3 candidates left to fill 3 open seats on Sunnyside school board

Board member Rebecca “Beki” Quintero is running for reelection alongside two new candidates, Matthew Taylor and Lisette Nuñez.

Buck Crouch, the board’s current president, and Roberto Jaramillo are leaving the board.

A fourth candidate, Joaquin Nuñez, notified Pima County Superintendent Dustin Williams on Thursday that he was withdrawing his candidacy for the board citing a planned move out of state.

“Due to family health matters, I have made the decision to relocate to Texas sometime next year,” Nuñez wrote in an email to Williams. “It seems unfair and irresponsible to the school board and to the district to continue my campaign now that I know I won’t be able to complete even a quarter of my term, or to truly affect any of the initiatives that I intended to introduce.”

The governing board for Sunnyside, the second largest school district in Southern Arizona, serves more than 15,600 students.

Rebecca “Beki” Quintero

Rebecca “Beki” Quintero, has lived in the Sunnyside District since the 1970s and has been involved in several projects to improve the Sunnyside neighborhood and Tucson communities.

She graduated from Sunnyside High School in 1971 and her three children went through school in the district. She has served on the school board since 2014.

Quintero co-founded the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association, worked for the city’s Graffiti Abatement Program, volunteered with Pima County Attorney’s Restorative Justice Program for 12 years, and has volunteered with Tucson Clean and Beautiful since 1994.

She also co-founded the Sunnyside Peace Garden in 2003.

She started working for Tucson Clean and Beautiful in 2006 and recently retired as the recycling education coordinator.

“I am totally committed to my community and the youth and always have been,” she says.

Quintero says she wants to address the teacher shortage in Arizona and locally, which has worsened because of the pandemic.

“We have a low teacher pay due to the legislature not supporting people that go into the education field,” she wrote in an email. “We need to improve the way our legislative leaders look at educators and how they fund education.”

She would also like to use incentive programs to ensure college students continue to pursue careers in teaching.

The district also needs to pass a budget override, Quintero said.

“Our district has not been able to pass an override because of the mistrust that the community has had due to the previous administrations’ lack of ability to appropriately put money where it should have gone,” she said.

Quintero says the current superintendent is responsible and cares about the district’s students, teachers and staff and “has been holding people accountable for their work ethic and their potential to be the best that they can be.”

She believes its important for the district to continue to build trust within the community.

“Since the 2014 recall election I have worked hard to bring back integrity to the district,” she says. “It is the role of the governing board member to hire a superintendent to carry out the functions to manage the district which we have done.”

Quintero says she has worked with other board members to increase transparency, communication and outreach. The board has also supported staff to improve educational opportunities for students with dual enrollment with Pima Community College and Career and Technical Education programs, she said.

Matthew Taylor

Matthew Taylor, 20, a student at Pima Community College, is a Tucson native who grew up on the city’s south side. He has served on the board of directors for the local nonprofit Tucson Pride and helped plan the 2019 Tucson Pride Parade and Festival. Taylor was a student at Sunnyside district schools.

On his first day of 11th grade, Taylor was placed in the Arizona foster care system, he said in an email interview.

He spent most of his time in the system “on the run and in hiding,” as he refused to live in group homes, he said.

“Due to a lack of resources and his fear of being picked up by either the Department of Child Safety or the police,” Taylor said he dropped out of high school and earned a GED instead.

After aging out of the foster care system, Taylor has continued his education and said he intends to be “an advocate for the students, as well as bring a new set of eyes to the school district.”

Taylor wants to provide students the support and resources they need to graduate, especially for at-risk youth.

“Our south-side schools are a real gem in this community, producing some of the most hardworking, creative and colorful individuals I have ever met,” he said in an email. “We owe them so much more, and as a board member, I will fight for their personal well-being and academic achievement every single day.”

As someone who wasn’t able to graduate, he says this issue hits close to home for him, and he wants to develop a stronger student retention budget to “guarantee academic and personal success for every student who finds themselves in a tough situation.”

Taylor also wants to continue to improve the district’s sustainability.

“It’s past time that we acknowledge climate change as a serious threat to our existence,” he said.

Taylor recognized Sunnyside schools are doing their part with the district’s solar initiative set to be completed at the end of this year.

He said he plans to continue finding renewable sources for Sunnyside schools.

“Education and influence on our students goes far beyond the classroom setting, it’s everywhere. We need to set the example, one that’s also ecofriendly.”

Taylor said his ability to break down barriers throughout his life will bring a valuable perspective to the board as he works with others to overcome obstacles the district may face.

“To be entirely honest, running for office at such a young age has been the most difficult challenge that I’ve ever faced, requiring a lot of strength, which I’m certain can be a valuable asset to the governing of our schools.”

Lisette Nuñez

Lisette Nuñez, who works for the Tucson Unified School District, is a product of Sunnyside, attending district schools from kindergarten to high school graduation. She earned a degree from the University of Arizona in family studies and human development.

She is currently a restorative practices facilitator for TUSD at Doolen Middle School, where she focuses on strengthening relationships between people and within communities.

Her son is a student in the Sunnyside district and she says all children deserve an equitable education.

“The community deserves a governing board member they can trust to put children, families and educators first,” she said in an email. “I know the issues we face as parents and what it is like to work within a school system, so this position is very personal to me. I will represent our children, families and educators the way they deserve, to close educational disparity gaps and focus on holistic approaches to discipline.”

Nuñez wants to advocate for more social and emotional resources for students and their families.

“Our children are growing up in an age where there are many traumatic stressors that can affect family life and academics,” she said in an email.

She says addressing trauma, including generational trauma, will help students and families succeed, heal and grow.

“Close communities create a strong support system for our children and family,” she said. “I aim to create a closer relationship between our district and community, starting within the classroom.”

She says it’s important to teach children coping skills and conflict resolution.

“Children benefit from understanding, and we need to give them the resources and tools In order to combat the school-to-prison pipeline,” she said.

She also wants to fight for more competitive teacher pay.

“We need to pay our teachers their worth,” she said. “Quality education deserves quality pay.”

Nuñez said her firsthand experience as a parent, student and a staff member in a school will all benefit her serving on the board.

“I have a wealth of knowledge of the education system and have worked for years closely with my community, and children,” Nuñez said. “It is my passion, and I will always aim to put our children, family and community first.”

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