Hunt takes PSD oath of office
PALMDALE — Newly-elected Palmdale School District trustee Anthony Hunt took the oath of office on Dec. 15.
He finished second out of six candidates for two seats on the School Board in the Nov. 3 election. Incumbent Sharon Vega was re-elected.
Hunt recalled in an email, sitting around in his living room on Election Day, waiting for the results to be released.
“The moment the first set of results came out and I saw that I was in the top two, I became overwhelmed with excitement that a dream of mine just came true,” he wrote. “Something that I had worked so hard for, was coming to fruition.”
Hunt anxiously watched the results trickle in over the following 27 days. Once the results were certified, he felt the anxiousness go away.
“I remembered how I had always looked up to the School Board members when I was in middle school and high school and thought how amazing it was for them to be there and now here I am in the position of those that I used to look up to,” he wrote.
Hunt knows the Palmdale School District Board of Education has its work cut out for it due to the COVID-19 pandemic and distance learning.
“I have to say that what I look forward to the most is being able to help the district navigate its way into safely getting the students and staff back onto campuses when this is all over and being able to meet the staff and students,”
he wrote. “I look forward to the days where I am able to walk on the campuses and see the students on the playgrounds and back safely in their classes.”
Hunt feels an enormous sense of pride and accomplishment being able to sit on the Board.
“I am coming in as one of the youngest members to ever sit on the Board and I think that encourages the youth in this community to see that no matter how old you are, you can accomplish anything that you set your mind to,” he wrote. “If you have a heart to serve your community, get out there and do it and let no one stop you.”
Hunt works for Antelope Valley Union High School District. He recently received approval to begin his special education teaching career, after being blocked for six months by AV Union High School District Board Members Victoria Ruffin and Amanda Parrell. He supported last year’s effort to recall them.
“When we serve on a School Board, our hearts should be in it for the students and that’s what I have noticed from the AVUHSD School Board, not everyone has been there for the students,” he wrote. “So, I want to make sure that all of my decisions on the Palmdale School Board go to benefiting that of the students, because without the students we wouldn’t be here.”