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School board trustees have one of the toughest jobs in government and politics. It requires hard work and dedication. There is a learning curve for sure, but that means that trustees must take the time to learn.
Sadly, my trustee in Pajaro Valley Unified School District has failed to make the effort to learn, and it shows. Joy Flynn was appointed to the board to fill the vacancy when Kim De Serpa won her election to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.
Since then Flynn made national news by repeating antisemitic tropes. She flip-flopped on a budget vote after she seemed to be clueless on what she was voting on. Most recently, she exposed her ignorance by having to ask at a board meeting what a bond was. A simple Google search would have given her her answer. Her emails to constituents have spelling and grammatical errors.
We expect our students to do their homework. We should expect that from members of the board of trustees as well.
All of this means to me that she does not take the time to do her job seriously. She has missed several meetings and when she does show up, she is unprepared. She has now been on the board for over seven months and she seems to be as unprepared now as the day she started.
She can save herself further embarrassment by resigning, and letting someone who actually is prepared to do the hard work take over.
Gil Stein
Aptos