Q&A with Tulare County Board of Education Area 2 candidate Ruben Macareno

TULARE COUNTY – This November, contests for city council races, school board elections and local bond measures will be listed lower on the ballot, but they are not any lower in importance. 

Local elections are often decided by just a handful of votes, highlighting the impact of each individual’s voice in the community. In Tulare County, residents who want to see changes in how the Tulare County Office of Education (TCOE) guides local school districts will have the chance to vote on board of education candidates promising to be champions of education.

The Tulare County Board of Education governs the county office of educations through adopting policies and procedures that ensure student safety across the county and implementing programs to support teachers, administrators and students in the local school districts. It is made up of seven residents elected by geographic area to staggered four-year terms. 

This year, board members from Area 2, 3, 5 and 6 are up for election; however, the representatives for Area 3 and 6 — Tom Link and Chris Reed, respectively — will not appear on the November ballot and have been appointed in-lieu of an election because they were the only eligible candidates to file for the race. 

In Area 2, incumbent and current BOE Vice President Debby Holguin is running against challenger Ruben Macareno in a rematch of the November 2020 election. In 2020, Holguin was elected with 50.04% of the vote over Macareno. Holguin won by just 12 votes, showing just how influential every vote is in a local election. 

Area 2 serves most of the northeast section of Tulare County and some voters within its boundaries reside in Fresno County. The trustee area covers portions of Exeter Unified School District and Visalia Unified School District, as well as Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified, Farmersville Unified, Lindsay Unified, Monson-Sultana Joint Union, Outside Creek, Stone Corral, Strathmore Union, Three Rivers Union and Woodlake Unified.

California voters can use the Secretary of State’s online voter registration tool at registertovote.ca.gov to register to vote or check their status. Voters in Tulare County can use an online district lookup tool through their respective county elections office to enter their address and find what Congressional, state and county districts they live in.

Macareno provided Mineral King Publishing with written responses about his background and his goals for the next four years if he is elected Nov. 5. Interview responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Q: What is your background?

MACARENO: I have a long history of community and public service. I was a student officer in grammar school, high school to college. As a young adult I worked for a national advocacy group and education fund in Washington D.C., at a local non-profit training and employment agency and wrote for local newspapers.

My professional experience includes a 20-plus year career as an administrator at a national media company in Southern California, fundraised millions of dollars for underprivileged children, an executive directorship for a chamber of commerce, on occasion commentary writer of current events and was county chairman of a national political party.

Most recently I have served on a variety of organizations such as the Farmersville City Council, Tulare County Association of Governments, League of (California) Cities, Tulare County Economic Development Corporation and other such groups. Presently I am a trustee on the Farmersville Unified School Board.

Q: Who is supporting/endorsing your campaign, and who are the major funders of your campaign?

MACARENO: The relationships I have built with superintendents, educators, parents and students through the years gives me a good pulse of Area 2 school districts. I do not seek partisan or nonpartisan endorsements as I let my work, reputation and relationships speak for me. I use a few old campaign signs and meet people door to door to get a pulse of the real issues that affect our students and families. The only endorsement I seek is from the voters.

Q: What do you hope to change or accomplish in the upcoming term?

MACARENO: Bring more attention to special education needs. It is a growing population; year after year we see an increase. I believe we can do more to give students the tools to succeed in general life. I have great empathy for parents who depend on our school system to help their students be as functional and prosperous as possible, and I feel we could do more. I would like to advocate for more support in Sacramento in this area of education.

Although we are making inroads in vocational education learning opportunities, I would like to encourage school districts to enhance programs to meet the local demands in the health industry (and the) ever fast-growing technology and engineering global arena.

I would like to see TCOE take a lead in creating more academic opportunities to challenge our students via competitions, learning engagement opportunities and education innovation.

Q: What are the top three issues facing Tulare County school districts right now? What would you do to address those issues?

MACARENO: There are some school districts that need to promote a positive school environment. Some get it right but there are more that can improve in providing a safer, more positive and engaging campus life. 

We need more engagement with parents to identify their wants for their children and general community concerns about our schools must be addressed. We need to improve joint school and community relations to address the varied concerns and wants in our communities. 

Providing the vision, conversation and catalyst is what I do now to address these issues and will continue to do so.

Q: What does the role of a board trustee look like to you, and how would you fulfill those duties?

MACARENO: The role of board trustee is the eyes, ears and mouthpiece of (the) community. Someone to ensure that all necessary education code requirements of districts are met and someone who has the vision to improve or better what we have and think outside the box to address identifiable needs. We must always work to be on the cutting of education as time brings new technologies and challenges.

I would have necessary conversations with all stakeholders at all levels to stay in continual education and development in the role as trustee.

Q: Anything else to add? 

MACARENO: Collectively we live in a region where test scores and academic performance are below the state average. Our challenge is how to overcome the reality of our economic condition that most in Tulare County experience to better our students’ academic performance.

I attended schools in Farmersville and Exeter. I received my Associates of Arts degree from Los Angeles City College and am an alumni scholar from California State University, Los Angeles.