Noozhawk invited Santa Maria Joint Union High School District candidates for two races on the ballot to answer questions about important local issues.

Three seats are on the ballot this year but voters will only fill two. Incumbent Feliciano Aguilar, an educator, was the lone candidate to file for the Trustee Area 2 so he automatically wins another term. 

For Trustee Area 4, Diana Perez, college administrator, and Alex Jauregui, principal/educator, are running to represent the northwest areas of Santa Maria and stretching west to include Guadalupe.

Trustee Area 5 which includes Orcutt, Los Alamos Valley along with Sisquoc, Garey and Tepusquet, also has two candidates — incumbent and aviation professional David Baskett and educator Joe Dana. 

Only voters in a specific board member areas will choose the winners of the races. A map showing the trustee areas can be found by clicking here.

Read the answers submitted by Diana Perez and Alex Jauregui below.

Diana Perez, College Administrator

Question: What experience and expertise would you bring to the school board?

Perez: I have worked at Allan Hancock College for 26 years, assisting students with college and career options, financial aid, and the admissions process. In addition, I served for 10 years as a Board Trustee for the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District.

During my time on the board, the district made significant improvements. We built and opened the Mark Richardson Career Technical Education Center and constructed two three-story buildings at Santa Maria and Righetti High Schools to help alleviate overcrowding. We also improved the district’s A-G completion rate from 23% to 40%. The district has a 92% graduation rate, and 97% of our high school seniors who apply to a California State University are accepted.

My experience in both higher education and school board governance gives me a strong understanding of what students need to successfully transition from high school to college, career training, or employment. 

Question: What do you think are the most pressing issues the SMJUHSD over the next four years? How would you address these issues?

Perez: The first and most pressing challenge is overcrowding. As our city’s population continues to grow, enrollment will continue to place pressure on our high schools. Our schools are already serving more students than they were originally designed to accommodate, and the situation will not improve unless we address enrollment and facility needs in the near future.

The second challenge is maintaining school safety. I strongly support providing safe learning and working environments for every student and staff member. Although our schools are safe, maintaining that safety requires continued attention and vigilance. The safety of our students and staff must never be compromised.

Finally, we want students to graduate prepared to pursue the path that is right for them, whether that means attending college, learning a trade, entering the military, or joining the workforce. Preparing students for these opportunities requires the district to stay informed about changing college requirements, career pathways, workforce needs, and employment trends. My 26 years of experience working in higher education has given me direct knowledge of these areas. That is expertise I would bring to the board as we work to prepare students for life after high school. 

Question: After failing to get support for the most recent bond measure, what else does the SMJUHSD need to do to regain the support of the voters?

Perez: First, the bond measure came close to passing, which I believe demonstrates that many members of our community recognize the need for additional high school facilities, including a fourth comprehensive high school.

The superintendent and board members should reach out to the community, listen to voters, and have meaningful conversations about the district’s needs and concerns surrounding future facilities. I believe most community members want our students to succeed. We need to invest the time and effort necessary to have constructive conversations about how the district and community can work together to address the needs of our growing city. 

Question: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Perez: I bring a higher-education perspective to the board at a time when preparing students for their futures is increasingly important. We currently have two board members who represent the elementary school district, and my opponent would be a third. I believe having higher-education experience represented on the board provides an additional perspective as the district prepares students for college, careers, and other opportunities after graduation.

The world of education and employment is also changing rapidly, particularly with the growth of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. Our district needs to understand these changes and prepare students for new educational and career opportunities. I will support our teachers, counselors, and other district personnel as they help students navigate these changes and prepare for careers that are evolving and, in some cases, only beginning to emerge.

Alex Jauregui, Principal/educator

Question: What experience and expertise would you bring to the school board?

Jauregui: I bring more than 16 years of experience in public education and a perspective shaped by serving in a variety of roles—from high school history teacher, school administrator and principal.

I am a former Righetti High School graduate, who spent the early years of my career at Righetti High School teaching history, five years serving the Guadalupe community as principal of Kermit McKenzie Intermediate, and currently serving as principal of El Camino Junior High. These experiences have given me a firsthand understanding of the needs of students, families, teachers, classified staff, and our entire school community.

My experience includes instructional leadership, student achievement, school safety, budgeting and resource allocation, supporting multilingual learners and students with disabilities, and building strong relationships with staff, families, and community partners.

Most importantly, I understand how decisions made at the board level impact classrooms every day. I would bring that practitioner’s perspective to the board, ask thoughtful questions, listen to our community, and keep student success at the center of every decision.

Question: What do you think are the most pressing issues the SMJUHSD over the next four years? How would you address these issues?

Jauregui: I believe three important issues will require continued attention: improving student achievement and closing opportunity gaps, supporting safe and welcoming schools, and ensuring the district remains fiscally responsible while meeting the needs of a growing and changing community.

First, we must continue improving academic outcomes while ensuring multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and other students needing additional support have access to rigorous instruction and meaningful opportunities throughout their four years in our district. I would also emphasize the need for collaboration to review student data, strong instructional practices, and better alignment between our elementary, junior high, and high school systems.

Second, students and staff deserve schools where they feel safe, supported, and connected. That means balancing physical campus safety with mental health supports, positive relationships, clear expectations, and STRONG communication and partnerships with families.

Finally, the district must carefully manage its resources. I would support transparent budgeting, long-range facilities planning, competitive compensation and working conditions, and ensuring investments are tied directly to student needs.

In each area, I would listen to students, families, employees, and community partners while using data to evaluate whether our efforts are producing meaningful results.

Question: After failing to get support for the most recent bond measure, what else does the SMJUHSD need to do to regain the support of the voters?

Jauregui: I believe regaining the support of voters starts with listening. While the most recent bond measure received support from a majority of voters, it fell short of the threshold required to pass. That tells me the district needs to better understand both why people supported it and why others did not.

The district should engage families, staff, students, homeowners, and community members well before considering another bond measure. We need to clearly communicate the condition of our facilities, identify the highest-priority projects, explain what they will cost, and demonstrate how those investments will directly benefit students and the community.

Transparency and accountability are equally important. Voters should be able to easily understand where their tax dollars would go, how projects would be prioritized, and how the district would report progress and expenditures.

Ultimately, trust is built through consistent communication and follow-through. Before asking our community to make another significant financial investment, the district needs to demonstrate that it has listened, developed a responsible plan, and will be accountable for delivering on its commitments.

Question: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Jauregui: This community is more than where I work—it is where I grew up, graduated from high school, began my career as an educator, and where my wife and I are raising our four children.

I am running for school board because I believe deeply in the potential of our students and in the power of public education to open doors for their futures. Having served students and families at the high school, intermediate, and junior high levels, I have seen firsthand both the incredible work happening in our schools and the opportunities we have to do even better.

If elected, I will bring an educator’s perspective to the board while remaining committed to listening, asking questions, working collaboratively, and making decisions based on what will best serve our students and community.

For me, this campaign is about giving back to a community that has given so much to me and ensuring every student has the opportunities, support, and pathways they need to succeed.

Editor’s Note: These answers have been lightly edited for style and formatting. Additional candidate Q&As will be published on Noozhawk in the coming weeks.

Read more about local candidates and issues in Noozhawk’s Elections section.