Ana Boyenga
Candidate for County Superintendent of Schools, Merced County · Assistant Superintendent
Ana Boyenga is assistant superintendent for the Atwater Elementary School District. The district has 11 schools and about 4,900 students. She was born in Atwater in 1970. Her parents were Mexican immigrants. Her father worked in the Bracero farm labor program. Later he drove a forklift at a cannery. Boyenga struggled with reading as a child. She says her teachers helped her learn English and succeed. She went to St. Anthony's Catholic School and Atwater High School. She graduated in 1989. She studied at Merced College. She earned a B.A. in Liberal Studies and a teaching credential from Cal State Stanislaus. She started as a bilingual fifth-grade teacher. She also taught primary grades. She spent five years as a coordinator, then director, of English Language Learner programs in Atwater. She was principal of Thomas Olaeta School from 2009 to 2015. She now oversees education services across the district's 11 schools. She helped secure an $11.1 million state grant for community schools. She started a STEAM Center and a dual-language program. She won the California Distinguished School Award in 2014. She was named Principal of the Year in 2011-12. She won the Rotary Service Above Self Award in 2020. Merced County named her Administrator of the Year in 2024. She has been in the Atwater Rotary Club for 22 years.
Positions in brief
Boyenga wants better reading instruction in schools. She wants districts to support and keep good teachers. She wants more career and job training tied to local industries like farming and health care. She also wants districts to plan budgets ahead and live within their means.
Boyenga says reading instruction is a top priority. She wants teachers to get more tools and training to teach reading well. She wants teachers to step in early when students struggle. She also wants families to get help supporting reading at home. She says districts should invest in teachers, not just hire them. She wants strong pipelines into teaching and supportive workplaces. She says this helps good teachers stay. On job training, she wants more career and technical programs. She wants these tied to local industries like farming, health care, and manufacturing. She wants stronger ties with employers and colleges, including UC Merced and Merced College. On budgets, she wants school boards to use three-year budget plans. She says this helps districts curb costs and live within their means.
On the issues
- Education & Schools
Says teachers need more tools, training, and support to teach reading well and step in early when students struggle, and that families need resources to support reading at home.
“Our educators need the tools, the training, and ongoing support to deliver effective literacy instruction and intervene early when students struggle.”
Source → - Education & Schools
Wants districts to build strong hiring pipelines and supportive work environments so good teachers stay, not just get hired.
“Successful districts don't just hire teachers, they invest in them.”
Source → - Education & Schools
Wants to expand career and technical education pathways tied to local industries like agriculture, health care, manufacturing, and technology, and deepen partnerships with employers and colleges.
“That starts with expanding and strengthening high-quality CTE pathways aligned to our local economy — such as agriculture, healthcare, education, manufacturing and technology.”
Source → - Taxes & Cost of Living
Wants school boards to use multi-year budget projections to plan ahead and curb expenses so districts live within their means.
“When you're looking at your budgets, and school boards have the three-year projection, you can already have an idea of where you're going and curb expenses to ensure that you're living within your means.”
Source →
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