UKIAH – Two new members have been appointed to the Ukiah Unified School District Board of Trustees to fill positions recently vacated when trustees moved outside of the area in which they were elected. Zoey Fernandez has been appointed to represent Trustee Area Central, and José Díaz has been appointed to represent Trustee Area North.
José Díaz was born in Guanajuato, Mexico and has lived in Ukiah, CA for over 30 years. He is the father of a Ukiah High School student, two Ukiah High School graduates, and is the Production Office Supervisor at Ray’s Station Winery. José is currently on the UUSD District Advisory Committee, he was the District English Learner Advisory Committee President for five years and the English Learner Advisory Committee Representative at Calpella Elementary School. He also represented Junior Achievement in UUSD schools.
“I wanted to get involved in the decision-making process for our district to do everything I can to help our students become excellent working professionals and responsible citizens of our world. I believe our teachers and school staff are the strength of our district, and I want to support them and make a positive impact for children here in our community,” commented José Díaz, UUSD Trustee.
Zoey Fernandez is a lifelong Mendocino County resident and a graduate of UC Santa Cruz. She earned her teaching credential from Sonoma State University and taught kindergarten in our area for ten years. Recently she has been a Program Specialist for Mendocino County assisting with recovery from the 2017 Redwood Complex Fire. Her free time is devoted to her two children, volunteering at one of their Ukiah Unified Schools, and organizing the yearly Children’s Christmas Craft Fair.
Fernandez had been elected to serve as Trustee from Area North, but resigned when her family moved to Trustee Area Central. She successfully applied for and has been appointed to take over Trustee Monpere’s term for Area Central.
Back in June of 2019, UUSD announced that due to Trustees moving outside of the area in which they were elected, there would be two vacancies on the UUSD Board of Trustees. Board Member Fernandez, representing Trustee Area North, resigned effective June 14, 2019, and Board Member Monpere, representing Trustee Area Central, resigned effective June 30, 2019.
After the resignations, Education Code sections 5091 and 5328 required the UUSD Board of Trustees to appoint two qualified people to replace them. Interested individuals who were registered voters residing in Trustee Area Central or Trustee Area North confirmed eligibility, submitted applications and were interviewed in an open session of the UUSD Board of Trustees.
If you have any questions or need more information about Ukiah Unified School District or the UUSD Board of Trustees, please contact Debbie Ornelas at dornelas@uusd.net or 707.472.5002.
