UC Davis employee Kim Poole and fellow new Dixon Unified School Board member Mike McCluskey are sworn in by Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef last month in Dixon. Poole, a receptionist with the Chancellor's and Provost's Office, is one of two UC Davis employees to on Nov. 4 win a seat on an area school board. The other, Keltie Jones, with the Student Disability Center, was elected to the Davis Unified School Board. Poole was sworn-in in December. She plans to emphasize collaboration between teachers, administrators and school-site personnel to help children excel. "It will be important to work together ... as we face impacts the state budget crisis will have on our district." Jones echoed Poole's concerns. "We will have tough choices to make due to the state budget reductions," she said. "But I'm committed to finding ways to reduce costs with minimal direct impact on students."