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Santa Cruz Elementary Board elects officers, approves hiring, enrollment limits and historic designation
Summary
At its Jan. 20 meeting the board sworn in an appointee, elected Robert Noon president and Debbie Gonzales clerk, approved hiring of Vanessa Estrada as janitor, voted to pursue historic designation for the Little Red School House, and adopted enrollment and special-education capacity limits; all motions passed unanimously.
The Santa Cruz Elementary School District Governing Board on Jan. 20 performed a series of routine governance actions, including seating an appointed member, electing officers, approving personnel actions, and adopting enrollment and special-education capacity policies.
The board administered the oath of office to appointee Dr. Dean Fish, who was appointed by the County Superintendent's Office (Maya Donnelly). In subsequent officer elections, Mr. Noon was elected board president and Mrs. Debbie Gonzales was elected board clerk after nominations from board members; votes were recorded and the elections carried.
The board approved a tribute in honor of Danny Fish involving tree dedications through the Arbor Day Foundation; trustees authorized the district to collect donations for the tribute and specified that no school funds would be used for the effort.
Board members approved a motion to pursue designation of SCED#28's Little Red School House as a historic building. The board also approved hiring Vanessa Estrada as the janitor for the 2025-2026 school year.
On policy items, the board voted to close open enrollment for the 2026-27 school year under district policies IIB, JFB-R and JFB, setting a cap not to exceed 125 students and permitting administration to add students if current enrollment decreases. The board also approved Special Education program capacity rules (IHB, IHBA, IHBB) establishing a 15:1 student-to-teacher ratio and reserving two additional seats to accommodate incoming students.
The board ratified payroll and expense warrants for multiple pay periods and expense items, and approved a budget balance summary presented by district staff. All motions and ratifications recorded unanimous votes by the five-member board. The board set its next regular meeting for Feb. 10, 2026, and adjourned at 6:35 p.m.
"This school has shown tremendous resilience and commitment to students and community through thick and thin," Mrs. Debbie Gonzales said during board remarks.
