REGION — Several North County school boards are entering a new era of leadership following the recent election of new trustees, with members in some districts hopeful for unity and others seeking a change in the status quo.
The November election brought significant changes to several school boards, including the unseating or retirement of several incumbents. Some districts, such as Vista Unified School District, saw the election of two new trustees.
Vista Unified incumbent Trustee Cipriano Vargas was re-elected to a third term as the Area 4 representative alongside two new board members — retired teacher Sue Martin and parent Mike Markov — who replaced former trustees Rosemary Smithfield and Julie Kelly, both of whom retired.
Leading up to the election, several candidates said they were running to bring change to the board, expressing concerns about the district’s use of money, handling of the school consolidation process, and what they saw as a lack of genuine community engagement.
“We need new leadership on this board. It’s one of the things that I ran on,” Martin said at her first board meeting on Dec. 17.
Tensions among the new board were apparent as they appointed a board president and vice president at their Dec. 17 meeting. Vargas’s bid for board president was overruled by Martin, Markov and trustee Rena Marrocco, with Marrocco ultimately appointed president in a 3-2 vote.
Trustee Martha Alvarado, who served as board president for the past year, expressed concern about Marrocco’s ability to follow basic governance and decorum standards. She claimed that Marrocco refused to sign the board’s governance handbook, has stormed out of meetings, and sometimes speaks to others in a disrespectful manner.
“I’m concerned because you couldn’t even commit to basic governance over the past two years, and that makes me sad,” Alvarado said.
Morocco said she votes for the good of her constituents and the children in the district and didn’t sign the governance handbook because she had grave concerns about it allegedly being used to tell her how to vote.
As president, she said she would like to see agendas be reorganized to move action items to the beginning for the benefit of attendees and have presentations take place toward the end.
“I believe all voices should be heard,” Marrocco said.
Marrocco has also been critical over the past year of district administrators like superintendent Matt Doyle and COO Shawn Loescher and often pushed back against board policies supported by the board majority.
Earlier this year, she was also one of two trustees to vote against placing a school bond measure on the November ballot, causing the district to miss out on a potential boost in funds.
Discussions about the school board’s future are also taking place in the San Dieguito Union High School District, where board member relations have been fraught for several years.
In November, Area 4 trustee Michael Allman won re-election to a second term in a highly competitive race against campaign consultant Kevin Sabellico, and former Encinitas Union trustee Jodie Williams defeated financial services executive Kelly Friis in the Area 2 race.
On Dec. 16, the board agreed to appoint the newly-elected Williams as board president. Williams initially turned down a nomination for the president role by Allman but then reversed course, stating that as a new board member with a new perspective, she believes she could bring people together.
“I am not going to dance around the tension that I feel up here,” Williams said. “I would love nothing more than to serve as president and try to unify us together going forward, and try to reduce the tension up here and get us working together as a team.”
Williams asked everyone to agree to turn over a new leaf and specifically asked Allman for “no surprises” in the future, which he agreed to. In the past, Allman has been criticized for blindsiding fellow trustees with resolutions and other materials at meetings without prior notice.
“I can commit to honesty and integrity in all of our relationships. That’s what I can commit to,” Allman said.
Trustee Rimga Viskanta, elected in 2022 and served as board president for the past year, noted that some issues between board members have become very personal. At a recent board meeting, she expressed that she would not be comfortable serving on a committee with Allman because of his treatment of her in the past.
“I do have to acknowledge the history, and it is hard,” Viskanta said. “I do feel I’ve been in a position where trust is lost somewhat through the two years; where I did feel that a trustee would go to the public and media, sort of attacking the district.”
Viskanta also asked Allman if he would commit to following board policy. Allman said he would not if it was a policy he disagreed with. However, Allman said he would like to see Williams take the lead on re-examining some policies so the board could discuss them further.
The board also agreed to appoint Jane Lea Smith as board vice president.
Another school district seeing substantial changes to its board is San Marcos Unified. However, compared to other districts, San Marcos Unified’s board proceedings are largely free of board member conflicts bleeding into meetings.
Sarah Ahmad was the only one out of three incumbents to be re-elected, with parent Heidi Herrick unseating Area A incumbent Carlos Ulloa and parent Lena Lauer Meum defeating Area D incumbent Jaime Chamberlin.
The selection of board president and vice president on Dec. 19 was quick, with Ahmad unanimously appointed as president and trustee Andrés Martín selected as vice president.
In November, the district also saw the passage of Measure JJ, a $324 million bond that will be used to fund needed facility upgrades across various campuses.
