WATSONVILLE—The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Saturday unanimously appointed Adam Scow to fill the seat vacated when former member Maria Orozco was elected to the Watsonville City Council.
“Now the work begins,” Scow said after the vote. “I know it’s going to be a hard job, but I really think this group of trustees, this community, is hungry for change. I feel optimistic and confident that working together we’re going to make some changes.”
Scow added he wants to take a look at the budget with the goal of increasing wages for teachers and staff, which he says will help with teacher retention.
“It’s not just a matter of what employees deserve, it’s what’s going to work to bring people here,” he said. “That’s just a cold hard economic fact given the cost of living.”
Scow’s appointment came after an hour-long meeting during which the Board interviewed four candidates, grilling them on their governing philosophy and how they would be an effective board member.
About 30 members of the public spoke during the meeting, nearly all of whom spoke in favor of Scow. This support weighed heavily for the Trustees, who came to the decision after a brief discussion.
Scow is a music teacher for El Sistema, a nonprofit, after-school program that brings music to young people. He is a classically trained violinist who plays, among other things, in a mariachi band. He has worked as a strategist for Public Water Now, which works to win public ownership of the local water system. He has also worked as the California director of Food and Water Watch, where he oversaw campaigns to promote clean energy and protect California’s water. He also helped pass legislation regarding water rights and overtime pay for farmworkers.
Scow’s track record of environmental work also earned him support from the audience, including Ann Lopez, who as director of Center for Farmworker Families advocates for a reduction in the use of toxic agricultural chemicals around schools.
The Trustees voted in January to appoint a new member, reasoning that taking it to a special election would have cost $80,000 and left the seat empty until the next public election.
“We didn’t want to see Trustee Area 6 go unrepresented until November,” said Board Vice-President Georgia Acosta. “That’s just nor fair to the constituency base of that area.”
Trustee Area 6 covers the Freedom area from Watsonville Municipal Airport north to White Road.
Scow’s seat will be up for reelection in November 2024.
So voters don’t get to pick who represents them on the school board. Bad optics.
Yes, by proxy the elected representatives on the Board picked the interim member so that district 6 would have representation until the next election in November 2024. It also saved the community from an estimated $80,000 in election expenses. This is a positive on several levels. Also Mr. Scow seems eminently qualified. Good responsible optics and sound judgement.
The question is do voters in this district like having their voting rights taken away from them? I wouldn’t want someone else to decide who would represent our district on the school board. One person says the chosen one is great, others say not so fast.
Adam ran against Maria in 2020. i know. I met him when I was running for the Cabrillo board seat. he has legitimate claim to be on the board.
we do not need a special election this year. he will have to run for reelection in 2024,, and the voters can decide.
this is not bad optics. this saves the taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars this year.
And you write like an uneducated oaf so stuff if Ms Trujilloidiot.