Scroggins and Drescher face off for BOMUSD Trustee Area 2 long-term position

Joe Scroggins is running for BOMUSD Trustee Area 2 as the incumbent against Bill Drescher.

Scroggins has lived on the Divide since 1973, and he and his siblings attended BOMUSD schools. Scroggins, who is engaged to Tricia Gomez, has eight children who are currently or have attended BOMUSD.

Scroggins works for CW Fox, a public works company that improves various areas of the Divide. ”We are currently doing the road strengthening at Chili Bar on Hwy 193 and putting in a bridge at Gerle Creek upcountry,” he said.

Scroggins, who has been on the board for a year (and replaced Rodger Musso after he resigned last year) was appointed last September, about the time Dr. Robert Williams was named Superintendent.

“I love this place and I want to be a part of it, it’s future. I am a product of Black Oak (Mine Unified). I left the Divide after high school, and moved right back when my children were young so that they could be raised on the Divide and go to the schools up here. Being part of the board has been an honor,” Scroggins said.

Scroggins has coached girls basketball since 1999 and said he believes he’s learned a lot from that experience.

“I come from a very ‘real world’ background, and I have been a parent and a coach in the community for the last 14 years,” he said. “I believe that basic foundation brings a lot to the board.”

Scroggins’ main objective is to try to help the school district get out of the financial crisis caused by the state and help guide and direct and the advancing educational and academic world from a technology standpoint.

“I am very proud of the ROP offerings up here,” he said. “When I went to school at BOMUSD, I was in ROP auto and construction and these programs gave me the tools I needed to get into the field I am in now. I want to help protect that.

“Since I have been on the board, we have worked hard to work together, and we may not always agree but we have been coming to agreements without grudges to move forward. Plain and simple, I am a dad and a coach. I have been involved with the school district for more than 15 years, and I brought my children to be raised and taught by the educators here, and quite frankly, I love this place. I am a very blessed man.”

Drescher has lived on the Divide for eight years has been with his wife Suzanne for the last 22; together they share four children ranging in age from 1  to 8 years old.

“A motivating factor for me (in running for the board) is that I have four young children, but outside of that I feel the community’s biggest responsibility outside of basic infrastructure is to provide a good school system, with very specific goals,” said Drescher. “Ultimately the focus is on test scores, math and reading at certain levels of proficiencies, but the most fundamental goal is how we deliver our academic programs and focus in the classroom. It’s important we focus on more than just the core curriculum but the broader issue of getting back on the ‘list’ of academic excellence in the state.”

As a supply team manager, Drescher said his experience provides something the board needs. His employment responsibilities include managing a team of technology purchasers for a financial institution and negotiating contracts to buy data center hardware for enterprises.

“My background is in various forms of finance,” he said. “I am a financial analyst by trade. I believe the board needs a very forward-thinking, very strategic, long-term plan focusing from 18 months to three years. There is a lot of technology changing the way we live on a day-to-day basis, and we need to stay ahead of those changes in order to become a better district.

“If you look in the rearview mirror of the last 20 years, communication technology and how people interact has caused a tremendous turn of change in our world. Academics need to shift to be more accommodating toward that environment. Our young students will someday become working citizens operating in this world, and they need to be able to adapt to change, and work well in an environment where there are continual regulatory changes and modifications. How students are instructed to learn from a very young age is what they bring into adulthood.”

Drescher said the budget constraints are not allowing current board members to focus on the vision of academics as a whole. “That’s what enticed me, if most decisions are made with that in mind the rest falls into place,” he said.

“El Dorado County has had substantial revenue fall off from our tax base, and the state funding has been cut, which creates a huge obstacle for the school board to overcome,” he added. “Having a game plan beyond managing a budget that we don’t have today and focus our sights six, 12 and 18 months out, will provide a very clear direction on where we are taking our community’s schools and the impact it will have on the students.”