The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Thursday appointed Carol Turley as board President, and Joy Flynn as vice-president.
The 6–1 vote for Turley—with Gabe Medina dissenting—came after trustees Medina, Turley, Joy Flynn and Misty Navarro stepped forward and asked for their colleagues’ support.
Flynn was appointed with Medina, Navarro and Daniel Dodge, Jr. dissenting.
The votes came at the top of a packed agenda that included the first-interim budget report and the potential layoff of about 78 school employees and 81 teacher positions that was certain to run into the early-morning hours.
Hundreds of people packed the Watsonville City Council Chambers for the meeting, many of them poised to address the board about the layoffs.
In her inaugural address, Turley told the crowd that she will work to maintain decorum during meetings.
“We are dealing with some heavy emotional topics,” she said. “Please understand that each one of us—trustees, district staff, district leadership, and all who are a part of PVUSD—are here because we care about students and want the best for them. There are no enemies in this room.
Turley also said that she wants to allow space for everyone to be heard, “but I also need to ensure that the board is able to accomplish the board’s business at the meetings.”
Turley added that she plans to hold open listening sessions within a week before board meetings to give the board more opportunities to hear from the public.
She also reminded the people in the room that students were present.
“We should set an example for how we expect our students to conduct themselves in a classroom,” she said.
This story will be updated.
