Dr. Daisy Morales is gone. Who will take her place?

Photo from the school closure protests (Jojo Baile/The Puma Prensa)

By Chase Soylu Chee & Silvio Potosme, staff writers

In 11 months, we have lost two superintendents from our District: Anna Trunnell, who resigned last spring, and now Dr. Daisy Morales, who was terminated from her position without cause. Now, the District's Business Chief has taken over as Interim Superintendent. 

Throughout the academic year, parents, faculty, and students have been advocating for their schools not to be shut down due to the district's overwhelming debt. 

In her previous district, Live Oak School District in Santa Cruz, Dr. Morales resigned in March 2024 due to an 82% no-confidence vote after a similar budget deficit situation. When she was hired in Santa Rosa, parents and faculty saw a red flag in her resume and raised concerns about it. 

On Wednesday, April 22, 2025, during a Board meeting, Superintendent Morales was fired without cause after a 5-1 vote by the Santa Rosa City Schools Board of Trustees. 

Following Dr. Morales’ termination, Lisa August, the Associate Superintendent of District Business Services, took her place during the meeting as Interim Superintendent. 

Many teachers and parents were satisfied with the results and shared their opinions about the situation, but what about the students at Maria Carrillo High School?

“She was fired with a no-confidence vote due to her poor performance,” and Freshman Janis Vanags was even surprised that “she was hired at this district even though she has a history with her past school district.”

Another student here at MCHS, Junior Arman Achechzai, stated that “it was a reason she got fired, and I hope the next Superintendent cares more about our district than she did.” Achechzai believed that firing Dr. Morales was “the right decision.”

Senior Nate Tran felt remorseful for Dr. Morales’ termination, but thought it needed to be done. “She got fired, but honestly, I want nobody to get fired from their job. I want them to have the job, but she [was]not doing a good job,” said Tran. 

Achechzai believes that the new Superintendent should pick up the torch and deal with the situation at hand. “[She should] be better with the finances first of all, make sure we’re not going into $25 million worth of debt, and try to listen to the voices of students and faculty,” said Achechzai. 

With most of the District population upset and outraged at the previous superintendent’s actions, students are hopeful that August can repair the transparency bridge between the district and the schools.