Anonymous
Rose Muñoz (L) and Yesenia Muñoz (R)
Source: SBUSD
Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Education elected their 2019 leadership and welcomed two newly elected board members Kate Ford and Rose Muñoz at the school board meeting on December 11, 2018. Officers who will serve as president, vice president, and clerk are: Wendy Sims-Moten, President; Laura Capps, Vice President; and Jacqueline Reid, Clerk. The Board also approved their regular meeting dates through June 2020 and appointed board members to a variety of county, district, and community committees.
“I am honored to serve with my peers on the Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Education and welcome two newly elected Board members Kate Ford and Rose Muñoz,” said Board President Wendy Sims-Moten. “As we reflect on 2018, I want to express appreciation for the Board leadership of Dr. Jacqueline Reid. This past school year brought our school community together and made us stronger from our district and school’s response to the Montecito debris flow, advancing mental health support for our students, hiring a new safety coordinator, and prioritizing equity in our district by adopting the Ethnic Studies graduation requirement for the class of 2023.”
Wendy Sims-Moten continues, “As we look ahead in 2019, my priorities as Board President will be to work tirelessly to reduce our achievement gap while ensuring students are safe and feel safe, are energized and inspired, are socially and emotionally strong, are supported and heard throughout their educational journey. These priorities will take the collective efforts of all involved; superintendent, board members, students, parents and community. We’ve got work to do, so lets go to work!”
Kate Ford and Rose Muñoz began their four year term of public service on the Board of Education and were sworn into office.
Kate Ford, a lifelong educator with Santa Barbara roots, attended Santa Barbara Junior and Senior High Schools. Ford served as a secondary teacher for thirteen years, a principal for twenty years (including five years at Peabody Elementary), and a superintendent in Los Angeles for five years. Ford has served on numerous non-profit boards and has received two Educator of the Year awards. She has unique connections to Santa Barbara Unified School District, such as: her grandmother, Katherine McCloskey, served on the school board in the 1950’s and father, Don McCloskey, an officer in the Marines, became a teacher at Monroe Elementary upon returning from Vietnam.
Rose Muñoz, born and raised in Santa Barbara, is bilingual and bicultural. Muñoz holds a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) and is recognized as the first social worker, in known history, to serve on the school Board. Muñoz, active in the school community, has volunteered for a Parent Teacher Association and was involved in the formation of the Equity and Excellence Committee at Dos Pueblos High School. She is recognized for her work to support the passage of local school bonds for art and music programs and to increase funding for local schools. In addition to her work with the school community, she provided Spanish translation for the Pro Youth Movement and the Westside Community group. Her goal is to have a school culture that is inclusive and safe for all students. It is her belief that every student in our schools should have equal access to an excellent education, regardless of race, income or background. Rose and her husband, Luis, have two daughters ages 25 and 28 that attended public schools and benefitted from a public education in Goleta Union and Santa Barbara Unified School District.
