Skip to main content

School District · Statewide General Election

Monterey County Board of Education, Trustee Area 7

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

This person sits on the 7-member Monterey County Board of Education: it sets policy for the County Superintendent of Schools' office, which runs the county's own special-education and alternative-education programs, hears expulsion and inter-district-transfer appeals from local school districts, and decides county-level budget and property matters. A 4-year term.

Monterey County's Board of Education has an open-seat race for its Trustee Area 7 seat on November 3, 2026: Robert Ocampo, a sitting Alisal Union School District trustee and former Salinas City Council member, faces Shanice Virrueta, a longtime coach and mentor at United Way Monterey County. It's a direct November election with no June primary for this office -- whoever gets the most votes wins outright.

The winner serves a 4-year term on the county's 7-member Board of Education. The board sets policy for the County Superintendent of Schools' office, decides county-level budget and property matters, and hears expulsion and inter-district-transfer appeals from local school districts. The board will also work with incoming County Superintendent of Schools Dan Burns, who was elected in June 2026.

The seat is open because incumbent Sandra Ocampo decided not to seek reelection here -- she's running instead for a seat on the Alisal Union School District board, the seat her husband Robert currently holds, while he runs for her open MCOE seat. Both say, if elected, this would be their last term in their new seats.

Robert Ocampo

Robert Ocampo has represented Alisal Union School District's Area 2 for eight years and previously served on the Salinas City Council. He says he would focus on inter-district transfers and look for creative solutions, like on-campus child care, to keep families in their home districts.

Strengths

Eight years on the Alisal Union board plus prior Salinas City Council service gives him direct familiarity with both K-12 governance and local politics in the county seat's communities.

Trade-offs

His current board seat is at a different, smaller district than the one the county board oversees, and he is leaving it -- to his wife's campaign -- rather than continuing it.

Keep in mind

Cal-Access shows only an active committee tied to his current Alisal Union seat, not one specifically naming the county board race; he says this would be his last term if elected.

Shanice Virrueta

Shanice Virrueta is a longtime coach and mentor who works at United Way Monterey County, making her first run for elected office.

Strengths

Direct, hands-on youth-mentoring experience through United Way gives her firsthand exposure to the population MCOE's programs -- special education, inter-district transfers -- most directly serve.

Trade-offs

No prior elected office and no specific policy platform beyond her professional background surfaced this pass.

Keep in mind

No independent news coverage of her candidacy beyond Monterey County Weekly's own reporting was found; she has no campaign committee registered with the state for this race.

Source review: Very strong (94/100) · 5 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with multiple sources checked.

  • countyofmonterey.gov (opens in a new tab)Monterey County Elections -- official "Candidate List" page for the November 3, 2026 General Election: within the School section, County Board of Education Governing Board Member contests are listed for Trustee Areas 1, 3, 6, and 7 only -- the same four seats as the county's own Elected Officials roster, confirming these are the only county-section contests this cycle (Areas 2, 4, and 5 are not up until 2028)
  • countyofmonterey.gov (opens in a new tab)Monterey County Elections -- official "Elected Officials: Schools Superintendents" roster: names each sitting Monterey County Board of Education trustee by area and next-election date -- Annette Yee Steck (Area 1), Heather Owen (Area 3), Mary Claypool (Area 6), and Sandra Ocampo (Area 7) all show "Next Election: 11/03/2026," while Areas 2, 4, and 5 show 2028, confirming which four seats are up this cycle and who currently holds each
  • montereycountynow.com (opens in a new tab)Monterey County Weekly (montereycountynow.com) -- "Monterey County Office of Education board may have three new trustees next year" (Celia Jimenez, Aug. 25, 2026): reports all four county-section races on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot -- Trustee Areas 1, 3, 6, and 7 -- naming every candidate, which incumbents are and are not seeking reelection, and background on each contender, including that outgoing Area 7 incumbent Sandra Ocampo is running instead for Alisal Union School District Area 2, the seat her husband Robert Ocampo currently holds, while he runs for her open MCOE seat
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS -- filer search for "Robert Ocampo": an active committee, "COMMITTE TO ELECT ROBERT OCAMPO BOARD MEMBER, ALISAL UNION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, DISTRICT, AREA 2 (2022)", remains on record for his current school-board seat; no separate committee naming the Monterey County Board of Education or Trustee Area 7 was found
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS -- filer search for "Shanice Virrueta": no results; no campaign committee or candidate filer entry registered under her name

Last updated August 31, 2026.