JAMES DUANE CUSHING
DOD: September 11, 2019
Brentwood Union School District Trustee James “Jim” Cushing, known for his creative ideas and passion for education, died Wednesday, September 11, 2019. He was 71.
Cushing worked in commercial leasing and with technology companies. He was elected to the school board by a substantial margin in 2012 and re-elected in 2016 to a four-year term.
Cushing received a master’s degree from Stanford University in early childhood development and a lifetime California K-8 teaching credential. He developed an infant/toddler program at Bing Nursery on the Stanford campus and previously taught at Nueva Day School for the Gifted in Hillsborough and taught kindergarten in San Ramon.
“One of his passions was children and that is why he was on the school board,” Brentwood school board president Emil Geddes said. “He was always an advocate for creative programs. He believed in children being exposed to entrepreneurship early on.”
Geddes said he remembers Cushing as someone who was “very intelligent and very creative” and proud of his four children.
“He was a proponent of the GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) program — he was always involved with the community,” he said, noting Cushing was in the city’s Inter-Agency organization, which brought together leaders in various education and government groups for regular discussions on improving the community.
Before being elected to the school board, Cushing served four years on the Brentwood Planning Commission. In 2010, he also ran for Brentwood City Council.
During his campaign, Cushing said the district should explore alternative funding sources such as venture capital to support the district.
Seven years ago, Cushing founded Leasingcomps.com, which helps customers review lease options and negotiate positions to reduce their rent.
District Superintendent Dana Eaton said Cushing was “always really passionate about improving outcomes for children.”
“He was a devout reader of research, so he would be constantly sharing the newest research with myself and the board members,” Eaton said.
The superintendent sent an email to staff members this week to notify them of his passing.
“It is with great sadness that I share with you the passing of Brentwood Union School District school board member James ‘Jim’ Cushin,” Eaton wrote. “… He was passionate about connecting students to programs that enhance their academic growth. He cared deeply about the educational outcomes in our community.”
No formal obituary was provided. Services not announced. Below in "Letters to the Editor" of Stanford Magazine, Jim wrote:
STANFORD MAGAZINE
Letters to the Editor
GOLDEN DAYS
I was born and raised in Palo Alto and graduated from Paly in 1966. We would ride our bikes to Frost every weekend to play hide and seek ("A Place in the Sun," May/June).
A former girlfriend, Connie Bonner, and Sue Swanson founded the Grateful Dead Fan Club. We first watched them at Magoo's Pizza parlor on Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park. We would later stay with the Dead on Ashbury for the summer events and then in Marin following Ken Kesey's Acid Tests. I remember being in Golden Gate Park when the mime troupe was arrested and Bill Graham announced a fund-raiser to be held at the Fillmore Auditorium. I spent the next two years between Palo Alto and San Francisco, watching . . . every band that played through that time. When Winterland opened and Fillmore West began drawing ever-larger crowds, the original scene as we knew it had died. We went from 350 close friends watching to crowds of thousands. The world had changed and we appeared to be part of ground zero.
The Farm for bowling, folk dancing, Stanford booster club and, one cannot forget, the rifle range on campus. Eucalyptus during summer and paper airplanes off Hoover Tower. And through it all I managed to earn an MA from the School of Education.
I recall an interview with Ella Fitzgerald in which she was asked how it felt to have been part of the golden era of jazz. She replied that had she known it was the golden era, she might have paid more attention.
They say that while life happens in the moment, it is the memories that shape our tomorrows, and I am grateful, but not yet dead. Keep up the wonderful writing.
Jim Cushing, MA '76
Brentwood, California