Shawnee Barton Merriman, a mom of four Coronado Unified students and part-time art faculty member and Wellness Ambassador at California State University, Long Beach, said she has experience navigating difficult situations and helping kids get the emotional support they need in announcing her plans to run for the Coronado school board this month.
Merriman is one of four candidates seeking election to the board, which has two four-year seats open in the 2024 election. Merriman is one of two community members who filed nomination documents during an extended candidate filing deadline of Aug. 14, after the official deadline on Aug. 9.
The other three candidates running for a school board seat are Renee Cavanaugh, Bill Sandke and Fitzhugh Lee.
“I am running for school board to ensure we have high-quality, well-supported teachers and administrators who provide the best education for our children,” wrote Merriman in her candidate statement.
This summer, Merriman led a group of parents in requesting answers from the district about staff reductions and changes due to budget cuts.
Merriman said these changes affected her family; today this is where her heart is and why she feels compelled to be on the board.
“We have an urgent need for school board members who are focused on our kids and care about the people who are educating them,” said Merriman. “As a mom of four, I know all these people. They are not chess pieces to me… I care about them and I just think we need someone on the board who has skin in the game and who cares for the people, not just the numbers.”
Parent Volunteer
Merriman, 44, said she’s been a long-time volunteer in her children’s classrooms, including the past three years as a book club leader at Village Elementary School – her favorite volunteer experience.
Merriman, born in Texas, is an artist, writer, poker player and mother, and has lived in Coronado twice – from 2011 to 2013, and 2021 to present. This is her first time running for public office.
“I strongly believe that parents need to be on the school board. We feel the decisions made by our district acutely and see their impact on the daily lives of our children and their educators,” Merriman said via email.
Merrimam said a storm that inundated much of Coronado in January, including local schools, galvanized her concerns about leadership.
“After the difficulties from the [2024] flooding…I want to be sure that our kids and staff have a humanizing advocate,” she added. “I was at that school the night of the flood to bring food to the custodians, and I mopped the playground bathrooms…the next day. As a School Board member, I will continue to show up and care for the people at our schools in whatever way I can.”
Merriman said a staffing shakeup this summer at Village Elementary School was not communicated in a professional or caring manner and caused her deep concern as a parent.
“Our amazing educators and administrators could all leave tomorrow and make more money elsewhere in our county,” Merriman wrote in an email. “Our appreciation, loyalty, respect, hands-on support, and sense of family-like care is all that keeps many gifted educators and administrators here.”
List of priorities
Merriman said her other priorities include: solving district challenges through open communication; supporting military families; embracing bilingual education; crafting hiring guidelines to ensure the district has experienced and qualified educators; and revitalizing adult education course offerings.
Merriman said the district has done a great job developing gender diversity and “strong female leaders,” but found it troubling that some Hispanic school leaders left the district this summer.
“We live in a diverse place,” she said. “My kids need to learn Spanish because their best friends speak Spanish… When they grow up, there’s likely to be more Spanish spoken here in this community than there might be English…We want a diverse community and I think most people do and I think our school needs to be making decisions that reflect that.”
Merriman said the district’s budget crisis is a major issue, and trustees should focus on how to best support teachers and students in the process. She criticized a decision by the current board to lay off mental health experts.
“I don’t think that people who aren’t parents of young children and of middle-school children understand the different mental health climate that our kids are growing up in today,” said Merriman. “Mental health professionals cannot be some of the first budget cuts, they have to be some of the last.”
