This story was originally published by The Merced FOCUS.
The two candidates for Merced County Superintendent of Schools on Tuesday debated their competing visions for leadership – including how, as the county’s top education executive, each would approach partnerships, financial oversight and academic pathways.
Both pledged to listen to every school district’s needs – and prioritize students, if elected.
Ana Boyenga and Richard Lopez are facing off on the Nov. 3 ballot after the two clinched the most votes among a field of four candidates during the June primary. Each brings more than a decade of executive experience in K-12 education.
Boyenga has been an assistant superintendent at Atwater Elementary School District for 11 years. Lopez has served as superintendent of Merced River School District for more than a decade, after serving in aide, teacher and principal roles at Winton Middle School and Planada Elementary.
Valley Onward and The Merced FOCUS co-hosted the evening debate at the Merced County Office of Education Mondo Building in downtown Merced. Boyenga and Lopez addressed a full auditorium of more than 100 people. Each candidate rose from their navy armchair to give opening and closing remarks.
The tone between the candidates was respectful, and they remained seated for 18 questions fielded by the moderators.
In their opening remarks, both candidates expressed their three priorities if elected. Boyenga centered literacy, teacher recruitment and technical education in her campaign.
“I want to make sure that we’re serving everyone, especially our smaller rural school districts. One of the things that I have learned as I’ve been leading briefs and been canvassing is that our small school districts need those additional supports because they do not have the manpower in those school sites and districts,” she said.
Meanwhile, Lopez said he has a vision of education, safety and stability.
“I want to see what’s going on inside classrooms, and I want to make that decision to see how we can best work together to ensure that our school systems are set up for student success,” Lopez said.
Some attendees shared they enjoyed hearing from the candidates firsthand, in person.
“I like to know where they come from, where they have worked, what they have done, and then I can make an informed decision. Then I find myself with a lot of people that I know in here, and it’s almost like a lot of us are in the same places,” said Carmen Fuentes-Gutierrez, a Livingston resident.
“I think it was great that they were able to share their priorities and their vision as they move forward,” said Mayra Garcia, a Merced County resident.
Dual language immersion programs and transparency
When asked about keeping dual language immersion programs, both candidates stressed feasibility.
In January, MCOE officials announced they would end its dual language enrollment program, catching parents by surprise. Community members campaigned for a reversal, prompting officials to keep the program open for another year using funding reserves.
Boyenga pointed to Juniper Elementary in Atwater. She said it’s not just about having the program, but having enough kids to enroll. Getting input from parents is important to make sure they’re informed, she added.
For Lopez, it’s about having the enrollment and funding to keep the program running. He added that he hopes to work with all school systems to provide additional dual language programs across the county.
Communication, both candidates agreed, is important to ensure everyone is informed about county decisions.
“I think the big cliche in education is communication, and we need to ensure that everyone that’s involved in the decision making is afforded that opportunity to be part of that conversation, so that parents aren’t caught by surprise,” Lopez said.
“When you open up a program like a dual language immersion program, you’re somewhat making a commitment that you’re going to keep that program because you are entrusting that that program is going to be around,” Boyenga said.
Artificial intelligence in the classroom
Artificial intelligence is a tool, but not a replacement for learning, both candidates said.
During the debate, Lopez proposed stricter restrictions on artificial intelligence use. At Merced River District, he said students are limited in the AI they can use. He hopes to strike a “fine balance” with the technology.
“AI, just like anything else, serves its purpose. But it’s got to be a controlled purpose, whether it’s for teacher use or student use,” Lopez said.
For Boyenga, she emphasized that students need to learn the basics of reading and writing, which cannot be replaced by a computer or device.
“It’s a powerful tool, but it can never be replaced by a human connection at the heart of education,” Boyenga said.
Addressing achievement gaps
Boyenga hopes to bring early literacy to students, and professional development for teachers for those foundational skills.
“It’s foundational that we develop a professional development support systems for teachers and educators, administrators so we have those foundational skills taken care of in the primary grade,” Boyenga said.
Lopez said that access to preschool, daycare and related services is important for children younger than kindergarten age.
“If we wait until kids are in third grade, they’re already seven years behind, and we will always have achievement gaps,” Lopez said.
He added that it’s not just about reading literacy, but math and science as well.
Boyenga responded, agreeing that ages zero through 5 are key years. She thanked the county’s Head Start program and transitional kindergarten program for providing early learning opportunities to children.
Equity in the classroom
Adequate communication and resources will help students with varying needs or concerns feel supported, both candidates said.
Dialogue, both candidates agreed, is a tool to understand and dismantle racism in schools.
“If racism is an issue across a district, and then later on becomes a bigger issue across the county, and it’s the county’s role to ensure that we have policies in place that are going to address that,” Lopez said.
“But part of it is also emotional, social-emotional learning and building empathy in students. And one way that you do that is by building community circles and talking about different issues as a class and bringing different topics up,” Boyenga said.
For students with special needs, Boyenga wants to make sure she is hearing different needs in the 20 county districts.
“My plan to support school districts with special needs students, special education students, is really to be a listener,” she said.
Lopez agreed, pointing to the different needs each district might have.
“We need to ensure that when we are running these programs, that any student that qualifies for mild to moderate, special needs, whatever that their disability may be, that the county can work with every single school system to ensure that they’re responding according to that school system,” he said.
It’s also important to use dialogue, both candidates expressed, with students who are reintegrating into the classroom from juvenile hall.
“I think it’s important that we provide some type of clear pathway, so our students do not think they’re doomed there forever,” Boyenga said.
Community partnerships
Partnerships with local agencies will be critical for students to gain real-world experience – and bring employees to the county.
Lopez wants to have a career preparation program similar to teacher preparation programs in the county. Investing those resources, he said, will help support every student on an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that has special needs.
“We need to develop those programs here to keep those students that want to follow those careers and keep them here,” Lopez said.
To bring in more talent, Boyenga envisions an internship pipeline program through the county office. She wants to prepare people out of high school and when they’re at local colleges, to work for the county.
“You know, when they’re at Merced College or UC Merced, Stanislaus, Fresno State, knowing that they want to go into these professions and giving them that work experience in our local districts, so that when they graduate, they come back to us,” Boyenga said.
Lopez responded, saying that smaller districts have to rely on an online speech therapist service. He wants to work with every school district to share resources of speech and occupational therapists.
Candidates also discussed the importance of partnerships for reaching educational goals. In Merced County, Career Technical Education pathways give students hands-on career exposure.
Lopez wants every student to have access to these pathways. He also wants to partner with UC Merced as its medical program expands.
“My goal would be to partner with all of our smaller, rural school districts and have that partnership to ensure that their students also have access to pathways that their schools may not be able to offer, because we owe that to all of our kids,” he said.
Boyenga sees CTE programs as a way to produce job-ready graduates. She stressed partnership with local colleges such as UC Merced and Merced College.
“These partnerships have the ability to provide students with internships, apprenticeships, job shadowing opportunities, and dual enrollment opportunities, so that they have the education and also the experience of these CTE programs,” Boyenga said.
Financial oversight and solutions
Boyenga wants an accountability system for school districts to help before financial reports are due. Having resources for both small and large school districts will help, she said.
“Maybe adding on another layer of support for districts for their budgets, so they’re able to ask questions and anticipate that things may not be going in the wrong direction,” she said.
After identifying which schools have declining enrollment or deficit spending, Lopez wants to step in and see what story the budgets tell.
“We can’t wait until two or three years down the road to start helping districts out,” he said.
Earlier this year, Lopez’s district came under review due to its finances.
An audit found that Lopez’ school district showed issues with disbursement and recording of student body funds. In a written response, Lopez said his district submitted a corrective action plan, and that there was no identified misappropriation of funds. At the time, Lopez questioned the timing of the review, since it came before the Primary Election.
Some grants can be used to support students with unique needs, according to the candidates.
Grants from the California Community Schools Partnership, Boyenga said, can help mitigate issues for students who may come with trauma who are not getting the instruction they need.
Lopez wants to use these funds to provide additional counselors and social-emotional learning support to address trauma.
Protecting families amid ICE raid concerns
Both candidates agreed on the importance of keeping students safe – but with varying stances on responding to immigration enforcement.
A county superintendent supports school districts and students, Boyenga said. At the county office, she said, attorneys discuss legal compliance, which helps districts stay informed.
“It is not our job to be immigration agents. It’s our job to provide a safe and supportive environment for all of our students, and that includes our immigrant students,” Boyenga said.
Lopez emphasized his view on keeping students safe and informed. The county can create partnerships with local agencies to give students access to resources, he said, and help to navigate the system.
“I think the obligation of the county superintendent of schools is to ensure that all students have access to safe learning environments. ICE, those against immigrant students– they have no place in our educational system,” Lopez said.