01
Experienced
Twenty years of advocating for public education and our kids — from classroom volunteer to board president, through two successful facilities bonds and countless tough budget decisions.
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Re-Elect
Re-Elect
Colleen Martin for Lucia Mar School Board, Trustee Area 5
Lucia Mar Unified School District
Board of Education · Trustee Area 5
Twenty years of advocating for public education and our kids — with the experience, integrity, and commitment our students deserve.
Why Colleen
Proven leadership our schools can count on.
Supported by parents, teachers, and our community — because she has earned it, one decision at a time.
02
Integrity
Honest with students, parents, and staff. Colleen says the same thing in a board meeting that she says at the grocery store — and she answers her own phone.
03
Committed
Committed to every student's success. Athletics, fine arts, STEM, and career technical education — every path out of high school deserves a champion.
About Colleen
She started as a kindergarten volunteer. She never stopped.
Colleen Martin began volunteering at Lucia Mar when her first child started kindergarten — and she has not stopped since.
After years of volunteering at Harloe Elementary, Paulding Middle School, and Arroyo Grande High School — and serving through PTO, School Site Council, and the District Advisory Council — her service on the School Board became a natural progression of that commitment. She was first elected in 2006 and has been re-elected by her neighbors ever since, serving nearly every year as an officer of the board, most often as President or Vice President.
A 38-year resident of Arroyo Grande, Colleen also brings the perspective of someone who works in a school every single day. As the College & Career Center Specialist at San Luis Obispo High School since 2009, she guides students and families as they plan what comes after graduation — four-year universities, community college, the trades, apprenticeships, and the military.
That daily work shapes how she governs. She is a strong advocate for college preparedness, athletics, fine arts, STEM, and vocational and technical workforce education, because she sees firsthand that students succeed on many different paths.
“I am proud of the progress we've made, but there is more work to be done to ensure every student has the opportunity to succeed.”
— Colleen MartinThe Record
Twenty years of results — not slogans.
Lucia Mar is the largest school district in San Luis Obispo County. Governing it well takes preparation, patience, and a steady hand.
~10K
Students served across the district
20
Schools from Nipomo to Arroyo Grande
1,200+
Teachers, staff, and employees
$180M
Annual district BALANCED budget
- First elected in 2006 and re-elected by her neighbors ever since.
- Elected as a board officer nearly every year — usually President or Vice President.
- Worked tirelessly to pass Measure I — the 2016 facilities bond.
- Worked tirelessly to pass Measure H — the 2024 facilities bond.
- In 2020, urged the district to let the County Health Administrator guide our health decisions.
- Does not ban books and is not an election denier.
- Does not tell families how to raise their children.
- Works at San Luis Obispo High School as College & Career Center Specialist since 2009.
Approved by voters · 2016
Measure I
$170 million facilities bond
Colleen worked tirelessly to pass it. Measure I funded new football stadiums, classroom and science lab upgrades, roof, plumbing and electrical repairs, hazardous material removal, campus safety and security improvements, and accessibility work across Lucia Mar campuses.
Approved by voters · 2024
Measure H
$143 million facilities bond
She helped lead the campaign to victory. Measure H is building an auxiliary gym, replacing aging portable classrooms with permanent buildings, repairing failing roofs, plumbing and electrical systems, removing hazardous materials, and building modern career technical education labs.
Priorities
What she'll keep fighting for.
A clear, practical agenda for Lucia Mar's next four years.
A free, equitable public education
Advocating for every student in the district to have real access to a high-quality public education — no exceptions.
Safe, welcoming schools
Ensuring every campus is safe, inclusive, and welcoming — for students, for families, and for the people who work there.
High-quality instruction
Delivering an education that helps each student reach their full potential, measured by what students can actually do when they graduate.
Athletics, arts, STEM & trades
Continuing strong support for athletics, the fine arts, STEM, and career technical and workforce education programs — including Prop 28 music and arts education in our elementary schools.
Fiscal responsibility
Maintaining balanced budgets and honoring the duty to spend the public's money wisely — protecting the district's long-term future.
Teacher & staff retention
Supporting the people who make our schools work, and building positive relationships between the district and the community.
Your Ballot
Where is Trustee Area 5?
Lucia Mar elects its trustees by area. Here is the neighborhood Colleen represents — check whether she is on your ballot.
Area 5 includes
- The neighborhoods around Harloe Elementary, Arroyo Grande High School, and Valley Road
- Sunrise Terrace and Fair Grove
- Up the Mesa along Los Berros Road and Cypress Ridge
Area 5 does not include
- The Village
- Berry Gardens
Not sure? The district’s interactive map will confirm your trustee area by address.
In the Community
Showing up. Year after year.
On campus, at the podium, and in the room where the decisions get made.
Measure H · 2024
9,621 reasons — and she campaigned for every one of them.
Colleen called voters, installed signs, wrote postcards, and rallied volunteers. Voters said yes, and Lucia Mar campuses are being rebuilt because of it.
Endorsements
Supported by parents, teachers, and our community.
Neighbors and leaders across South County who have watched Colleen work — and want her to keep going.
The Democratic Party of San Luis Obispo County
Countywide organizational endorsement
San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors
Jimmy Paulding · Dawn Ortiz-Legg · Jim Dantona
Arroyo Grande City Council
Caren Ray Russom · Aileen Loe · Kate Secrest · Jim Guthrie · Jamie Maraviglia
Lucia Mar trustees & former trustees
Don Stewart · Dee Santos · Donna Kandel · Vicki Meagher · Chad Robertson · Dawn Hinchman · Daevin Thomas · Erik Howell
Former Lucia Mar superintendents
Nancy DePue · Raynee Daley · Jim Hogoboom
- Piper Adelman
- Mary Beedle
- Ashlea Boyer
- Michael Boyer
- Linda Buseck
- Edie Cajas
- Dan Cariaga
- Debbie Cariaga
- Jamie Carr
- Nan Fowler
- Velma Harris
- Donna Jett
- Maureen Kelley
- Ethel “Tink” Landers
- Mary Maserve
- Kim Mercier
- Rick Mercier
- Robyn Metchik
- Juan Olivaria
- Brandi Pasquini
- Kendra Paulding
- Ryan Pinkertion
- Sergio Romero
- Virginia Roof
- Mariam Shah
- Chrissy Stenson
- Anna Stewart
- Keith Storton
- Tina Storton
- Beth Summers
- Brian Talley
- Jill Vink
- Jamie Voss
- Randy Voss
- Janet Weldon
Titles and organizations listed for identification purposes only. Proud to add your name? Endorse Colleen.
Get Involved
Let's finish the job.
Endorse the campaign, request a yard sign, or just tell Colleen what's on your mind. She welcomes your concerns — and she reads every message herself.
Support the campaign
Campaigns cost money — signs, postcards, and postage. Every dollar goes straight into reaching voters.
Venmo@Colleen-Martin-855
Or mail a checkPayable to Colleen Martin for School Board 2026
855 Olive Street, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420
855 Olive Street, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420
Contributions are not tax deductible. California law requires the campaign to report the name, address, occupation, and employer of anyone contributing $100 or more.
- Call or text805-234-5913
- Emailctitusmartin@gmail.com
- FacebookColleen Martin for School Board
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Mail855 Olive Street
Arroyo Grande, CA 93420