A parent and a high school senior are running for Pajaro Valley school board

Two Pajaro Valley Unified School District community members have recently announced they plan to run for seats on the seven-member governing board this November. 

Pajaro Valley High School senior Eriberto Estrada announced he’s running for the Trustee Area IV seat currently occupied by Daniel Dodge Jr., while Rio Del Mar Elementary parent Mads Realmuto announced at the board’s Wednesday evening meeting that he’s running for the Trustee Area VII seat occupied by Misty Navarro. 

Lookout recently wrote a story about a settlement Realmuto reached with the district over unmet services related to his daughter’s special education plan.

Both candidates told Lookout they’re running in part because they feel board members have spent too much time fighting each other rather than focusing on the district’s challenges. 

“Our students and community deserve a board that stays focused on student outcomes and well-being, not distractions,” Realmuto said. “Good intentions aren’t enough. We need results.”

Estrada also is disappointed in the board’s lack of focus, he said. He wants to advocate for students and staff, citing his mom, who teaches at Watsonville’s H.A. Hyde Elementary School, as an example. 

“It sucks to see the district just run these families out of the district — and teachers, too,” he said. “My mom is a teacher in PVUSD, and I see how hard she works, and the district does not make her job any easier.”

Dodge, who was first elected to the board in 2018, and Navarro, who was appointed in 2024, both told Lookout they plan to run for reelection, making those two seats contested for the November election. In addition to Dodge and Navarro, the terms of board Vice President Joy Flynn and Olivia Flores are expiring this year. Flores and Flynn didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Flynn is trustee for Area I, which covers the northern portion of the district – Corralitos and more than half of the Aptos area. Dodge is trustee for Area IV, which covers southwestern Watsonville and some outlying areas. Flores, trustee for Area V, is responsible for northwestern Watsonville and some outlying areas. Navarro is trustee for Area VII, which spans La Selva Beach and Rio Del Mar. 

A graduating high school senior wants to represent families

Estrada announced he was running for the board at the March 18 school board meeting. During public comment, he told the board he was disappointed in its performance and said trustees failed to listen to the needs of community members. 

“For the past three years, I’ve seen the district I’ve grown up in and love be run by an increasingly chaotic and visionless, leaderless leadership team,” he said at the meeting. “The constant bickering between the board members, the inability to ask the right questions to the superintendent and the utter lack of creative and collaborative problem-solving is the reason this district isn’t able to pivot and retain its students.

“After years of coming up here and putting my trust in you to make these changes,” he said, “I’ve decided to run in this November’s election.”

If elected, Estrada said he wants to focus on accountability for how the district spends money, increasing support for marginalized and LGBTQ+ students and ensuring that the special education department is adequately staffed.

After graduating, Estrada plans to attend Cal State University Monterey Bay and eventually becoming a PVUSD teacher, perhaps alongside his mom at H.A. Hyde Elementary.

A parent seeks accountability, transparency and equity

Realmuto told Lookout his experience advocating for his first grade daughter and subsequently watching trustees fighting during meetings inspired him to run for the board. 

“Board members agree on a certain topic, but they can’t get to the point of agreeing because they’re too focused on being frustrated with each other,” he said. “When that clarity and focus are missing, it becomes really hard for the community to understand the decisions or trust them.”

After watching his daughter, Cora, struggle with a revolving door of teachers and substitutes in her special education class, Realmuto switched her to Rio Del Mar Elementary, where she quickly improved. He said he realized that the district had failed to provide the required services in her education plan. He said that over 12 months, Cora had five different teachers, including some who didn’t have special education credentials. He told Lookout that PVUSD, in response, affirmed his claims and agreed to provide fully funded educational services for two summers. 

“It shouldn’t be that hard. People shouldn’t have to advocate for their children in that way,” he said. “Experiencing that firsthand has opened my eyes to how uneven access is.”

If elected, Realmuto says he wants to bring focus to the board, increase transparency for when the district doesn’t meet students’ special education needs, move toward smaller class sizes and improve how the district communicates with families. 

“We need a holistic reset in the way [the district] communicates with families, teachers and staff,” he said. “That means providing clear, relevant information at the right times, and leading with respect for the people working directly with our students every day, because we’re not seeing that consistent level of clarity.” 

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