Chino Valley Unified Board of Education, special meeting, August 5, 2025

President Sonja Shaw called the special meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. with John Cervantes, Andrew Cruz, James Na and Shaw present and Monroe absent. Superintendent Norm Enfield and five other administrators attended, and Cervantes led the Pledge of Allegiance 1. The meeting had one action item: how to fill the coming vacancy in Trustee Area 4. The board chose a provisional appointment over a special election 1, and Shaw adjourned the meeting at 5:12 p.m. 1.

🪑 Why the seat was opening

The superintendent's staff report says that on July 25, 2025, Jonathan Monroe, the board's vice president, tendered his resignation to the County Superintendent of Schools. At his request, and under Education Code 5090, it took effect August 15, 2025 2. Two days after the meeting, Monroe told the Daily Bulletin that his teaching position had been dissolved and that a new job was taking him to Utah 3. The Chino Champion also reported the move 4.

The staff report quoted Board Bylaw 9223: the board must, within 60 days of the vacancy or of the filing of a deferred resignation, either order an election or make a provisional appointment 2 5.

🗳️ Two options, and a price the agenda did not have

The agenda set out both options without recommending either 2:

• Order an election under Education Code 5091, placing the seat on the next established election date, April 14, 2026, "at an unknown cost."
• Make a provisional appointment under Education Code 5091 and Board Bylaw 9223, with a committee of less than a quorum of the board, an application period of August 15 through August 29, 2025, public notice in two newspapers of general circulation, and authority for the superintendent or designee to run the application and interview process.

The staff report gave the fiscal impact as undetermined 2. The recording supplies the number the written record lacks. In the staff presentation, the board was told the registrar of voters had come back that day with a cost of $495,200 (as captioned) for a special election 6, "about a half a million," which the district would pay 6. The minutes record no dollar amount 1.

The board was also told how each route would play out:

• Election: the county takes about 38 days to certify the result 6, so a winner would probably not be seated until the end of May or beginning of June 2026. The seat would sit empty about nine months, and the winner would serve about six months before the seat came up again in November 2026 6.
• Appointment: the board would have until September 23, 2025 to select a member 7, who would serve about 15 months, until the November 2026 general election, at no cost to the district 7. The board was told this route had been used for three earlier provisional appointments 6.

✅ What the board decided

On a motion by James Na, seconded by John Cervantes, the board approved making a provisional appointment to fill the Trustee Area 4 vacancy under Education Code 5091 and Board Bylaw 9223 1. In the same action it:

• selected Sonja Shaw and John Cervantes as the committee of less than a quorum to work with the superintendent or designated staff 1;
• established August 15 through August 29, 2025 as the application period, with public notice of the vacancy in two newspapers of general circulation 1 1;
• authorized the superintendent or designee to manage administrative functions related to the application and interview process 1.

Bylaw 9223 sets out what follows. The committee confirms that applicants are eligible and announces the eligible candidates. The board then interviews them at a public meeting, accepts oral or written public input, and selects the appointee by majority vote. The appointment becomes final unless a legally sufficient petition for a special election is filed within 30 days 5.

📣 Public comment

The minutes record that one person, Jim Gallagher, addressed the board during comments on agenda items 1. The minutes do not record what was said, and because they list a single speaker, this page does not describe the remarks heard on the recording.

⏭️ What happened next

At a special meeting on September 3, 2025, the district announced qualified applicants 8. On September 8 the board interviewed candidates, and Shaun Smith was selected to fill the provisional vacancy for Trustee Area 4 9. The Daily Bulletin reported that Smith will hold the seat until the November 2026 election 10.

This archive page is maintained by an independent community accountability project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Chino Valley Unified School District.