After today’s Kern Community College District board meeting Primavera Monarrez should be able to remove interim from her title.

Monarrez, who has served as Porterville College’s interim president for more than a year now, has been selected to become PC’s next president on a permanent basis. The Kern board was expected to approve a three-year contract from 2025-2028 for Monarrez to serve as PC’s president.

Monarrez would officially take over as PC’s president as soon as the board approves the contract which will run through June 30, 2028. The board will meet at 11 a.m. today.

With the board’s approval the contract for Monarrez will be retroactive as the terms of the agreement go from November 13, last Thursday, through June 30, 2028. Monarrez’s salary for 2025-2026 will be $257,000.

The contract also calls for at least a 2.5 percent raise in 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 which will bump up her salary to about $270,000 a year.

Monarrez was selected from three finalists as she was one of the finalists along with Dr. Jesse Pisors, who served as president of Pasco Hernando State College in Florida, and Dr. Tia Robinson-Cooper, who served as a chancellor, president and provost in Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota and California. Monarrez was selected after the three presented their credentials and answered questions during public forums.

The search committee in charge of the selection stated Monarrez is a seasoned higher education leader. She has more than 20 years of experience across community colleges and universities. A Central Valley native, first-generation college student, and product of the California community college system, the committee stated she deeply understands students’ challenges and aspirations

Since July 2024, she has served as PC’s Interim President. During that time Monarrez emphasizes transparency, inclusion, and collaboration.

The search committee stated under her leadership PC has strengthened enrollment, expanded dual enrollment programs, addressed facility needs, enhanced student governance, and advanced efforts to improve access to regional economic mobility

Monarrez was PC’s Vice President of Student Services and Dean of Student Success at Taft College, with earlier leadership positions at Bakersfield College and Cal State Bakersfield. She has secured competitive grants, improved accreditation processes, and built strong partnerships with K-12 schools, universities, and community organizations, the search committee stated.

She also serves on a number of local boards and organizations. Dedicated to advancing student success, she works to ensure higher education remains responsive to student and regional needs, the search committee stated.

Monarrez holds a bachelor’s in Sociology and master’s in Counseling/Student Affairs from Cal State Bakersfield. Monarrez has also participated in the prestigious Aspen Rising Presidents Fellowship, a program designed to develop community college presidents.

Monarrez grew up in Lamont near Bakersfield. During her public forum she stated she wanted to further the hopes and dreams of PC students “no matter what they look like, no matter what background they come from.”

She has spent the last seven years at PC. At the public forum she said upgrading the school’s facilities is priority No. 1. Another priority she said was to continue PC’s culture of caring. She added her third priority was to meet the needs of PC students when it came to transferring to a four-year school and entering the workforce and that included the school’s 1,200 adult learners.

Another one of Monarrez’s goals is restoring the relationship PC has with the community.