The Sacramento County Board of Education provisionally appointed Adriana X. Echandía as Trustee for Area 2 at its meeting on August 18. She fills the seat that was made vacant following the July 1 resignation of former Area 2 Trustee and Board President Gretchen C. Bender who moved out of the county. The term was scheduled to expire in June 2010.
Ms. Echandía, a bilingual social psychologist and Equity Coordinator for the California State University, Sacramento College of Education, was chosen by the Board of Education following the conducting of public interviews with eight candidates who live within the Area 2 boundaries and who applied for the Trustee position.
"Adriana Echandía possesses all the attributes to make a positive difference for both her community and Sacramento County," said Board of Education President John C. Scribner. "The field of education and community leader applicants for this position was both impressive and inspiring. The community is rich in leaders with the passion and ability to advocate for our students."
According to Sacramento County Board of Education bylaws, the board was required to fill the post by August 30, 2009. The board held a special meeting to receive public input from the local community on August 11 at the Joe Mims Jr. Hagginwood Community Center.
This provisional appointment is effective immediately and shall continue until the end of the term in June 2010, unless a petition calling for a special election pursuant to Education Code Section 5091 is filed in the office of the County Superintendent of Schools within 30 days (by September 17, 2009) of the provisional appointment. Regardless of whether there is a special election pursuant to the petition this Area 2 Trustee seat will be up for re-election in June 2010.
Area 2 includes portions of the following: communities of Antelope, Del Paso Heights, Elverta, Gardenland, Hagginwood, North Highlands, North and South Natomas, North Sacramento, Rio Linda, Robla, and a portion of Foothill Farms. School districts: Center Unified, Twin Rivers Unified, Elverta Joint, Natomas Unified, and Robla.