Building a Better Board

Building a Better Board BBB is holding the Salinas City Elementary School District (SCESD) accountable to the community's values. Amy Ish was voted in as the new Area 4 Trustee.

BBB is a grassroots movement in response to gross injustices occurring in the Salinas City Elementary School District (SCESD). Rather than sit back with apathy, parents, teachers and community stakeholders became motivated to effective change. In May of 2014, the then Superintendent, Dr. Juvenal Luza, recommended to the SCESD Board to demote several outstanding educators without cause. The communi

ty was shocked at this recommendation and decided to rally around the educators and lobby for them to stay in their current position. Despite not being able to justify the demotions, the Board voted to accept the Superintendent's recommendation. Seeing how then Trustee Janet Barnes was the board member who represented the most vocal constituency (Area 4) and did not conduct herself within Board bylaws, a recall was initiated. Though the recall failed by 30 signatures, the community was able to inform enough voters of her bad behavior that when she ran for re-election in June 2015, she was not voted in for another term. Prior to Barnes’ departure the community took a proactive stance in requesting the Board to conduct an open search for a new superintendent when Dr. Luza’s contract was expiring. The Board honored the community’s request and conducted an open search. They voted to hire Martha Martinez. Hopes were high when Trustee Ish and Superintendent Martinez each began their service the summer of 2015. Unfortunately, to date, neither have been willing to improve the transparency, accountability, and trustworthiness of SCESD. The taxpayers, the teachers, the parent population, and the community continue to strive for better leadership, better decisions, and better schools because Salinas families deserve better.

04/17/2026

Happy Birthday, Sean Henry - a great father, educator, and entertainer. We still think of you every day!

Link to full video in the comments below ⬇️

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05/02/2025

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Dear BBB peeps and family,We received permission to post these two posts from Sabrina's wall. They represent what will b...
05/01/2025

Dear BBB peeps and family,

We received permission to post these two posts from Sabrina's wall. They represent what will be "first" of many...life with Sean in Heaven. (Please click on the pictures to see each post in full.)

Easter 2025 and Sean's 50th Birthday 4/17/2025. The pictures show how Sean's family is at peace. Sabrina is an incredible wife and mother! She and Sean raised amazing children! The three of them knocked it out of the park at Sean’s Celebration of Life! (Sean was a HUGE SF Giants fan, so yes, the pun was intended. 🙂 ⚾️)

We miss you, Sean. Rest easy. 💚🤍

-To help Sabrina cover the prolonged and new expenses that come with a long-term hospital stay and an unexpected passing: https://www.givesendgo.com/HenryFamily

Here is the live stream of Sean's Celebration of Life on Saturday, 4/26 (forward to 12:30). Sean really was an extraordi...
04/29/2025

Here is the live stream of Sean's Celebration of Life on Saturday, 4/26 (forward to 12:30). Sean really was an extraordinary man, especially when we know the hardship he endured in his formative years as a young boy.

There are two kinds of people in this world:
-The ones who passed on the hate..."Since I had to go through it, YOU have to go through it, too!"
-The ones who pass on the love..."Since I had to go through it, I know what it's like and I know there's *a better way*." ♥️

Sabrina, his bride, shared how Sean wanted to do better. He encouraged others to do better.

Sean Henry Memorial

This message is being cross-posted on DJ Frank and Building a Better Board. As we close out SEAN WEEK on BBB, people nee...
04/27/2025

This message is being cross-posted on DJ Frank and Building a Better Board. As we close out SEAN WEEK on BBB, people need to know this about Sean—He was the best friend you could have. He cared about everyone.

If you knew Sean, take a piece of what made him so special. His kindness, his integrity, his genuine nature, his sense of humor, his ability to laugh and lighten the mood during the hardest of times, his intelligence and love of nature and adventure, his willingness to be an active member of our community, helping make it a better place for all children, choosing to work in education, being an outspoken advocate, or any of the other wonderful reasons to admire him.

Be the louder voice in the room and keep Sean’s spirit alive in your heart!

Loving father to two beautiful children, Bonnie and Hayden, and devoted husband to his wife Sabrina. Sean was full of life and impacted so many people positi...

!!!💚🤍 SEAN WEEK 💚🤍!!! DAY 7 - CELEBRATION OF LIFE
04/27/2025

!!!💚🤍 SEAN WEEK 💚🤍!!!
DAY 7 - CELEBRATION OF LIFE

!!!💚🤍 SEAN WEEK 💚🤍!!! DAY 5- BRASS TACKSFor all of Sean's fun and charm, he was wicked smart and had the ability to hone...
04/25/2025

!!!💚🤍 SEAN WEEK 💚🤍!!!
DAY 5- BRASS TACKS

For all of Sean's fun and charm, he was wicked smart and had the ability to hone in on what really mattered...and how to solve it. We put this board together to showcase all he was involved in. In addition to helping scores and scores of children and families, Sean brought in *millions* of dollars to the school district. Not too shabby! Rest easy, Sean. 💚🤍

04/24/2025

DJ Frank here. I really appreciate all the wonderful memories Cynthia has been sharing on BBB during SEAN WEEK. But I'm going to interrupt our regular programming for a quick video, which has never been seen until now. Not even Cynthia has seen it.

Every time Sean grabbed the mic, no one would ever know what to expect. This is Sean at the 2019 Mission Park Jog-a-Thon changing up the lyrics to Milli Vanilli's "Blame It On The Rain" to "Blame It On BBB." The second part of the video is Sean singing along to another signature BBB song, "We're Not Going To Take It."

Sean definitely kept the BBB movement entertaining! Now back to more SEAN WEEK . . .
***
Let's keep this as DAY 4 - LIFE OF THE PARTY
!!!💚🤍 SEAN WEEK 💚🤍!!!

Rest easy, Sean. 💚🤍

!!!💚🤍 SEAN WEEK 💚🤍!!! DAY 3 - LEGACYAfter our principal was fired on 6/9/2014, Bring Back Brinet changed its name to Bui...
04/24/2025

!!!💚🤍 SEAN WEEK 💚🤍!!!
DAY 3 - LEGACY

After our principal was fired on 6/9/2014, Bring Back Brinet changed its name to Building a Better Board on 6/24/2014 as we shifted our focus from that one-agenda item to the greater good of all students in the school district.

Man...it's been a heck of a ride!

Sean leaves a legacy which impacts exponentially more children and families, many of whom may not know his name. That's ok. It's the way MC Sean rolled. Perhaps the most poignant was Sean's desire to honor Mr. Jesus Velarde for volunteering to cross children for several years while the SCESD trustees and City of Salinas collectively failed to fund crossing guards & up keep crosswalks (BBB took pictures of all the crosswalks which were faded or non-existent).

Sean asked the school board to honor Mr. Velarde by way of a ceremonial proclamation thanking him for his service, but they never did, so BBB did it at the the Jane Parker traffic forum at Mission Park. This is but one call to action among countless others for which Sean went the distance.

p.s. Even as of a couple of days ago, a parent, in tears, shared how Sean met with her and other parents to teach them how to advocate for themselves in the school district. She was talking about the five day Special Education (SPED) Town Hall that Sean initiated and coordinated back in December 2022. (Here's a snippet: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AEaPP6khL/)

Please join us on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at 1 PM at First Baptist Church Salinas to celebrate Sean's life and legacy!

Rest easy, Sean. 💚🤍

Address

1130 San Vincente Ave
Salinas, CA
93901

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