Less than two months after her appointment, Barstow Unified School District Area 1 Trustee Juliet Barela has resigned.
District officials announced Tuesday that Barela submitted her resignation from her appointment to the Board of Trustees that day.
Barela, 28, was appointed following a second interview with the Board on Aug. 13, 2024. She then assumed the seat vacated by Trustee Julie Clemmer, who resigned in July.
The Trustee Area 1 seat will remain vacant until after the general election on Nov. 5, district officials stated.
However, no candidates are listed for the Trustee Area 1 seat as of Tuesday, according to the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters.
Governing Board Area 3 candidates include incumbent Kris E. Okamuro, and retired lead custodian Anthony Yslas.
Helping Barstow’s youth
A fourth-generation Barstownian and “stay-at-home mom of five-boys, Barela took to social media on Tuesday night to announce she removed herself from the ballot as she sought the Trustee Area 1 seat in the General Election.
“My intention was to potentially hold this position for the indefinite future, so please accept my sincere apology and understand that it was never my intention to waste any district resources or anyone’s time, much less the tremendous amount of community support that I have received, Barela said.
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“Thank you for allowing me this opportunity, and I am hopeful that the next person to hold this seat will truly have the best interest of our outstanding staff and students at hand,” she concluded.
Barela and her husband, Donavan, operate the nonprofit Barstow Wrestling Program. She said that holding a board position would shut down a huge part of the couple’s vision for the club and its future.
“As many of you know, I have been very motivated about the future of our youth in Barstow since I was quite young myself,” Barela said. “Since getting together with my husband, Donavan, who has always had the same values, we’ve doubled down as a team on what our goals are for the future of the youth in Barstow, especially those within youth sports.”
Barela said over the years the couple has served on the board of the Riffian Wrestling’s nonprofit and were a part of its close at the start of the COVID-19 shutdowns.
“As the world reopened, we put major work into revamping and relaunching the wrestling club and its nonprofit, partnering with the city,” she said. “In three years, we have taken the club from a small group of six wrestlers, to currently about 70 from ages 4-17.”
Testing the political waters
When the opportunity to apply for the Area 1 Trustee vacancy arose, Barela debated whether or not it would be beneficial for her and her family.
“I strongly believe that if you want to see a change in something, your involvement in its decision making process is necessary,” Barela said. “During preparation for the initial interview, I realized that the timeline with submitting paperwork for the election would fall soon after the interview and settled on jumping in with both feet.”
Barela said that throughout her short time on the board, she’s found great pride in the schools that she’s toured, witnessing the constant efforts of the district’s classified and certificated staff, and the true joy that students bring.
She also noted Superintendent Deanna Swearingen’s broad knowledge of school district history and has grown to respect the vision she and the board have for the district.
For more information about the Barstow Unified School District, visit busdk12.com.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Barstow Unified School District Board member abruptly resigns
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