Around 650,000 students attend Orange County’s public schools and community colleges – and control of their education is on the ballot this fall.
Education races often are overlooked on ballots.
But they have an enormous impact on decisions like classroom mask rules, in person-versus-online classes, charter schools and what should – and should not – be taught in classrooms.
“I think the voters need to understand that policies are made for these community colleges [and public schools] from elections,” said Jodi Balma, a political science professor at Fullerton College who tracks local elections.
“We have seven people that decide, so four votes on our board decide whether we’ll have a mask mandate, whether we’ll have a vaccine mandate. They approve curriculum, they approve hiring.”
And local education boards often are stepping stones for people who go on to higher office – like District Attorney Todd Spitzer, who got his start as an elected official 30 years ago on the Brea Olinda school board.
Control over school boards is set to be one of the hottest issues on Orange County ballots this year, with the candidate fields now finalized.
Voice of OC has compiled a list below of everyone who will be on the ballot for the Nov. 8 election for all 28 public districts and four community college districts in Orange County.
“[A] big issue for K-12 is how the district is going to respond to COVID-19 – even though kids are back at school without mask requirements – but how school districts will respond to future outbreaks,” said Mike Moodian, a professor of political science at Chapman University.”
While school board races are listed as non-partisan positions on the ballot, candidates on both sides of the political aisle generally try to get one of the two party’s endorsements to get ahead.
“They really try to get endorsements from parties to win,” Moodian said. “Voters often rely on cheat sheets from their local party…that means [candidates] often get involved in partisan debates when they’re running for school board.”
This year, conservatives are mounting an organizing effort around school board elections that seems to outpace their liberal counterparts, said Balma.
“We’re seeing an organized effort to run candidates that are very conservative for school boards. And I don’t see the same organization on the other side,” she said.
A hot-button issue this year is the debate around critical race theory, which many conservative leaders say contains anti-American rhetoric that vilifies white people. Others dispute that, saying schools need curriculum that discusses a variety of views on American history and that critical race theory isn’t actually taught in K-12 classrooms.
The Placentia-Yorba Linda School District is one of the most prominent venues for education clashes in Orange County, with their most public fight coming after the board narrowly voted to ban any teaching of critical race theory in the district, despite district officials saying it already wasn’t being taught.
[Read: Placentia-Yorba Linda School Trustees Narrowly Ban Critical Race Theory]
That renewed focus on school boards has even pushed out some people interested in running who don’t want to step into that spotlight.
In Capistrano Unified School District, trustee Pamela Braunstein resigned her seat earlier this year after she said she was harassed for refusing to oppose state mask mandates.
Read: Capistrano Unified School Board Members Resigns, Citing Harassment After School Mask Debate
Voters will also be deciding who leads the county’s four community college districts, positions that have enormous influence but usually don’t get much attention from voters or the media.
“They’re low-profile races, and people still don’t know who they’re voting for, so they rely upon limited information in terms of making their selections,” Moodian said.
“Usually it comes down to the candidates who can raise enough money to put their name on slate mailers.”
Balma agreed on the challenges voters face in getting information, and pointed out that in elections without an incumbent, it’s a total free for all.
“It’s a really challenging, low information race,” Balma said. “Voters are looking at names, whatever you infer from the name on your ballot, and then ballot designation.”
Voice of OC is interested in readers’ questions for school and college board candidates. Questions can be submitted to reporter Nick Gerda at ngerda@voiceofoc.org.
The races for county superintendent and the county Board of Education were already decided in the June primary, with voters re-electing every official to those positions, maintaining an often adversarial relationship between the county’s top education officials.
[Read: 2022 Primary Election Night Results: Who Will Run Orange County Education?]
The election results put four of the five county trustees as firm charter school supporters, and after Trustee Beckie Gomez resigned in order to keep her seat on the Tustin City Council, they appointed another charter advocate earlier this month.
[Read: OC Board of Education Member Beckie Gomez Resigns Amid Lawsuit]
While individual school districts can still deny applications for charter schools, those decisions can be appealed to the county board of education.
Who’s Running
Below is a rundown of everyone who will appear on the November ballot for Orange County’s 28 school districts and four community college districts.
The descriptions of each candidate are their official ballot designation each submitted to appear on the ballot. Some of these titles could change if they’re challenged and county Registrar of Voters Bob Page or a judge rules that the law requires a different title.
Usually, some of those descriptions are changed after a legal battle filed by the candidate’s opponents.
And in races where there’s only one candidate – or the number of candidates is equal to or less than the number of open seats – those races will not appear on the ballot at all, under state law.
[Click here to see which school and college districts you’re in.]
School Districts
Anaheim Union High School District, Trustee Area #1
Jessica Guerrero, Education Policy Advisor
Linda Martinez, Parent
Billie Joe Wright, High School Teacher
Anaheim Union High School District, Trustee Area #2
Annemarie Randle-Trejo, Anaheim Union High School District Governing Board Member
Anaheim Union High School District, Trustee Area #5
Anna L. Piercy, Anaheim Union High School District Governing Board Member
Brea Olinda Unified School District, Trustee Area #1
Nicole Colon, Brea Olinda Unified School District Governing Board Member
Carrie Flanders, Brea Olinda Unified School District Governing Board Member
Brea Olinda Unified School District, Trustee Area #4
Andrea Dibsy, Business Owner/Parent
Chris Becerra, Educational Consultant/Professor
Buena Park School District, Trustee Area #4, Short Term
Brenda Estrada, Educator
Ralph Lefeber, Student Transportation Manager
Capistrano Unified School District, Trustee Area #2
Kira Davis, Small Business Owner
Jessica Hubbard, Education Nonprofit Executive
Michael Parham, Parent/Businessman/CPA
Capistrano Unified School District, Trustee Area #4
James (Jim) Glantz, Education Consultant/Businessman
Darin Patel, Software Developer
Gary Pritchard, Community College Dean
Capistrano Unified School District, Trustee Area #6
Gila Jones, Capistrano Unified School District School Board Member
Capistrano Unified School District, Trustee Area #6
Judy Bullockus, Incumbent
Jeanette Contreras, Library Director
Centralia School District, Trustee Area #1
Henry Charoen, Centralia School District Governing Board Member
Robert Alexander, Retired Sergeant LASD
Adan Guzman, Blank
Cypress School District, Trustee Area B
Jon Peat, Cypress City Councilmember
Troy Tanaka, Parent/Landlord
Cypress School District, Trustee Area C
Sandra Lee, Cypress School District Governing Board Member Trustee Area C
Kyle Chang, Public Health Statistician
Fountain Valley School District (Three Open Seats)
Sandra Crandall, Fountain Valley School District Governing Board Member
Megan Irvine, Nurse/Business Owner
Trisha Rintoul, Airline Pilot/Mother
Dennis Cole, Education Operations Director
Phu Nguyen, CEO/Business Owner
Eileen Maeda, Credentialed Music Teacher
Fullerton Joint Union High School District, Trustee Area #4
Lauren Klatzker, Fullerton Joint Union High School District Governing Board Member
Matthew Van Hook, Educator
Fullerton School District, Trustee Area #4
Ruthi Hanchett, Educator/Parent
Lisa Wozab, Small Businessowner/Parent
Rudy Garcia, School Facilities Supervisor
Garden Grove Unified School District, Trustee Area #2
Lan Quoc Nguyen, Garden Grove Unified School District Governing Board Member
Mark Anthony Paredes, Healthcare Engagement Manager
Nicole Jaimes, Parent
Garden Grove Unified School District, Trustee Area #4
Bob Harden, Garden Grove Unified School District Governing Board Member
Irvine Unified School District, Trustee Area #2
Marlene Bronson, Parent/Server
Debra Hilton Kamm, Parent
Katie Mcewen, Parent/Teacher
Irvine Unified School District, Trustee Area #4
Jeff Kim, Parent/Teacher
Huntington Beach City School District, Trustee Area #4
Diana Marks, Incumbent
Autumn Digiovanni, Businesswoman/Parent
Huntington Beach City School District, Trustee Area #5
Paul R. Morrow, Incumbent
Julie Norton, Parent/Business Owner
Huntington Beach Union High School District (Three Open Seats)
Duane Dishno, Huntington Beach Union High School District Governing Board Member
Diana Lee Carvey, Huntington Beach Union High School District Governing Board Member
Bonnie Castrey, Huntington Beach Union High School District Governing Board Member
Scott Rogers, Software Sales Executive
Angela Salinardi, Parent/Holistic Practitioner
Matthew Harper, Businessman/Business Owner
Christine Hernandez, Nonprofit Program Director
Saul Lankster, Criminal Justice Professor
Irvine Unified School District, Trustee Area #2
Marlene Bronson, Parent/Server
Katie Mcewen, Parent/Teacher
Debra Hilton Kamm, Education Advocate/Parent
La Habra City School District (Three Open Seats)
Cynthia Aguirre, Incumbent
Adam Rogers, La Habra City School District Governing Board Member
Emily Pruitt, Incumbent
Joshua Atwater, System Administrator/Parent
Rocio Carmona, Business Owner/Parent
Los Alamitos Unified School District, Trustee Area #1
Marlys Davidson, Los Alamitos Board Member
Colin Edwards, Parent/Orange County Businessowner
Los Alamitos Unified School District, Trustee Area #3
Diana D. Hill, Los Alamitos Unified School District Governing Board Member
Rona Goldberg, Parent
Lowell Joint School District, Trustee Area #2
Christine Berg, Retired Teacher
Kathi Lundstrom, Retired Elementary Teacher
Lowell Joint School Dist, Trustee Area #4
Karen Shaw, Lowell Joint School District Governing Board Member
Esther Evangelista, Elementary School Counselor
Lowell Joint School District Trustee Area #5
Dakota Piorkowski
Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Trustee Area #2
Danielle Mills, Parent
Michelle Murphy, Nonprofit Executive/Parent
Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Trustee Area #4
Kristen Nicole Valle, Executive Assistant
Lisa Pearson, Retired Educator/Parent
Barbara George, Business Owner/Mom
Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Trustee Area #5
Michelle Barto, Incumbent
Reina Shebesta, School Counselor/Parent
Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Trustee Area #7
Ashley Anderson, Newport-Mesa Unified School District Governing Board Member
Vicky Rodriguez, Tax Preparer/Notary
Kristen Seaburn, Executive Assistant/Parent
Ocean View School District (Three Open Seats)
John Briscoe, Ocean View School District Governing Board Member
Patricia Singer, Ocean View School District Governing Board Member
Dan Pearce, First Responder
Jack Souders, Ocean View School District Governing Board Member
Morgan Westmoreland, Nurse Educator/Parent
Orange Unified School District Trustee Area #1
Andrea Yamasaki, Orange Unified School District Governing Board Member
Angela Williams, Teacher/Parent
Orange Unified School District Trustee Area #4
Kathy Moffat, Orange Unified School District Governing Board Member
Madison Klovstad Miner, Educator/Parent
Orange Unified School District Trustee Area #5
Kristin “Kris” Erickson, Orange Unified School District Governing Board Member
Timothy Surridge, Educational Consultant
Orange Unified School District Trustee Area #7
Rick Ledesma, Orange Unified School District Governing Board Member
Mike Nguyen, Engineer/Businessman
Sean Griffin, Teacher
Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District Trustee Area #4
Karin M. Freeman, Placentia-Yorba Unified School District Governing Board Member
Steve Slawson, Orange County Small Businessowner
Todd Frazier, Local Businessowner
Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District Trustee Area #5
Carrie Buck, Placentia-Yorba Unified School District Governing Board Member
Richard Ingle, Attorney/Business Owner
Rowland Unified School District Trustee Area #5
Donna Freedman, School Board President
Kevin T. Hayakawa, Physics Professor
Saddleback Valley Unified School District District Trustee Area #1
Greg Kunath, Saddleback Valley Unified School District Governing Board Member
Dan Walsh, Teacher
Saddleback Valley Unified School District District Trustee Area #5
Barbara Schulman, Saddleback Valley Unified School District Governing Board Member
Jennifer Richter, Teacher
Santa Ana Unified School District, Trustee Area #4
Katelyn Brazer Aceves, Family Community Liaison
Sylvia Iglesias, Parent/Administrative Manager
Andrew Linares, Attorney/Parent
Santa Ana Unified School District, Trustee Area #5
Hector Bustos, Youth Nonprofit Director
Savanna School District Trustee Area #2
Joyce Burdette, Curriculum Specialist/Parent
Elizabeth Winkler, Educator/Parent
Tustin Unified School District Trustee Area #3
Lynn Davis, Tustin Unified School District Governing Board Member
Kelly Felton, College Science Professor
Community College Districts
Coast Community College District Trustee Area #1
Jim Moreno, Coast Community College District Governing Board Member
Russell A Neal II, Retired Engineer
North Orange County Community College District Trustee Area #1
Barbara Dunsheath, North Orange County Community College District Trustee
Blaze Bhence, Business Technology Consultant
North Orange County Community College District Trustee Area #6
Jeffrey P. Brown, North Orange County Community College District Trustee/Engineer
Jessica Rutan, Retired Educator/Mother
Rancho Santiago Community College District Trustee Area #2
John R. Hanna, Rancho Santiago Community College District Governing Board Member
Steve Rocco, Educational Publisher/Writer
South Orange County Community College District Trustee Area #4
Terri Whitt Rydell, South Orange County Community College District Trustee
Derek Reeve, San Juan Capistrano Mayor
South Orange County Community College District Trustee Area #6 (Short term)
Ryan Dack, Teacher
Pramod Kunju, Business Owner
Nick Gerda covers county government for Voice of OC. You can contact him at ngerda@voiceofoc.org.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and a corps member with Report for America, a Groundtruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @NBiesiada.