Samperi elected Downey school board president
Dr. John Garcia, D. Mark Morris and Bobbie Samperi.
DOWNEY – Barbara “Bobbie” Samperi was elected president of the Downey Unified Board of Education on Tuesday, along with new vice president Martha Sodetani and clerk Giovanna Perez-Saab.
Outgoing president D. Mark Morris, a member of the school board since 1982, will continue to serve on the board representing Trustee Area 6.
In attendance to present Morris with certificates thanking him for his one-year term as president was Downey Mayor Claudia M. Frometa, Christopher Perez representing Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, Vincent Morales representing Supervisor Janice Hahn and Chad Oberly representing Assemblymember Cristina Garcia.
Samperi presented outgoing president Morris with a plaque on behalf of the entire Board of Education, thanking him for his leadership as president this past year.
Morris is a member of the California School Board Association and the Los Angeles County School Boards Association. He was inducted into the Downey High School Hall of Fame in 2005 and has a campus building named in his honor.
Morris’ community service includes past membership on the City of Downey Community Services Commission, the Water Board, the Redevelopment Project Area Committee, the Cerritos College Advisory Board and was the founding President of the Alumni Association. He is a lifelong resident of Downey and graduate of Downey High School.
“I appreciate the honor of being president this last year,” said Morris. “Downey Unified is a vital part of the city of Downey and I take great pride in our students, teachers, classified staff and administration.”
“We as a Board want the best for our students regardless if they moved into Downey yesterday or they were born here. We want the best for them because they are the backbone of our community and I am truly thankful for having the honor to have served them this past year.”
He closed by thanking his wife, Pam Morris, and his fellow Board members for all of their support since he was elected as president last December.
Samperi, a Downey resident and Warren High School graduate, has served on the Board of Education for 28 years.
D. Mark Morris and then Downey mayor Claudia Frometa.
A member of the Downey Community Service Commission for 15 years, Samperi has previously been an active member of Downey Council PTA, Alameda Elementary, Ward Elementary, Sussman Middle and Downey High School’s PTA.
She is currently a member of Downey Federal Credit Union’s Supervisory Committee.
Samperi said she looks forward to the year ahead and plans to continue to work hard to maintain community values and high educational standards, and strives to continue to ensure the future of thousands of Downey Unified students.
Sodetani has been a resident of Downey for many years and actively involved within the Downey community. She is a member of the PTA HELPS Food Distribution Board, Downey Coordinating Council, Character Counts Coalition, Downey Sister Cities, Gangs Out of Downey and the Assistance League of Downey.
Sodetani has served on the Board of Education since 2005. She was honored by the City of Downey with the Mayor’s Distinguished Citizen Award and named Soroptimist Woman of the Year. Sodetani is a member of the PTA HELPS Food Distribution Board, Downey Coordinating Council, Character Counts Coalition, Downey Sister Cities, Gangs Out Of Downey and Thirty-third District Executive PTA Foster Children Chairman.
Perez-Saab has been a member of the Board of Education for the Downey Unified School District representing Trustee Area 3 since 2018. She serves on several community organizations that assist families through service, fundraising and scholarships.
She has served as President of Soroptimist International of Downey with the goal to Educate, Encourage and Empower Soroptimist members and those within the community through many hands-on service projects and scholarships both locally and internationally. She is actively serving on her son’s PTA Board at Rio San Gabriel Elementary, has been selected as the Chairperson of her children’s School Site Council and continues to be an active classroom parent.
Perez-Saab is also involved with Downey Unified’s new Global Language Academies of Downey (GLAD) at Carpenter Elementary where her daughter is attending.