The Dublin Unified School District Board of Trustees selected Carolina Martinez to fill the Area 3 vacancy via a split vote rooted in a procedural disagreement.
Martinez’s provisional appointment came in the wake of presumptive new trustee Jeff Clark resigning before he was ever seated, leading to a lengthy debate in November about the process of filling the position — with the board majority opting to solicit applications from Area 3 residents rather than calling for a special election.
The strife carried over into the most recent regular meeting on Dec. 17 where trustees Dan Cherrier and Gabi Blackman argued that policy had been violated. Nevertheless, trustees Kristin Speck, Kristian Reyes and outgoing William Kuo — who remained at the dais representing Area 3 until a successor was seated — voted to appoint Martinez that night.
Martinez is set to serve two years, meaning the position will be up for election in November 2026. However, if Area 3 voters wish to contest the appointment, they may petition for a special election with the Alameda County superintendent of schools within 30 days, according to DUSD superintendent Chris Funk. That election would likely be held in March.
During the selection process, Martinez said, “I grew up in foster care, not having a huge support system in education. I hope to give back to that system now to ensure that teachers are seen, ensure that students of all specters of life have an opportunity to be a learner, to be able to be pushed and challenged to know what they’d like to do in life.”
Martinez was one of four applicants invited to participate in public interviews during the Dec. 17 meeting. Her competitors included user experience researcher Daniel Hor and project manager Cleyton Ribeiro. The fourth potential trustee, Robert Sanford, did not appear at the meeting and dropped out due to unknown reasons.
Parent to a DUSD student, Martinez currently serves as vice president of the Parents Faculty Club at James Dougherty Elementary School. She also works as an IT quality assurance manager at the University of San Francisco.
“Dublin is growing fast, and I see this as a unique opportunity to ensure our schools grow with it, becoming places where all kids can excel both academically and socially,” Martinez wrote in her application.
Hor has an 8-year-old daughter at Murray Elementary and has volunteered for school activities as well as the parent faculty club at Murray.
Lastly, Ribeiro’s daughter is about to enter the school district and he is poised to begin his involvement in the district.
Following interview questions to the candidates, trustees narrowed the selection to Martinez and Hor.
For Speck, Martinez and Hor stood out as the top applicants because they gave the most specific responses. Though none of the three elicited red flags, she said.
Newly elected Reyes agreed with Speck but suggested Martinez as the best fitting applicant.
“Given the diversity of what I know our board is today and going forward, I think Ms. Martinez’s perspective that she can give, from other sides with regards to the arts, the creativity and her background make her a stronger candidate,” Reyes said.
The conversation also circled around the appointment procedure.
Cherrier argued there was no vacancy to fill, since Kuo was at the dais. Cherrier decided to recuse himself from the interviews.
“This is a bogus process; we don’t have a vacancy as long as Mr. Kuo is sitting here,” Cherrier said.
Blackman added that Kuo should not deliberate or vote on the appointment – something she said would give him too much power.
There were also procedural issues with making an appointment since the board had acted in advance of an actual vacancy during its November meeting, Blackman argued.
During that November meeting the board decided they would fill the Area 3 position by a provisional appointment. Those in favor said the move would ensure the district’s complete representation in forthcoming budget cut decisions.
Alternatively, the district could have filled the role through a special election. But trustees expressed concern over its cost to the district. Additionally, trustees argued that a special election may flop due to no one being interested in filling the Area 3 position.
“It made little sense to hold a special election immediately following a general election where only one person put their name forward,” Funk wrote in an email to the DUSD community.
In the wake of Kuo’s announcement that he would not seek reelection in the fall, Clark was the only candidate to come forward for Area 3, earning the position uncontested — before telling the district in October that he would not be taking the seat for personal reasons.
In response to comments from Cherrier and Blackman at the December meeting, Funk assured the trustees, “Based on legal counsel, I believe the board has the right to complete the process tonight and make a provisional appointment.”
A vacancy has occurred because no one took the oath of office, Funk explained. Since Kuo has not resigned, he can assume the full responsibility of a trustee until a replacement is determined.
Noting a lack of strong opinions on the candidates, Speck requested all the trustees share their opinions of the candidates.
“I thought a lot of the answers were like lecturing to the board about what we already do, what we already know,” Blackman added, “To be a trustee you have to bring something more than just a list of what’s on our website.”
Cherrier restated his stance against any appointment and predicted a special election.
“This is nothing personal — I think you did a fine job up here,” Cherrier told Martinez. “But in my opinion, this board has taken an illegal action and I’m going to be leaving the proceedings because I think anything this board does right now is against the law and I will also be discussing with Area 3 people to have you removed from office.”
In the end, Martinez was appointed, supported by Speck, Reyes and Kuo. Those against the appointment were Cherrier and Blackman.
No petition for a special election had been filed with the county as of Christmas week, with the deadline set for mid-January.
“We are grateful that all five trustee areas are now represented and I look forward to collaboratively working together to solve our financial challenges and to continue our efforts to make DUSD an organization that provides a world class education,” Funk wrote in his email after Martinez’s selection.
