Meet Your Petaluma School Boards

Three seats on the Petaluma City Schools board are up in November: Areas 2, 3, and 5. And one of those seats will almost certainly change hands. Joanna Paun, who currently represents Area 5, is running for D2 Sonoma County Supervisor. Whether she wins or loses, the November race will shape who governs the schools Petaluma's children attend for the next four years. If you don't know which school board represents you, you're not alone. Petaluma has a surprisingly complicated school landscape. Nine separate districts, each with its own elected board that hires the superintendent, sets the budget, and shapes what happens in Petaluma's classrooms. Petaluma has nine school districts (yes, nine) Petaluma City Schools (K-12, largest, covers most of the city plus rural south) Old Adobe Union (K-6, east side, within city limits, 5 schools) Waugh (K-6, east side, within city limits, 2 schools) Liberty, Cinnabar, Dunham, Two Rock, Wilmar, Laguna Joint (small rural districts west and south of the city, mostly one school each) Each has its own elected board. This post covers the two biggest: Petaluma City Schools and Old Adobe. The rural districts and their boards are next on my list. If you're a parent, trustee, or community member in one, I'd love to hear from you. Please Porchmail me! Why nine districts in one city? Historical boundaries drawn a century ago, no consolidation since. That's a whole other post (coming later). What trustee area do you live in? Like the City Council, Petaluma City Schools moved to district-based elections a few years back. The district is divided into five trustee areas, each with roughly 15,000 residents based on the 2020 Census. Voters in each area elect one trustee to represent them, though every trustee governs the whole district (not just their area's schools). The full map is at petalumacityschools.org. Old Adobe Union School District works differently. Its five trustees are elected at-large, not by area. How it works: Petaluma City Schools covers grades TK through 12. Legally it's two districts (Petaluma City Elementary and Petaluma Joint Union High) sharing one governance board. That's called "common administration" under California Education Code. So when you hear "Petaluma Joint Union High School District," that's the same board as Petaluma City Schools. Trustees are elected by area (five areas, one trustee each), serve four-year terms, and elections are non-partisan. Board officer roles (President, Vice President, Clerk of the Board) rotate annually, appointed each December by the trustees themselves. Officers do not automatically move up to any city or countywide seat. What the PCS Board is responsible for: Hiring, evaluating, and dismissing the superintendent Approving the annual district budget (about $150 million) Setting district-wide policy on curriculum, discipline, safety, and student services Approving collective bargaining agreements with teachers and staff Authorizing bond measures and major capital projects Communicating with the community and representing constituent interests Old Adobe Union School District covers grades TK through 6 on the east side of Petaluma, serving five schools. Its five trustees are elected at-large, meaning every voter in the district votes on every seat. Terms are staggered so seats come up in different election cycles. The Old Adobe board's responsibilities mirror those above, at a smaller scale (K-6, about 1,881 students). Trustee service on both boards is essentially volunteer work. Members receive a small monthly stipend allowed under California Education Code, not a salary. The Petaluma City Schools Board Ryan Williams (Trustee Area 1, Clerk / Vice President) Term ends December 2028 Elected 2024, ran unopposed Political Lead of SEIU 1021 Petaluma resident Caitlin Quinn (Trustee Area 2) Term ends December 2026 Elected 2018 (defeated three incumbents), reelected 2022 unopposed Digital Advocacy Specialist at Planned Parenthood Northern California Board Member of Petaluma Pride Lifelong Petaluma resident Mady Cloud (Trustee Area 3, Board President) Term ends December 2026 Elected 2018, reelected 2022 unopposed Retired English teacher, formerly at Casa Grande High School 31+ year Petaluma resident Ellen Webster (Trustee Area 4) Term ends December 2028 Elected at-large in 2020, reelected to Area 4 in 2024 Supervises student teachers at Sonoma State University; previously taught 30 years at Shoreline Unified School District 40+ year Petaluma resident Joanna Paun (Trustee Area 5; currently running for D2 Sonoma County Supervisor) Term ends December 2026 Elected 2018, reelected 2022 unopposed Department Head of Foster and Homeless Youth Education Services at Sonoma County Office of Education 20-year Petaluma resident Next PCS election: November 2026 (Trustee Areas 2, 3, and 5). The Old Adobe Union School District Board Individual bios and terms aren't published on the district's site, and news coverage on individual trustees is thin. Here's what's publicly available: Peter Walsh (Board President) Public info not readily available Anna Dietrich (Vice President) Public info not readily available Scott McKenna (Clerk of the Board) Public info not readily available Kimberly Shaver (Board Member) Public info not readily available Adriana Smith (Board Member) Elected 2022 (initially appointed to fill a vacancy in November 2021) Eligibility Specialist at Sonoma County Human Services Department 20+ year Petaluma resident If you're an Old Adobe family or trustee and can help fill in the gaps here, please reach out. When and where: Petaluma City Schools Board meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month at 6:00 PM, at the District Office, 200 Douglas Street. Meetings are open to the public, live-streamed on Zoom, and past recordings are on the Petaluma City Schools YouTube channel. Old Adobe Union School District Board meets at La Tercera Elementary, 1600 Albin Way. Meeting schedule and agendas are at oldadobe.org. To find your PCS trustee area, use the county's district lookup tool. Enter your address and it'll return your trustee area, along with your council district and other jurisdictions you live in.