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It would have been best if Bonini had withdrawn from the race when she discovered her credentials were insufficient.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.
The Post has really failed the readers here. Bonini was a teacher for 28 years ago according to her LinkedIn. I was extremely confused by the Post’s previous articles on this so I called Derick Lennox for some clarification. Lennox explained that Camacho and Bonini have met the same training requirements and that Bonini will have the same “term” specification as Camacho as once she starts working as superintendent. There is a separate issue regarding whom the chief elections office should have on the ballot, but that ship has sailed.
Thank God the Post is doing its job. It’s the only paper around here that digs deeper than the surface-level press releases.
According to the Teacher Credentialing Commission, Bonini only holds a “certificate of eligibility.” That means she has completed the state’s credentialing program but hasn’t received the proper administrative credential. She can only get the proper credential after she works as a school administrator. State law only allows candidates with a superintendent credential to run for county superintendent.
I appreciate the fact that the Daily Post has taken the time to understand this complex situation and report it accurately.
(For what it’s worth, “details” probably quoted just half of what Derick Lennox said. The part “details” left out is that Bonini hasn’t received the proper administrative credential because she’s never worked as a school administrator. Therefore, it would be illegal if she were to assume the county superintendent’s job if she were elected.)