New Stockton Unified trustees sworn in; Stevens appointed board president for 2nd year

A joyous mood filled the Arthur Coleman Jr. Administrative Complex on Tuesday as three new Stockton Unified School District trustees were sworn in to office and took immediate action to appoint a new board president, board vice president, and board clerk.

“If you’re like me, you are excited about what’s about to happen at Stockton Unified,” Board President Kennetha Stevens told a packed boardroom after Trustees Frank Silva, Isabel Perez and Shauna Priest took the oath of office.

Stevens thanked former Trustees Alicia Rico, Cecilia Mendez and Ray Zulueta for their service and presented them with plaques. Cheers and applause overtook the boardroom as the three exited the room and Silva, Perez and Priest took their seats on the dais.

In Area 1, Perez succeeds Mendez, who termed out after serving for eight years on the board. Perez defeated real estate agent Anthony Wofford in the Nov. 5 election by 45 percentage points.

In Area 3, Silva replaces Rico, who opted not to run for reelection after serving a single four-year term on the school board. Silva beat out Maximiliano Beas, a community organizer, in the general election by 15 percentage points after a quiet campaign.

In Area 4, Priest takes up the mantle from Zulueta, who opted not to run for reelection in favor of an unsuccessful bid for the District 4 seat on the Stockton City Council. Priest emerged as the top vote-getter in a race that included four other candidates — educational consultant Gwendolyn D. Dailey, mother Stefanie Alfaro, sign language instructor Doug Vigil, and parent/IT director Thaddeus Smith III.

Newly elected state Sen. Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton), who represents Stockton and San Joaquin County in California state Senate District 5, congratulated the new trustees during the public comment portion of the meeting.

“You all have a tough job ahead of you,” McNerney told the board. “I brought you $200 million in order to help get through the pandemic. You can count on me for support from the state Senate. Nothing is more important than educating our children and I want to see the best possible result that we can … you’ve overcome some difficult times and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the next year or so.”

The board also elected new officers for the coming year as part of its annual reorganization meeting on Tuesday. For the second year in a row, Stevens will serve as board president, Area 6 Trustee Sofia Colón will serve as board vice president, and Area 5 Trustee Donald Donaire will serve as board clerk.

Silva, Perez and Priest have committed to serve on the Stockton Unified board through 2028. Stevens, Colón and Donaire are up for reelection in 2026, while Area 2 Trustee AngelAnn Flores will term out that year.

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton Unified swears in new trustees; Stevens appointed president

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