New Merced school board members take their posts

Three new trustees took the oath of office Tuesday for the Merced City School District’s governing board.

Superintendent RoseMary Parga Duran administered the oath to Mike Crass, Emily Langdon and Miguel Lopez.

Crass has served on the board for Area 1 since May, when he was appointed to the vacant seat. He was elected to continue that role.

Lopez, a community relations representative at UC Merced, unseated Gene Stamm in Area 2.

Langdon, who is a university educator and has children attending Merced City schools, was elected to the seat for Area 4, previously held by Susan Walsh.

The new board voted unanimously to name Adam Cox as board president and Jessica Kazakos as board clerk. Cox and Kazakos joined the board in 2009.

Cox said during the ceremony that he looks forward to working with the new board members. “We have a wonderful staff, great parents and outstanding students,” he said.

Parga Duran thanked the board members for their public service. “We appreciate their commitment to serving students and their families throughout the Merced City School District,” she said.

Board members are elected by the area in which they live and represent the district’s 11,000 students who attend 18 campuses for preschool through eighth grade.

This story was originally published December 14, 2016 at 4:25 PM with the headline "New Merced school board members take their posts."