The Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Education voted 5-1 to appoint Sarah Northrup Gadus as the board’s new provisional trustee for Area 3.
The vote took place at a special meeting on Aug. 27, in which the trustees interviewed four candidates who applied for the seat left vacant when former Trustee Terri Eves Knudsen announced her plans to move out of the Morgan Hill area.
Gadus, an eight-year resident of Area 3 within the MHUSD boundaries, has been active in school committees and other local school activities since her children enrolled at P.A. Walsh STEAM Academy on West Main Avenue, she wrote in her application for the Trustee Area 3 seat.
“P.A. Walsh is a cornerstone of our neighborhood and has been the focus of my volunteer work for the past five years,” Gadus wrote. “Before my involvement at P.A. Walsh, I volunteered at the El Toro Boys & Girls Club…as a weekly Teen Night chaperone.”
Gadus has also been involved with Morgan Hill Art School.
Gadus said she wanted to serve on the MHUSD board “because I’m passionate about public education and committed to serving my community.”
“As a board member, I believe I can make a meaningful impact on our schools and the students and families they serve,” Gadus wrote in her application.
Voting against the appointment of Gadus was Trustee Adam Escoto, who voted for Trustee Area 3 applicant Art Cohen. Also applying for the Trustee Area 3 seat were Anahita Yazdi and former MHUSD Trustee Heather Orosco.
As a provisional appointee, Gadus will serve the remainder of Knudsen’s four-year term if there is no citizens’ petition for a special election filed within 30 days of the Aug. 27 board vote. The current Trustee Area 3 term ends December 2026.
In July, a majority of the MHUSD board voted to solicit applications and make a provisional appointment to the seat, rather than schedule a special election in March 2025.
