SBCSC appoints new board member
SOUTH BEND, Ind.—South Bend Community Schools appointed a new board member Tuesday night.
Rudy Monterossa was chosen to fill the seventh seat, left vacant after the death of Maritza Robles in September.
“Nobody can replace Maritza Robles. Absolutely not. Her wealth of knowledge about the school corporation, her passion, her enthusiasm are unrivaled but I’m confident that Rudy is going to be up to the task,” says Board President Stan Wrubble.
Monterossa has served 15 years as a public defender, owns his own law firm and also serves on the board of directors for La Casa de Amistad.
“I’m very excited, proud. I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility,” says Monterossa.
Monterossa says he plans to follow up with Robles’ vision of ensuring each student has access to a tablet and advanced technology.
“If that’s the vision she had, I believe it’s an important one. We need resources to be able to provide with our community, we need excellent teachers to be able to teach our future generation of leaders and certainly we need to be adept with technology,” says Monterossa.
As a long time public defender, Monterossa is hoping to bring a fresh perspective to the corporation.
“Given the perspective that I’ve had in the past with the people that may be forgotten in our system I believe we as a school board need to address so that nobody is forgotten,” says Monterossa.
The board had three candidates to choose from: Monterossa, Alexandra Liggins, and Jasmine Brown. Wrubble says any of them would have made great additions to the team.
“At the end of the day Rudy Monterossa brings so much to the table. He’s the complete package. He’s the American dream. He’s a voice and an advocate in his professional life as an attorney and he is an advocate and an activist for the Latino community. We are a diverse school corporation and Rudy adds to that diversity,” says Wrubble.
Monterossa says he wants people to know that despite race, color, or creed you have a voice in the corporation and he welcomes any complaints or concerns.