Sammie Luna was appointed to the Moreno Valley Unified School District board on a 3-1 vote Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. She will be sworn in Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024. (Courtesy of Moreno Valley Unified School District)
The Moreno Valley school board has chosen a new member to fill a vacant seat left behind by a retired board member.
Trustees voted 3-1 to bring in Sammie Luna to represent Trustee Area 1, which covers the northwestern part of the city, between Watkins Drive and Heacock Street.
Luna’s Monday, Aug. 19, appointment will last until 2026. She will finish the term started by Jesus Holguin, who retired from the board in June. Holguin began by serving on the board as an at-large member from 2002 to 2018. He represented Trustee Area 1 from 2018 until his retirement.
During a special meeting Monday, Aug. 12, Luna told the board she would run in 2026 if the board selected her to temporarily fill the seat.
Board President Brandy Clark and board members Ruth Self-Williams and Susan Smith voted in favor of Luna’s appointment, but CJ Johnson voted no.
Johnson had made a motion to appoint Adam Howard-Thomas Sinner. It failed when no one seconded the motion. A second motion to name JoAnn Stephan to the board failed, with two votes in favor and two against. Smith and Self-Williams voted yes; Clark and Johnson voted no.
Luna is a 20-year employee of the city of Riverside and mother of two alumni from Moreno Valley’s Canyon Springs High School. She told the board she has lived in Moreno Valley the past 14 years.
Luna has been an active voice in the Riverside Unified School District as a graduate of Riverside’s North High School and president of its alumni association. She is also on the board of directors for the Riverside Latino Network, a Riverside-based group that addresses issues affecting the Latino community.
Luna told the board in her Aug. 12 interview that she found the most important part of her potential position to be the impact she and the board could have on students, administration and the community.
“We are all here for the students,” Luna said during her interview. “And I want to make sure that I am contributing to a successful path way for those students.”
As part of the board, Luna said she would look to collaborate to have a positive impact on students and provide them with an equitable education.
“Ms. Luna brings a wealth of experience as a parent of two recent Moreno Valley School District graduates that will undoubtedly enrich our board,” Superintendent Alejandro Ruvalcaba said in a Wednesday, Aug. 21, email. “Her unique perspective and commitment to serving our community will be invaluable as we continue to strive for the highest standards of education for our students.”
Smith said Luna would be a good addition to the board and to the forward momentum it would need. Smith said Luna’s push to create successful pathways for students and focus on the student rather than just the test score resonated with her.
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“She wants people to feel like she is an ally and she wants to be an advocate for students,” Smith said.
Luna was one of five candidates considered at the meeting. The others were:
Stephan
Shantel Tracey
Jairo Ruiz
Sinner
The school district’s website had no additional information about the candidates.
Luna will be sworn into office Tuesday, Aug. 27.
