■ Newly appointed Peter Morgan’s first BUSD board meeting is this Thursday

By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

Last week the Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees voted to fill an empty seat in their midst, appointing new member Peter Morgan from among six applicants vying to replace Dana Dean.

But there’s no time for a honeymoon for Morgan, as this Thursday will be his first board meeting.

That’s just fine by him. “I’m really excited to dig in and get to work,” he told The Herald in an interview late last week.

Originally from New Jersey, Morgan and his family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when he was 7. Morgan returned to the East Coast to attend Hamilton College (N.Y.), where he received a bachelor of arts degree in public policy and Russian studies, and the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he received a juris doctorate with honors.

But California beckoned. “It was being close to family that brought me back to California,” he said.

And Benicia beckoned after that. In 2005 Morgan, his wife Iona and their three children, Tori, P.J. and Jake moved from Glen Cove to Benicia because of the schools.

They came here because of the schools, he said.

“We had a nice place, it had a nice view of the Carquinez Strait. It really was the schools (that led to the move) because the neighborhood was terrific,” Morgan said. “Knowing people from community events who are living in Benicia who talk about the programs and the schools, there was a big draw.”

Tori, the couple’s oldest, graduated from Benicia High School in 2011. She is currently attending Southern Oregon University, in Ashland. “She just declared an English major,” Morgan said.

“I was very grateful for the mentoring she got at Benicia High School, particularly Ms. (Christine) Mani in the drama program,” he said. “It really helped Tori find her way.”

Jacob and P.J. are in kindergarten and fourth grade, respectively; both attend Matthew Turner Elementary School.

Morgan works as the head of a practice group in the legal department at Charles Schwab Corp. “We provide legal advice to Charles Schwab bank, which is a savings and loan. It is one of the larger banks in the country,” he said.

“I also have a legal group that provides legal support to the broker operations functions of the broker dealer.”

This experience, he said, may even come to benefit the BUSD Board of Trustees: “We provide a lot of legal support in areas of corporate governance and risk management. We do a lot of work in technology and financial reporting. We do work in procurement and work with vendors. All of those things I think that the board and the district have to oversee. Probably not in the regulated environment of financial services, but certainly in the regulated environment of education,” he said.

Fortunately, too, Morgan’s job requires him to work “New York hours,” which means he has the flexibility to serve as a trustee.

He’s found himself becoming more active in Benicia schools in other ways recently: He joined the Benicia Education Foundation in late 2012. “They did a solicitation asking for help for board members, and I raised my hand,” he said. “That’s a terrific group.”

His first big event as part of BEF’s board of directors was this month’s Run For Education. “That was a lot of fun. It was fun to see the benefits it provides for the school, but also how much fun the community had in participating in it,” he said.

Morgan looks forward to getting to work as a BUSD trustee. “I like solving problems, it’s what I get satisfaction out of at work, what I think I’m good at,” he said.

“The district and our country are faced with with a number of very complex problems of which there are no easy answers, and I’m looking forward to being involved, and being part of some solutions.”

The work begins Thursday with a closed session at 6 p.m. The board’s regular session begins at 7 p.m. at 350 East K St.