Richard Lopez
Candidate for County Superintendent of Schools, Merced County · Superintendent / Veteran
Richard Lopez has worked in Merced County schools for 35 years. He grew up in the county and attended local schools. He served in the U.S. Army from 1988 to 1991. He started as a teacher's aide, bus driver, and custodian. He taught for five years at Winton Middle School. He then worked five years as an assistant principal and eight years as principal at Planada Elementary School. During his time there, the school moved off the state's low-performing list and reached high academic scores for two years in a row. He has led Merced River School District as superintendent for 11 years. Enrollment at the district grew more than two and a half times under his leadership. He helped bring in $1.2 million through a state community schools grant and secured $144,000 in local scholarships for students. He also served 14 years on the Merced River School District board and 10 years on the Merced Union High School District board. He holds an A.A. from Merced College, a B.A. and teaching credential from Chapman University, and an administrative credential from Stanislaus State. In 2025, a financial audit of Merced River School District found problems, including missing documentation for student body fund spending and late cash deposits. The county education office referred the matter to a state financial review team in 2026. Lopez said the audit found no misuse of funds and that his district fixed the problems on its own.
Positions in brief
Lopez wants every Merced County student to have good schools and safe campuses. He also wants more career training for students. He says he would check school budgets often, not just once a year. He wants to work closely with small, rural districts.
Lopez says every student deserves a high-quality education. He wants students to have good career and technical training too. He wants safe schools where students, staff, and families feel welcome. On budgets, he says school districts should check their finances often during the year. He wants districts to use a state planning tool to catch money problems early. He does not want to wait until the end of the year to find problems. On special education, he says the county should work with school leaders together. He says it is a shared job, not just his own. He says he would spend his first 100 days visiting school districts and attending local school board meetings. He says he wants to focus on small, rural districts. He says these districts can feel left out and need more support.
On the issues
- Taxes & Cost of Living
Wants districts to review budgets continuously through the year rather than only at year-end, using the state's Local Control and Accountability Plan process to catch problems early.
Source → - Education & Schools
Believes every student deserves access to a high-quality education and meaningful career and technical training opportunities.
“every student deserves access to a high-quality education, meaningful career and technical opportunities”
Source → - Education & Schools
Wants schools where students, staff, and parents feel welcome and safe.
“where students, staff, and parents feel welcome”
Source → - Family & Social Services
Wants special education decisions to be made collectively among county-area superintendents rather than imposed by his office alone.
“I can come up with a solution, but it's not just my program. It's our program as a collective. We need to work together.”
Source → - Education & Schools
Plans to be personally available to rural districts that often feel isolated, including regularly attending local school board meetings.
“Many districts find themselves, especially the rurals in isolation, looking for that guidance, looking for that support. I'm going to be that person that's going to be there, that's going to be visible.”
Source →
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