A recognized figure in Bay Area education has died. Jason Hodge, 34, died early Sunday morning. The cause of his death was not immediately released, but friends say Hodge was by all accounts a healthy adult.
Hodge has been in the public eye since he was 21 years old and became the youngest member ever to win a seat on the Oakland School Board. At his death he was the spokesman for the Vallejo school district, which has been in the news latetly due to a budget crisis.
The Bay Area News Group said Hodge was discovered unconscious by his mother after police called her to report Hodge's alarm system had been activated at his home in Oakland.
He never regained consciousness and died early Sunday morning.
"We were really praying for a miracle. I guess God knew He wanted him," his Aunt Shirley Powell told the paper.
She said Hodge had dinner with his sister and his mother Friday night and that he talked to a cousin on the phone about 10 p.m.
The family is now planning his funeral.
