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6 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MARCH 2015 foUr SEaSonS SPotLiGHt Resident Active Leader of Local Education Four Seasons resident Steve Hovey is in the curious position of being his own overseer. As a newly elected member of the Beaumont Unified School District Board he approves teacher hires. In his day job as chief personnel officer of the Riverside County Office of Education, he reviews the credentials of new hires. That makes it possible that Hovey, the personnel officer, could someday scold Hovey, the board member, that his district hired an unqualified teacher. He has been an educator for 45 years, all in Riverside County, where he also trained. He earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees and teaching and administrative credentials from UC Riverside. His early experience was in special education with the county education office. He spent eight years at schools in Desert Hot Springs and Palm Springs teaching kids with handicaps in programs operated by the county but at the campuses of either a local district or private school. He said the county assists when smaller schools do not have the resources for all needed services. "What they don't provide, we do," he said. Presently the education office has some 1,600 employees at about 200 school sites throughout Riverside County's 23 school districts. The office provides a variety of administrative and budgetary services for the local districts and also operates regional centers for continuing education and occupational programs, schools for the severely handicapped, preschool and Head Start programs and migrant education. After his stints teaching in the desert, he became a program specialist, advising other special ed teachers and then coordinator for special education, "my first management job." He moved through a series of positions with the county office, becoming director of personnel. He left there in 2006 to become assistant superintendent of personnel for Beaumont — the district which he now directs as a board member. Hovey has been involved in the governance of schools since he was student. In junior high and high school he was on the student council and he was president of his senior class at Reseda High School. He moved to Four Seasons from Riverside to shorten the commute to the Beaumont job, but in 2011 he returned to the county in his present position as chief personnel officer. "Now I'm commuting in the other direction," he said. "The traffic was a lot better coming this way." Despite the heavy traffic, he is happy with Four Seasons. "I saw a billboard, came out and looked — I liked the community, the idea of lots of activities, even though I'm still working. It's a beautiful community." He said he resumed playing tennis after a 25-year layoff. "It's one of the great things about Four Seasons — being able to pick up activities you stopped while developing a career and raising a family. "I'm the scribe of the Racquet Club here. I write the monthly article for the Breeze." He said he decided to run for the school board when an incumbent member withdrew and some residents of District 4, which includes Four Seasons, sought him out because of his extensive experience in education. "Last year was the first election from districts. Before the board had been elected at large," he said. "I had really enjoyed working for the district. It's a good school district. I'm in no hurry to fix anything. I just want to assure our education continues to be rigorous enough to prepare students for college, a career or the military — if that's what they want to do. "And that's not uniquely my goal. This is a collaborative effort. Beaumont is in the top five in the county in academic scores and graduation rate. It has good leadership and good teachers. My goal is to make sure it stays focused on the kids." He's new enough as a board member that he's only attended two meetings, but he noted that each meeting "showcases some student achievement — high academic achievement, sports, the arts." Hovey said, "I'm old enough to retire, but I have no plans. I'm healthy; I'm doing work that's meaningful, so I think I'll keep it up for a while. "When I retire, I'll work on my backhand." Steve Hovey By Leighton McLaughlin

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