(SANTA ROSA, CA, June 3, 2026) — Sonoma County Board of Education President Peter Kostas has announced he will not be seeking reelection in November after serving 12 years as a county board trustee.

Kostas represents Area 2, the southwest portion of Sonoma County that includes Petaluma. First elected in 2014 and reelected in 2018 and 2022, he said his three terms as a county board trustee, where he oversaw the alternative education programs for the Sonoma County Office of Education’s court and community schools, were informed by a long career serving students who had to overcome challenges.

He began his career as a teacher at a private school in Beverly Hills before teaching science for four years at Jordan High in Watts, Los Angeles. He then moved to Northern California where he spent decades working for the Mendocino County Office of Education, first as a science teacher in their court and community schools. He eventually became an administrator for those same programs before retiring in June 2014 and moving to the Petaluma area where he now lives.

“What was important to me is that you never, ever give up on kids,” Kostas said. “The alternative education program, be it here, at (Mendocino County Office of Education) or Sacramento, it’s a safety net where students who do not fit into comprehensive high schools have an alternative.”

The Sonoma County Board of Education’s five members serve four-year terms and oversee the Alternative Education program at the Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE). They adopt SCOE’s annual budget and set the salary for the elected Sonoma County Superintendent of Schools. In addition, they function as an appellate board for student expulsions, interdistrict transfers, and charter school petitions.

Kostas’s term ends when the next trustee is sworn in in December. 

Kostas said one of the things he appreciated most during his time on the county board was how smoothly the board members and two county superintendents he served worked together.

“We’ve built a close working relationship,” Kostas said. “The county board, we’re not the employer (of the county superintendent); we don’t set a vision for the county office, but because we’re on the same page, we’re able to support the county superintendent in implementing their vision and mission.”

The filing period for candidates for the county board as well as candidates for local school district boards opens July 13 and closes on Aug. 7.

Kostas’s seat is one of dozens of school board trustee seats that will be on the ballot this November. Candidates for the county board must live within the trustee area for which they are seeking election. The trustee district boundaries closely align with the district boundaries for the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. A map of the districts is available here.

Interested candidates for the county board or any school district board in Sonoma County are invited to SCOE’s School Board Candidate Forum from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Monday, June 15. Click here to register. The forum will outline the duties and responsibilities of school board members; provide an overview of the candidate filing process and key deadlines; and preview what candidates might expect from a political campaign, among other topics.