Editor’s note: As of July 27, there is one official candidate — incumbent Malachy Sandie — running for one of the three open seats on Coronado Unified School District’s board of trustees. Incumbent Alexia Palacios-Peters is planning to run, but Scot Youngblood, who currently holds the third open seat, told The Coronado News he is not planning on seeking re-election. In March, Margaret Mary Duncan announced she was planning on running. The Coronado News published a story about Duncan’s candidacy after she filed campaign paperwork that month. The candidate filing period closes at 5 p.m on Aug. 7. Candidates elected will begin terms on Dec. 11.
Alexia Palacios-Peters, a school board incumbent, has announced she is seeking re-election for a second term as a Coronado trustee to support the district’s transition to basic aid, address technology use in the classroom, monitor support for military families and continue a collaborative governing body.
Palacios-Peters, 46, is a practicing attorney completing her first 4-year term this year. One of her children graduated from Coronado High School in 2025, another will be a junior at the high school this upcoming year, and a third will be an eighth grader at Coronado Middle School.
Palacios-Peters said she plans to file her official paperwork in the last week of July.
Changes at the board level come at a time when the district prepares to move away from the Local Control Funding Formula and become locally funded through property taxes.
Palacios-Peters said she wants to maintain the collaborative nature of the board and focus on the budget, specifically getting to basic aid and making decisions under the new funding formula.
“I just want to keep building a district that’s financially strong and welcoming to every family who calls Coronado home, especially the new ones that just got here,” said Palacios-Peters. “My focus has always been on our students and making sure that they have the best education possible… so they can be successful in whatever route they choose after they leave us.”
Supporting military families
For Palacios-Peters, her priorities now compared to four years ago are not completely different, but she said there’s a different focus, specifically with regard to the district’s budget.
According to Palacios-Peters, there have been minimal cuts in the last four years and changes have been made over the last several years in preparation for basic aid whereupon building up reserves will be the priority. Now she looks to be part of the decisions once the district becomes locally funded.
“I think understanding the process and the budget is a huge part of why I should stay on this because I have that institutional knowledge already and I’ve been working with the superintendent and deputy superintendent on this,” said Palacios-Peters.
Palacios-Peters has served as the board president, clerk of the board and contributed to district committees such as the 4×4 committee and the Portrait of a Graduate, the district’s strategic vision for supporting students.
“I speak less, I feel like, when I’m president on the dais than when I’m not because I want to make sure that all the trustees have the opportunity to let their voices be heard as well because we’re all bringing different perspectives,” said Palacios-Peters.
Palacios-Peters said she worked on the 4×4 committee with Trustee Scot Youngblood which helped solidify relationships even with different views. She said the board is looking to continue purposeful work across committees.
Palacios-Peters has also advocated for the district at national conferences such as Coast2Coast and the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools conference which concerns funding for districts serving military families.
“The last four years I’ve really gained some institutional knowledge that I’d like to continue to put to use moving forward in this job,” said Palacios-Peters. “As a military spouse, the military families are still a big focus of mine.”
Palacios-Peters said she also advocates for district changes to support military-affiliated students. Her support for students extends to the student board representative who she and the superintendent began meeting with to review school meeting agendas.
This year, the district will begin its pilot program enforcing cell phone pouches at Coronado Middle School throughout the school day.
“I’m very curious to see how this goes and then ramping it up into the high school if needed,” said Palacios-Peters.
Palacios-Peters said another piece will be to look at “How much are teachers using the computers in the classrooms and do they need to?”
Through the remainder of this term, Palacios-Peters said she wants to leave everything in a good place with regards to moving forward with the Portrait of a Graduate, advocating for military families and keeping a collaborative governing body that can work together, especially when there’s disagreement.
“I am willing to meet with anybody and hear their concerns, their issues, and do what I can to help,” said Palacios-Peters.
