WATSONVILLE—Dec. 16 marked the final meeting for Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Karen Osmundson, who served on the board since 2004.
During a meeting on Dec. 9, Osmundson received resolutions from California Assemblymember Robert Rivas, as well as the Watsonville City Council and the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.
She was also lauded by her fellow board members.
“You’re one of the main reasons I stand as I do as a board member,” then-board President Daniel Dodge Jr. said. “Because it takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of dedication, and you proved that. I’m here because of you.”
PVUSD Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez described Osmundson as “ever-present,” praising her for participating in many aspects of district goings-on.
“I can count on Karen to come to anything we ask her to,” Rodriguez said. “She is always there, wanting to contribute and wanting to really be the voice of the community and staff.”
Trustee Jennifer Schacher agreed.
“I hope that I will continue to see you out in the community, fighting for everyone, especially the underdogs. Because I know that is what you do, and you do it well,” she said.
Trustee Jennifer Holm, a nurse at Watsonville Community Hospital, said she met Osmundson when she came to support a nurses’ strike.
“You have always been a fierce advocate for our community, and I always appreciate your dedication to service and integrity,” Holm said.
Trustee Kim De Serpa said that Osmundson’s time on the board was shaped by her stint serving in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua.
“You really represented the culture of the people that you lived with and saw, and you really understood on a deep level where people were coming from when they came to the United States,” De Serpa said.
Osmundson says she is proudest of crafting a budget during the 2008 recession—during which the district had to trim $14 million from its budget—which she said kept cuts as far from the classroom as possible.
She also said she supported a plan to allow parents to opt-out of on-campus military recruitment, and fought for fewer expulsions and to return art and music programs to the district after being cut.
“I feel good and proud that I was so active and helped improve the quality of education for our students,” she said.
