August 15, 2012                     For Immediate Release

Contact: Barbara Foster                                              Photo upon request

Bechtel Campaign Committee

Phone: (650) 328-1971

Email: barbarabfoster@comcast.net

 Foothill-De Anza Trustee Betsy Bechtel Runs For Re-election   

 Betsy Bechtel, Trustee for Foothill-De Anza Community College, has announced she will run for another term.  Elected in 2003, she has provided thoughtful and dynamic leadership as president of the Board and Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee.

 Bechtel led a successful bond campaign for Foothill-De Anza to maintain and renovate Foothill-De Anza facilities while achieving an enviable bond rating. She helped hire the current chancellor and presidents of the colleges.

 Fiscal responsibility and educational excellence are Bechtel’s top priorities. “My goals are balancing the budget while finding more efficient ways to give our students outstanding educational services,” she said. “With the many educational challenges on the horizon, I am well prepared to continue providing leadership to Foothill-De Anza.”

 Bechtel’s fiscal experience is extensive: nine years on the Borel Private Bank Board of Directors serving on the Audit Committee; consultant, Palo Alto Housing Corporation; vice president, J.P. Morgan and branch manager, Citibank.

 Betsy Bechtel is a Palo Alto resident and served on the Palo Alto City Council for nine years, serving one term as mayor and two as vice mayor.  Her other community involvement includes previous service on the boards of directors of the League of Women Voters, the YMCA of the Mid-Peninsula, the Palo Alto Rotary Club, and the Committee for Green Foothills. She also was a teacher in the Peace Corps in Ecuador and in San Jose. She has a B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University.

 There are three seats up on the five-member board.  All three incumbents, Betsy Bechtel, Joan Barram, and Laura Casas Frier, are running for re-election. The state accreditation team in its most recent review stated, “The college and district are well-served by an exemplary board of trustees.”

 Foothill-De Anza is the third largest district for credit enrollment in California and serves approximately 65,000 students each year.  The district has educated more than one million students since opening in 1958. The district includes Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Stanford, Sunnyvale, and parts of Santa Clara, San Jose, and Saratoga.