In Salinas, Kathryn Ramirez and Anthony Rocha Have Been Elected to Salinas School Boards

03Dec
by Leticia Chavez-Garcia

After being the victim of name calling, continued harassment on the Salinas Union HSD Board of Education, after numerous attempts to recall her from that board (by the very same individual that ended up challenging her in the Elementary SD race) and even after being censured (wrongfully) for standing up for herself against misogynist and anti-semitic public attacks by her colleagues, Kathryn Grossman Ramirez has been elected to a second board of education in her community. Until the results of the election are certified and Ms. Ramirez resigns her term on the USD Board, she holds two spots in her community elected offices.  Will her critics be quieted? We have to see.

Ramirez has handily won the election, which by the way, includes beating the gentleman that has attempted to recall her several times. Ironically, his attempts to recall her have been thwarted by his own hand and his inability to proper fill out the forms and get the elections office to accept his paperwork. Yeah, exactly. Looks like the Salinas City Elementary School District dodged a bullet by making sure he won’t be on the board.  

Not only has Ramirez won the seat but she also took a young candidate under her wing and helped him get elected to the High School District by beating out incumbent (Eva Marie Martinez) and vocal critic of Ramirez.  She can seen on several tapes available yelling at Ramirez and voted to censure her. Nineteen year old, Anthony Rocha took her out of her seat with 60% of the vote.  Rocha has been around politics for a while, but he definitely learned a lot from Ramirez.  He recently told the newspaper the following:

“My other mentors include Salinas Union High School District Trustee, Kathryn Ramirez someone who has been the driving force behind educational equity in Monterey County. She not only serves as a School Board Trustee but as a member of the Board of Directors for the California School Boards Association and the California Latino School Boards Association. Kathryn has taught me a lot about what it means to be a underdog and how that isn’t a bad thing. She introduced me to so many people and taught me so much about campaigns.”  

After the election, I reached out to Kathryn Grossman-Ramirez for comment, and she offered this:

“I am honored to have served the Salinas Community for 15 years on the Salinas Union High School District Board of Trustees on behalf of the Salinas Community.  Through good times and bad I have worked hard to ensure our students have first class facilities, education programs, and strong representation at the local and state level.  I am excited to now transition my experience to the Salinas Elementary School District where I will be able to use my expertise as an elementary school teacher to further help build strong foundations early on for our students so they can create more success throughout their educational journey.”

We certainly wish both new board members well and are excited about the prospects for the High School District with the addition of the youngest School Board Trustee in the state.

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Leticia Chavez-Garcia

Leticia Chavez-Garcia is a Mother, Grandmother, former Middle School Teacher, former Member of a School Board of Education and an Education Advocate for hundreds of parents and students in the Inland Empire. Having become a mother at 15, Leticia knows what it’s like to be a single mother trying to navigate the education system. Leticia received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and Public Administration from California Baptist University and a Masters’ Degree in Education Technology from Cal State Fullerton in her 30’s. Leticia has used her knowledge and experience to help hundreds of families as an Education Advocate in the Inland Empire and currently works as an Education Specialist.

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