The Murrieta Valley Unified School District Board of Education Tuesday swore in Josefine Hartley to fill the Area 3 Trustee seat vacated last month by former Trustee Yvonne Munoz.
“It would be an honor to serve,” Hartley said after taking her oath of office at the October 28 meeting. “I love Murrieta.”
Hartley, one of 11 candidates the board interviewed as part of the appointment process, said it was her hope to “represent the parents, teachers and students who have views that have been dismissed.”
“My job as an orthodontic assistant in the dental field for over 30 years, it allows me to speak to parents,” she said. “They share with me their concerns about their children and their schools, and I decided I can be their voice.”
When asked what the purpose of public schools was, Hartley said it was to educate students in the subjects of reading, writing and math and ensure they were successful in all school subjects. As for the board of education, she said its role was to “facilitate and oversee [the] learning environment and to elevate the voices of all the families in Murrieta and to make sure that their values are represented, in particular the Hispanic community.”
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“My concern is that students are not reaching their potential, and we are failing the students and their families,” she said, noting that her primary role as a trustee would be to improve the relationship between parents and the district.
When it came to a question about an important issue that she felt strongly about, Hartley brought up AB 329, also known as the California Healthy Youth Act, which requires students receive comprehensive sexual health and HIV prevention education at least once in middle school and once in high school.
Hartley said the law did not represent her or her friends’ values, and she said on topics like this, “trustees should advocate for their community’s values through available legal means,” stating that she would listen to district staff, but ultimately vote in a way that she felt was best for students and families.
Hartley, who was appointed on a 3-1 vote with Trustee Nancy Young voting against, will serve on the board until November 2026 when a special election will be held to fill the seat for the remainder of the term, which is set to expire in November 2028.
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