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Guerrero, Romo bid farewell
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Teresa Guerrero and Edgar Romo were presented awards for service while attending their final meeting as Ceres School Board members on Thursday.

It was a tearful goodbye for Guerrero, who lost her seat in Trustee Area 3 by 244 votes to retired teacher Valli Wigt in the Nov. 3 election. Guerrero had the second-highest vote total (2,364) when first elected to the board in 2005.

Romo lost his seat in Trustee Area 5 by 109 votes to newcomer Lourdes Perez.

"I'm going to miss being a part of the process of a district that is continuing to evolve in a positive way," Guerrero said.

Guerrero and Romo both made a difference according to CUSD Supt. Walt Hanline.

"They were dedicated, hard-working board members," he said. "Teresa was a person that built relationships. She expected everyone to be civil and respectful. She led the district through tough financial times. She made it very clear she wanted to make sure we would minimize people losing their jobs.

"Edgar is such a kind and caring man. He was somebody everybody enjoyed being around."

"The results of the election shook me up," Guerrero said. "My take is people didn't vote. In a way, it's kind of sad. We need to educate our community on taking an active role in the process of exercising their right to vote."

Guerrero noted that less than 800 of the 3,700 registered voters in her area voted in the election.

"I did everything that could have been done," she said. "I was so shocked because I knocked on 2,000 doors and they said, 'Yes, you got my vote.'"

Romo, who was appointed in 2008 after Bill Berryhill stepped down, completed 50 hours of board training.

"He was just beginning to come into his own," Hanline said.

Incumbent Davis defeated Brian Kline, 1,900-1,363, in a closer-than-anticipated race for the at-large seat. The retired CUSD teacher/librarian was the top vote-getter in the 2005 election.

"I feel very confident the new board is going to move forward in a positive direction," Guerrero said. "I'm not done. I'm going to continue to advocate for parents to take active roles in their children's education."