The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees will appoint a trustee to replace Jennifer Holm, who on Sept. 3 announced her early resignation from the board.
The vote fell 5-1 in favor of making an appointment, and rejecting holding a special election to make the replacement, which Superintendent Heather Contreras said would have cost as much as $80,000.
Trustee Adam Scow dissented, with Holm abstaining.
Four people spoke on the issue, three of them asking the board to approve an election.
“I know it costs some money, but it’s democratic, and democracy is worth the cost in my opinion,” said Bobby Marchessault, who teaches music and theater arts at Watsonville Charter School of the Arts
Holm said that she struggled with the question when they appointed Trustee Adam Scow to replace Maria Orozco when she was elected to the Watsonville City Council. But she pointed out that the decision would not necessarily be the final word on the matter.
“In the end, the trustee area still has the option,” she said. “If they do not approve of the appointment, they can petition to remove.”
Trustee Kim De Serpa agreed, and said that, with the position being a difficult one, it could be difficult to find a candidate willing to run for election.
“What I’m interested in is stability for this district, support for this administration and our superintendent, and keeping kids firmly at the center of all decision making,” she said. “So I’m fine with appointment, if we can find excellent candidates who can continue to follow the mission of this district.”
Board President Georgia Acosta said that the board—and other districts in the county—have a history of appointing members in lieu of election.
“This is not an uncommon practice,” she said.
Board Vice-President Oscar Soto said that spending the money—the $80,000 would be an unbudgeted expense that would come out of the general fund—would affect the district elsewhere.
“That’s just a clear demonstration of the ignorance in the community,” he said. “We really need to think about that in committing dollars to this, versus a common practice. We really can’t afford to spend that money right now.”
In explaining his no vote, Scow said he wanted to give the community a say in the decision.
“I’d like to think we’ll have at least one good candidate or two good candidates who would hopefully want to come for an appointment,” he said. “I’d rather they run against each other than we just choose one.”
Under state law, the district must choose a replacement within a 60-day window from Holm’s announcement.
