With Election Day tomorrow, the political spin machine is in high gear. As a former SDUHSD trustee, I feel compelled to address a persistent piece of misinformation circulating this time of year: the role of teacher endorsements in school board elections.
The phrase “union-endorsed” candidate is frequently weaponized. Trustee Phan Anderson has used it with obvious disdain from the dais, a sentiment echoed by Area 5 candidate Ginny Merrifield, who claims the teachers’ union shouldn’t “sit on both sides of the table and hold all the power.”
This fundamentally misrepresents labor negotiations in public education.
Trustees do not sit at the negotiating table. The actual bargaining is handled exclusively by designated district staff. The Board merely sets directional parameters and votes to approve or reject the final deal. Claiming otherwise represents either deliberate deception or a disqualifying misunderstanding of basic school board governance.
Full disclosure: I accepted the endorsement of our local San Dieguito Faculty Association. Yet, the endorsement explicitly came with no strings attached. They never dictated my votes or thinking; they simply asked for the opportunity to share their perspectives on decisions directly affecting our classrooms. This is no different than what is expected when engaging with parents, students, and other community voices.
Some individuals want to manufacture friction where it doesn’t exist because they believe it elevates their own platform. Ironically, Merrifield uses this divisive tactic to take aggressive swipes at her opponent, while complaining about the “hateful, ugly rhetoric and personal pettiness” on social media directed at her. However, public pushback and vigorous debate are inherent parts of any campaign. True public service requires a thick skin and a willingness to engage respectfully with critics.
During my tenure on the dais, I faced plenty of opposition. In fact, on December 14, 2023, Merrifield emailed the entire board urging them not to vote me in as board president. I reached out to her the next day to discuss our differences privately, but she chose not to respond.
A candidate cannot ignore opportunities for genuine dialogue and demand civility in one breath while actively engaging in political character attacks in the next. Ultimately, a teacher’s union endorsement is not a tool for corruption or control; it is simply the collective voice of educators supporting candidates who respect their classroom expertise. On Election Day, voters deserve discourse built on genuine qualifications, not manufactured drama.
Katrina Young is a former trustee of the San Dieguito Union High School District.
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