is being a man who had sex with his wife. Wow.
Dr. Kirk and Hardy Black were bought and paid for by HTA. Next.
Riley is connected to Postmus, the meth head.
Lee Rogers is a hold over from a previous time. The same time period that paved the way for this mess we are in now.
You tell me how they are are qualified and how Hoover is not. |
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| Education Counts Too - Mar 18, 2010 09:51:12 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Victor Elem just brought on the owner of VV Mortuary to their board. Yes, he is a business owner, but has NO background in education. School boards need educators who acutally know what is going on in schools to see how to budget. I'm so sick of people not in the education field get elected. They know nothing from where they speak! |
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| missdesertcities - Mar 18, 2010 07:58:57 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Last I checked Hesperia National LL wasn't 12 million in the red like HUSD. Hoover actually helped get HNLL out of the red 5 years ago when he took over, and now they are one of the most prosperous leagues in the HD. What has the current HUSD board done in 4 years? Nothing. I think it is time for a change! He's also been a CLASSIFIED and CERTIFICATED employee, sounds like he is the best of both worlds. He has my vote. |
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| Board Member - Mar 18, 2010 05:54:42 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Can someone please explain to me how our CURRENT BOARD is qualified to do this? I've been trying to figure it out for the last four years! Hoover at least will bring an unbiased view to the meetings. |
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| Talking Qualified - Mar 18, 2010 05:39:15 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Missdesertcities, what does Hoover know about balancing multimillion dollar budgets? What does he know about Unions and all the labor laws that go along with them? For the record, great classified and management staff have been laid off. But since he is a teacher I'm sure his as well as your focus will be only the teachers. What practical experience does Hoover have? |
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| HUSD Voter - Mar 18, 2010 05:16:27 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Lets talk about the real issue. What experience even remotely qualifies him for school board? Running little league is nowhere near the same as being on the school board. Prior to teaching at Encore, he was a proctor at Hesperia High and before that a ride operator at Disneyland. Please someone explain to me how his experience qualifies him for the school board? Seriously, you guys want to talk facts. |
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| A Parent - Mar 18, 2010 05:10:51 PM | Remove Comment |
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| I'm seeing mudslinging as opposed to focusing on the real issues. A young man wants to try to help HUSD get out of debt and prevent layoffs of great teachers. Are you seriously ready to cast him off because of what you've "heard"? Get some brains people!
We wish you luck, Martin Hoover! |
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| missdesertcities - Mar 18, 2010 10:29:32 AM | Remove Comment |
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| A Parent, your grammatical and punctuation skills are horrible. Go read to your child instead of complaining about Hoover. |
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| To A Parent - Mar 15, 2010 10:07:35 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Hoovers lover,
Do you really have to lend credence to the fact that most people on the internet are morons? Also, did you have to give credibility that high desert folk are bass ackwards hillbillies? |
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| Uramoron - Mar 15, 2010 11:14:57 AM | Remove Comment |
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| To a parent, obviously you don't know what you are talking about. Her name is GWEN, not GWYN like you keep saying. I've known Martin for over 5 years and he has done an excellent job running HNLL. He has put in numerous hours, and is all about the KIDS! And just so you know, all little leagues follow National Little League rules, and HNLL is no different. |
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| LL dad - Mar 14, 2010 08:03:37 PM | Remove Comment |
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| A Parent needs to read up on LL. HNLL has to follow LL Rules and Regulations or get their Charter pulled. If Hoover broke the rules, they would have pulled the league charter. Check your facts again. |
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| Board Member - Mar 14, 2010 08:02:18 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Hoover has upheld the rules and stood his ground. This is why people don't like him, because he sticks to his guns and doesn't falter when people get mad and start to throw a tantrum. Go Hoover! |
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| LL Volunteer - Mar 14, 2010 07:59:04 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Do know him. Do know how he, I mean Gwyn, really runs the Little League. Lets talk research, did you guys know that each chapter of LL is its own organization and not subject to the national organizations rules. The only time the LL rules come into play is all stars. I HAVE done my research by speaking with everyone starting with Hoover, to Hobbs, to regional and back east. Hoover is nowhere near mature enough ethical enough and experienced enough to be on the school board. AND I DO KNOW HIM. |
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| A Parent - Mar 14, 2010 07:39:26 PM | Remove Comment |
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