Monterey County superintendent of schools gets sworn in for third term

Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo and Nancy Kotowski's Pebble Beach neighbor administered the oath of office for her third term during a Jan. 7 ceremony at the Monterey County Office of Education.

Other personalities in attendance were Sylvia Panetta, co-director of the Leon and Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy, Mary Claypool, President of the Monterey County Board of Education, and former superintendent of California schools Jack O'Connell.

Kotowski was first elected Monterey County Superintendent of Schools in 2006. The late Donna Alonso-Vaughn ran against her in 2010, but Kotowski faced no contenders in the 2014 election. Which was fascinating, given the fact that Kotowski is widely disliked by union members, and the persistent rumors about her management style which has driven out key members of her staff recently. And you all know, Scuttlebutt does not lie.

It's also fascinating given the headlines we've seen this year about the low educational attainment seen in Monterey County schools. You would think somebody would try to hold her accountable, right? Of course, defeating the odds of a low-income, English learner community is a challenge that probably nobody wants to take on.

Here's another thing that's puzzling. In a majority-Latino community, with a super-majority of Latino children in schools, and a particularly active Latino political establishment, no one in the Latino community decided to challenge her? How's that for a mystery?