The Sunnyside Unified School District election for governing board members has been canceled because only two candidates were running for two seats.
That means incumbent Consuelo Hernandez and former board member Roberto Jaramillo will be appointed to serve SUSD, the second-largest school district in Pima County, with no input from voters.
In its request asking the county Board of Supervisors to cancel the uncontested election, the Pima County School Superintendent’s Office said it determined the candidates met the nomination requirements for positions on the board.
Jaramillo, who will take over the seat now held by board member Eva Carrillo Dong, has long been involved in serving the Sunnyside community, according to the district’s website. He served on the board from 1996-2011 and 2018-20.
Hernandez, who currently serves as board president, secured her first term as Sunnyside board member in 2019 in another uncontested race. She’s now also running as a Democratic candidate for Arizona House Legislative District 21 in the November election.
The two board members will begin their four-year terms on Jan. 1, 2023.
The remaining eight major school districts in Pima County — Amphitheater, Catalina Foothills, Flowing Wells, Marana, Sahuarita, Tanque Verde, Tucson Unified and Vail — will still have elections for governing board members in November.
Investments in education
The United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona announced it will invest $70,000 through its Cradle to Career initiative to support early grade literacy and middle school math.
The funding will benefit elementary and middle schools in the Tucson, Marana and Sahuarita unified school districts.
A total of $38,000 will be invested in literacy efforts at Holladay Elementary in TUSD; Butterfield, Estes, Quail Run and Roadrunner elementaries in MUSD; and Sopori Elementary in SUSD.
The remaining funds will be invested in middle schools that are yet to be determined.
“We continually talk about how our children are the future and how critical it is to provide them with a quality education and supportive resources,” said Tony Penn, president and CEO of United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona. These investments show that we put the resources entrusted to us into the needs of these children.”
