Candidate for
Board Member; Cabrillo Unified School District

CHARLES M. GARDNER

My primary focus is on the educational needs of our students. The quality of life we deserve here on the Coastside, as well as the legacy we can leave for our children, is my calling to service.

Biographical Highlights

My family has been instrumental in instilling in me the value of a quality education. Within our family we have a legacy of community service and a history of working hard. In 1865, my great-great grandfather, returned from a POW Civil War camp, to face reconstruction in the Deep South. He was asked to start a school, and taught the basic fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic as his community rebuilt. His son began a school system which is remembered to this day in the National Register of Historic places.

My mother, a true Southern Lady, raised four boys as a single mom selling World Book Encyclopedia in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area. Each of her four boys went on to become engineers, one is a mechanical/nuclear engineer, two are electrical engineers, and I like to say, "I'm the only civil one of the bunch!"

My journey began after high school, working construction, and surveying in the swamps of Louisiana. I worked through college at the University of Arkansas, working summers and off hours at an engineering firm, and after graduation in their Civil Engineering program, went to work building wastewater treatment plants.

I have been a construction Project Manager since 1988 and have had the opportunity to be associated with some truly amazing projects. Some of the highlights include:

• Ft. A.P. Hill Virginia 1988- A fast-tracked infrastructure project for a national Boy Scout jamboree. Corps of Engineers meritorious award nominee.
• Hyperion Full Secondary 1992 - $100 million dollar project to upgrade Los Angeles treatment facilities
• Marina WWTP 1995 - A water treatment facility to transform wastewater to reclaimed water to allow farmers in the Salinas river valley to reduce saltwater intrusion from pumping groundwater.
• San Francisco International Airport 1997
• Level 3 Fiber Optic Project 1999 - Underground Internet broadband national project. I was responsible for California coast from San Jose to Los Angeles.
• Manteca Wastewater Quality Control Project (present) - A $30 million dollar upgrade in the San Joaquin Valley. Seeking an "Excellence in Partnering" award.

My home for the past eight years has been in Montara. I have twin 8 year olds in 3rd grade at Farallone View Elementary. We are active in soccer, cub and brownie scouts, little league baseball, fencing, etc. The coastside is where I want to raise my family. Just like my great-great grandfather, it's my time to give back to my community.

Thank you for your consideration, and your vote for the Cabrillo School Board.

Charles M. Gardner