FUSD Trustees Take Oath of Office, Then Everyone Gets Cake

It was a celebratory atmosphere Wednesday night as three outgoing Fresno Unified trustees were sworn in by their parents and friends.

But Roosevelt Area Administrator Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas could take a new oath of office in a few months. Jonasson Rosas, who handily won his third term in November’s election, declared his candidacy in the Fresno City Council special election in March.

The winner will replace Luis Chavez, who was elected to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors in the November election and is vacating his seat on the board. Jonasson Rosas hopes to replace her husband, a former Fresno Unified trustee, on the board.

If she wins the March election or wins a runoff later, the district will have to hold a special election later so the Roosevelt area can choose her successor.

Jonasson Rosas, one of the top directors of the Westlands Water District, earlier told GV Wire that she had no plans to run for the board if Chavez won. She took the oath of office in front of her mother, Martha Rosas, as her adopted son Pedro Pablo stood nearby.

Roses for mom

Hoover County Administrator Claudia Cazares was celebrating after winning by just 93 votes during the final days of vote counting. She was sworn in by her husband Jesus; their son then gave her a bouquet of red roses.

Although he faced opposition from two challengers, Fresno High Area Trustee Andy Levine was relatively moving toward victory during his campaign for his first full term.

The conference room at the district’s nutrition center on Brawley Avenue, where administrators have been meeting since the start of the school year while their downtown conference room is being renovated, was filled with Levine supporters, including his mother Trudy Thom, who had sworn him in. office two years. Also in attendance were notable members of the city’s Latino community, including Sandra Celedon of Building Healthy Communities and Veronica Garibay, co-director of the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability.

But it was a little Latina who stole the show during her swearing-in. First-grader Panchita Espinosa, with a little help from her mother, Felicia, read the oath of office as Levine echoed her.

Later, Panchita and her younger sister enjoyed vanilla cake at a mini-reception following the swearing-in. Had she practiced in advance? “Oh yes!” She said with a big smile tinged with icing.