It’s unfortunate that second-grade school teacher Chelsea Bonini signed up to run for San Mateo County superintendent of schools. She lacks the correct credential for the position. And, unfortunately, soon-to-be-retired Elections Chief Mark Church let her remain on the ballot despite knowing she wasn’t qualified.
So now she’s on the ballot along with Hector Camacho, the county board of education’s executive director of equity, social justice and inclusion.
We say this is unfortunate because we doubt Bonini intended to misrepresent her qualifications. However, it’s complicated, and it’s fair to say that she’s close to meeting the qualifications.
But Camacho is the only candidate in this race who is actually qualified under state statues. Moreover, Camacho is recommended by Nancy Magee, the former superintendent of the county schools who died last month. Bonini and Camacho are seeking a position with no term limits that oversees the Office of Education’s 291 regular and part-time employees and a budget of about $115 million. The superintendent receives a salary of $362,911, pay records show.
The superintendent of schools is a liaison between the state and 23 districts in the county regarding funding and other needs.
It would have been best if Bonini had withdrawn from the race when she discovered her credentials were insufficient. That would have set a good example to the young people in the county’s schools.
But since that didn’t happen, the voters have to deal with this problem. Obviously, we recommend a vote for Camacho.
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