Trustee Area 1 Vacancy

Provisional Appointment to Represent Trustee Area 1

Five applicants have been determined eligible for provisional appointment to represent Trustee Area 1. This provisional appointment offers a unique opportunity to advocate for students, families and staff, serving a term through November 2028.

Note: This information is available in Spanish, Persian, Pashto and Russian.

Timeline

Tuesday, Sept. 22 - The board will discuss selection criteria and potential interview questions. This discussion is held during an open board meeting. See www.sanjuan.edu/board for agendas and details.

Friday, Oct. 2 at 4 p.m. - Application Deadline

Monday, Oct. 5 - A subcommittee of the board will verify candidates’ eligibility.

By Wednesday, Oct. 7 - Applicants are notified of the interview process and their names are publicly posted.

Tuesday, Oct. 13 - Eligible applicants are interviewed in the open board meeting. Residents can observe the interviews and offer public comment. If an applicant is selected for appointment, they will be sworn in and assume office.

This timeline is subject to change.

Where is Trustee Area 1?

A map of the district’s trustee areas can be found at https://www.sanjuan.edu/our-district/school-board/trustee-areas.

Trustee Area 1:

Western Edge: Follows Ethan Way in the west from the Business 80/ Marconi curve in the north and along the American River to Fair Oaks Blvd. in the south.

Southern Edge: Follows Fair Oaks Blvd. along the American River in the west to Watt Ave. in the east.

Eastern Edge: Follows Watt Ave. from Fair Oaks Blvd. in the south, travelling north until reaching El Camino Ave., where it then moves west to Fulton Ave. before continuing north again until reaching Business 80.

Northern Edge. Follows El Camino Ave. from Watt Ave. in the east, travelling west to Fulton Ave., continuing from Fulton Ave. and Business 80 and following it to the Marconi curve of Business 80/Ethan Way in the west.

Schools in Trustee Area 1:

Elementary & K-8:

Dyer-Kelly
Howe Avenue
Cottage
Greer
Thomas Edison Language Institute

High School

Encina

Who Qualifies?

Role of a Board Member

School districts are governed by boards, not by individual trustees. While understanding their separate roles, the board and superintendent work together as a “governance team.”

The role of the board is to ensure that districts are responsive to the values, beliefs and priorities of their communities. Boards fulfill this role by performing five major responsibilities:

Setting direction
Establishing an effective and efficient structure
Providing support
Ensuring accountability
Providing community leadership as advocates for children, the school district and public schools.

Learn more by visiting the California School Board Association website.

Qualifying Candidates

Zarif Aminyar
Deborah Farthing-Davis
Sayed Hashemi
Erik Olson
Mohammad Rashid

Next Steps

The application period for provisional appointment to represent Trustee Area 1 closed Oct. 2 at 4 p.m. A list of qualifying candidates will be posted by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7.

All qualifying applicants will be interviewed by the Board of Education on Oct. 13 during the open board meeting.

Interview Process

During interviews, each candidate will be provided one minute to share an opening statement. They will then have up to thirty minutes to answer the pre-selected questions noted below. Finally, each candidate will have up to one minute for a closing statement.

Members of the public are welcome to attend the interviews and may offer public comment before the board deliberates on a selection.

If the board chooses to make a provisional appointment, the selected candidate will immediately be sworn in and assume office.

Selected Interview Questions

On Sept. 22, the board chose questions to be asked of each candidate during the live interview:

Why do you want to be a board member?
What do you see as the primary role of a trustee? How would you fulfill that role, both individually and as a member of the governing board?
What would you like to accomplish as a board member? Which of those accomplishments is your highest priority, and why?
If a community member approaches you about a school or district issue, how would you engage with them?
How does an effective governing board ensure opportunities for parents and community members to express their diverse range of views to inform board deliberations on important policy issues?
Please summarize the strengths you would bring as a member of the board.
What do you think makes an effective board member?
Describe how you would balance the following when deciding how to vote on a matter before the board: Community concerns, student needs, state and federal law, staff recommendations, and your personal values and beliefs.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing San Juan Unified in the next two years and why?

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