Napa County Board of Education Trustee Ann Cash, who opposed Mayacamas Countywide Charter School, resigns

Ann Cash, a Napa County Board of Education trustee for over 20 years and one of two on the board to vote against the Mayacamas Countywide Charter School, resigned from her position this month.

Cash’s resignation, submitted July 10, leaves a vacancy on the countywide board for area 4, which represents much of eastern Napa and the unincorporated area beyond, along with part of American Canyon and Lake Berryessa.

The board will appoint a person to fill her position for the remainder of Cash’s four-year term, set to end Dec. 9, 2026.

Cash did not comment to The Press Democrat when reached Tuesday morning.

Cash was appointed as an interim trustee Aug. 20, 2001, then was elected in November 2002. She handily won her most recent reelection, in 2022, defeating challenger Bridgette Kannegiesser-Ruiz with 64% of the vote.

She was the only county schools trustee that year to face a contested election.

Cash was born and grew up in Limerick, Ireland. She had a chance meeting with then-Superintendent of Napa Schools Harry McPhearson — who would later go on to found Napa Valley College — and his wife, author Jessamyn West, and they brought Cash and her sister to Napa, according to the county education office.

Cash later married fellow Napa High School student Alan Cash, and earned a degree from San Francisco State University.

Cash’s career has included serving as director of the Napa Valley College Foundation, and as partner for Cash Malmgren Communications, a consultant for nonprofit organizations.

“We very much appreciate Ann's long service to the Board, and her dedication to supporting students, families and public school staff in Napa County,” Don Huffman, president of the county schools board, said in a statement.

In recent months, Cash — along with board member Sindy Biederman — voted in opposition to the Mayacamas Countywide Middle School, which the board approved in March on a 5-2 vote.

Cash questioned the financial aspects of the proposed school, and said she opposed it in part because of the fiscal impact it would have on the Napa Valley Unified School District by sapping enrollment-based funding.

Potential applicants can verify if they live in trustee area 4 using a Napa County search tool at bit.ly/NCBOElookup. Applications can be submitted online at napacoe.org/board-of-education.

Submissions are due by 4:30 p.m. Aug. 21, according to the board, and interviews will be held during the Sept. 3 board meeting.

You can reach Staff Writer Edward Booth at 707-521-5281 or edward.booth@pressdemocrat.com .