Education Board to fill Area 5 vacancy Monday

MARTINEZ, Calif. – Before the end of Monday’s meeting, the Martinez Unified School District Board of Education will fill the Area 5 vacancy created when incumbent Bobbi Horack moved into another area.

Once she moved, Horack no longer was eligible to represent Area 5.

Six applicants will be interviewed at the meeting, after which the Board will select Horack’s successor, who will be sworn in by District Superintendent C.J. Cammack.

Barbara Turcios, a 38-year Martinez resident who has lived in Area 5 for 20 years, is retired and has been a member of the Measure K Oversight Committee and the St. John the Baptist school board., among other affiliations.

Dawn Polvorosa has lived in both the city and Area 5 for 22 years. She is an attorney and former public employee who has been an Alhambra High School Mock Trial coach since 1995.

Maria Anderson has lived in the school district since 2007 and in Area 5 since 2016, is the parent of two children in the school district. She has been a member of John Swett Elementary PTA and has volunteer at Oakland Children’s Hospital and the former Growing Garden, the Creative Play Center and other places.

Attorney Jeremie Benelli is a Martinez native and has lived in the school district 10 years, and in Area 5 for eight years. He is a member of the Martinez Parks, Recreation, Marina and Cultural Commission, among other affiliations, and will have two children attending MUSD schools next year.

Sara Toney has been a Martinez homeowner in Area 5 since 2012, and has been involved with the community service organization Amigos de las Americas. She has been a professional photographer ad veterinary nurse.

Tania Brugger has lived in the school district and Area 5 more than 14 years and has a son attending John Swett Elementary School, where she has been a room parent and volunteered at other classes. And in campus-wide activities. She has had a career in banking, is involved in civic organizations has been president of the Monument Crisis Center.

Cammack will announce the appointment of a principal for Morello Park Elementary School and assistant principal of Alhambra High School.

The Board will vote whether to let T-Mobile lease space on the Knowles Field that formerly used by Metro PCS for an existing cell tower.

The Board will review plans for Las Juntas and Morello Park elementary schools and Martinez Junior High School under the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Under that act, schools are evaluated by the California Department of Education for eligibility for targeted support and improvement (TSI) and additional targeted support and improvement (ATSI) for student groups who have been underperforming for at least two years. Those three schools have been determined to be eligible for the additional support.

Director of Educational Services Tom Doppe will supply the Board with information about several new course materials.

One is for a core designated English language development program in transitional kindergarten to fifth grade that is proposed for the next school year. Another is for course materials for Special Day English classes for sixth through eighth graders.

New materials also are being suggested for Alhambra High School’s social science department for the new California history framework. Martinez Junior High School has adopted a similar program for its students.

A French honors level 4 class also needs course materials, since the District’s French textbook publisher doesn’t produce a book at that level.

The Martinez Unified School District Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. Monday to discuss labor matters. The regular meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the District Boardroom, 921 Susana St.

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