Voters line up to cast ballots at the Watsonville City Clerk’s Office on Nov. 5. (Fidel M. Soto — Santa Cruz Local)
Results include Santa Cruz and Monterey counties as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13.
Pajaro Valley Unified School District, Trustee Area 2
- Carol Turley — 2,853 votes (55.56%)
- Georgia Acosta — 2,247 votes (43.76%)
Pajaro Valley Unified School District, Trustee Area 3
- Gabriel Jesse Medina — 1,430 votes (53.1%)
- Oscar Soto — 1,262 votes (46.9%)
Pajaro Valley Unified School District, Trustee Area 6
- Jessica Carrasco — 2,486 votes (56.82%)
- Adam Bolaños Scow — 1,848 votes (42.24%)
WATSONVILLE >> Three challengers held leads over incumbents on the Pajaro Valley Unified school board as of Wednesday afternoon in a potential shake up of the seven-member board.
Controversy followed the school board’s decision last year not to renew an ethnic studies curriculum, and the fallout may have contributed to the election results, said Nelly Vaquera, president of Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers.
At least 5,800 ballots remained to be processed from across Santa Cruz County as of Wednesday, the county clerk said. Final election results are expected to be certified by a state deadline in early December.
Kim De Serpa, the Area 1 PVUSD trustee, remained ahead in the race for a Santa Cruz County supervisor seat as of Wednesday. If she wins, the school board could call a special election or appoint a trustee to serve the remainder of her term, the school district superintendent wrote.
Separately last month, the board appointed Misty Navarro as the new Area 7 PVUSD trustee after Jennifer Holm resigned.
‘Our students have been ignored’
After more than a year of advocacy related to the ethnic studies contract, “Our students have been ignored. The families have been ignored,” Vaquera said. “We hope to see some very positive change as we move forward with potentially a new board.”
The Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers endorsed Gabriel Medina, Carol Turley and incumbent Adam Bolaños Scow in the Nov. 5 election. Medina and Turley held leads Wednesday and Scow trailed.
Medina said he was excited to be ahead of Soto and growing his lead after Monterey County posted updated tallies Wednesday. He said residents’ ongoing advocacy for the ethnic studies contract — and board members’ responses — likely played a role in how residents voted.
“These constituents felt like they were not listened to by a governing body that they voted in,” Medina said. “So I think that had a lot to do with it, the way that they talked down to the community had a lot to do with it.”
In a September board meeting, Medina spoke during public comment to urge the board to hold a special election to determine Holm’s replacement, rather than make an appointment.
Soto said during the meeting that it was fiscally irresponsible to hold a special election, estimated to cost $80,000, during tough budget times. Soto said the suggestion was “a clear demonstration of the ignorance in this community.”
The board’s student trustee, Daniel Esqueda, later filed a formal complaint against Soto related to that and other comments, the Pajaronian reported. Soto did not respond to a request for an interview.
Medina said he was optimistic about the potential turnover in leadership on the board.
“The change that I’m going to bring to the board is really bringing back those community voices and those student voices and making sure that they’re amplified and heard,” Medina said.
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Nik Altenberg is a copy editor and fact checker at Santa Cruz Local. Altenberg grew up in Santa Cruz and holds a bachelor’s degree in Latin American and Latinx Studies from UC Santa Cruz.
