San Rafael City Schools board appoints Kennedy Rodas Diaz to fill Area 5 vacancy

San Rafael City Schools' Board of Trustees voted on Nov. 18 to appoint Kennedy Rodas Diaz to the Area 5 vacancy, selecting Rodas Diaz after interviewing three candidates and combining trustee rankings.

The board moved and seconded the appointment after staff tallied rankings that showed Kennedy Rodas Diaz with the lowest aggregate point total (6), followed by Carlino Pellegrini (8) and Dana Pep (10). Trustee DeNaver Marsh moved to appoint Rodas Diaz and Trustee Lau seconded; the motion carried on a voice vote. The board took a five-minute break after the appointment.

The vacancy arose when the trustee elected in 2024 (referred to in meeting remarks as Mr. Bridal) left the seat. The board clarified that an appointee must reside in Trustee Area 5 and that the person appointed at the Nov. 18 meeting will serve a one-year appointment. That appointee must run in the Nov. 2026 election for the subsequent two-year term, which will end in November 2028.

The special meeting opened with the board chair explaining the process and interview order. The trustees asked each applicant four identical questions and gave three minutes for responses. The board interviewed three candidates in alphabetical order by last name: Carlino Pellegrini, Dana Pep and Kennedy Rodas Diaz.

Carlino Pellegrini described long-standing ties to local public schools and cited two decades of experience in financial services, including risk management and regulatory work, as qualifications. Dana Pep, a bilingual educator and early-learning advocate who said she spent 30 years working in San Rafael schools and community programs, emphasized social-emotional learning, multilingual education and student wellness as central equity priorities. "Equity means that each student needs different resources and different supports to be successful and to thrive," Pep said during her interview.

Kennedy Rodas Diaz, who described themself as a K–12 product of the district with civil-rights experience as a paralegal and service on a police advisory and accountability committee, highlighted financial literacy, career readiness and an understanding of equity as the skills students need. "I believe I am a mirror for many of our younger students," Rodas Diaz said when discussing representation and community ties.

Public comment included a Zoom speaker, Elle Crawford, who thanked applicants for stepping forward and praised Dana Pep and Carlino Pellegrini. Union leaders addressed the board in support of the appointment process: Matt Winton, political action chair and vice president of SRFT, lauded the candidates and encouraged those not chosen to run for office in future elections; Brianna Padilla, president of the San Rafael Teachers Association, praised the applicants' demonstrated commitment to equity and collaboration; and Tanya Morales, CSEA chapter president, thanked the candidates and said CSEA believes it can work with any of them.

Board members described the decision as difficult and urged civic engagement whether or not an applicant was appointed. After trustees quietly ranked candidates (3=third, 2=second, 1=first) and staff read aggregated totals, the board moved to appoint Kennedy Rodas Diaz.

Following the vote, the board welcomed the appointee and recessed briefly. The selection ends the immediate appointment process; the newly appointed trustee is required to run in the November 2026 election to seek the next full term.