Three challengers endorsed by the Democratic party are seeking to take a majority of seats on the Orange County Board of Education from Republican-backed incumbents in the March 5 primary.
Republicans have long held a majority on the board which mainly oversees the county’s department of education budget and charter school applications.
In their campaigns, the incumbents say they’ll protect parental choice and local control of schools.
Their Democratic backed challengers say they will prioritize students’ mental health and prioritize classroom spending.
While OC Board of Education has no say over curriculum at school districts across the county, the board has gained attention in recent years tackling a host of controversial issues and lawsuits – including suing Gov. Gavin Newsom for school closures during the pandemic.
This also includes a proposal to ban communism indoctrination, hosting panels on state ethnic studies requirements and recommending schools reopen without mask mandates or social distancing during the height of the pandemic.
The outcome of the election could have an impact on the growth of charter schools locally with incumbent candidates receiving tens of thousands of dollars in financial backing from charter school advocates.
Unlike other county-level races, there are no runoffs in November, so the top vote-getter in the primary wins each seat outright.
Fullerton College is sponsoring a OC School Board candidate forum tomorrow from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Zoom with questions generated from residents.
Jodi Balma, a political science professor who is moderating the forum, said last week in a phone interview that all the challengers are expected to be present but not the incumbents.
Introductory statements will be read on behalf of the incumbents.
Balma said in a phone interview last week that many residents want school board meetings to be “boring” again and have “non-polarizing non-extremist candidates on either side, representing the best interests of our schools.”
“They do not want a politicized board deciding what books are available so I think that many voters have that same goal. Now, not all. Lots of voters have extreme views of what they want to see represented and we’ve certainly seen that in our local boards,” she said, pointing to a recall election at Orange Unified School District that is also on the March ballot.
[Read: Two Orange Unified School Board Members Face March Recall Election]
To register for the online forum on Zoom, click here.
Trustee Area 1
Voters in Central OC, an area that includes parts of Anaheim, Santa Ana and Tustin, will decide if they want Jorge Valdes, an appointed county school board member, to continue to represent them or Beatriz Mendoza, a financial services educator.
Valdes was appointed to the county school board in 2022 after Beckie Gomez resigned from the position amid a lawsuit filed against her for serving simultaneously on the county board as well as the Tustin City Council.
He has been endorsed by the Republican party, Reps. Michelle Steele and Young Kim as well as OC Supervisor Don Wagner, OC Sheriff Don Barnes and all of his fellow current county school board members.
“We need local control of our schools, and to recover more lost learning from COVID lockdowns. We need to give parents a stronger voice in their child’s education,” reads Valdes’ campaign statement.
According to campaign finance disclosures, Valdes has raised over $53,000 for his campaign as of Jan. 20 with $20,000 coming from the Orange County Charter Advocates for Great Public Schools PAC and $11,000 from the Charter Public Schools PAC.
Mendoza has been endorsed by the Democratic party and other Democratic groups in OC, the California Teacher Association, OC Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento and a handful of local elected Democrats.
“I’m deeply concerned about the direction of our County Board. Our focus should be on student success and safety, with taxpayer money spent directly on classrooms, not squandered on lawsuits that serve a political agenda,” reads Mendoza’s campaign statement.
According to campaign finance disclosures, Mendoza raised close to $24,000 for her campaign as of Jan. 20 with $3,000 from the Women For American Values and Ethics Political Action committee and over $2,000 from the Women in Leadership Political Action Committee.
She also received nearly $6,500 in support from the Westminster Teachers Association Political Action Group through mailers and postcards.
Trustee Area 3
Voters in the Eastern Orange County trustee area, which stretches from the county line in Brea down to Irvine, will decide between incumbent Ken Williams and Nancy Watkins, director of Cal State Fullerton’s education doctoral program and former high school teacher.
Williams has been endorsed by the Republican Party of OC, all of his current colleagues on the county board of education and a host of local Republican elected officials.
He is a proponent of charter schools and wrote in his campaign statement that he “will continue to preserve the innocence of our children by opposing radical sex education curriculums, Critical Race Theory, and ‘woke’ non- academic educational curriculums.”
Williams has raised over $38,000 for his campaign as of Jan. 20 with $20,000 coming from the Orange County Charter Advocates for Great Public Schools PAC and $10,000 from the Charter Public Schools PAC.
Watkins has been endorsed by the Democratic Party of OC and the California Teachers Association.
“I will fight to ensure our students are proficient in core subjects like math, science, and reading, with access and opportunities to electives. My top priority is to prepare students to meet their potential and thrive in the future job market,” reads Watkins’ campaign statement.
Watkins raised nearly $77,000 for her campaign, with $3,000 from the Women For American Values and Ethics Political Action committee and over $2,000 from the Women in Leadership Political Action Committee.
She also got $2,000 from the Association of Placentia-Linda Educators Community for Better Schools PAC.
Trustee Area 4
Voters in the North OC trustee area, stretching from the county line in La Habra that covers Fullerton, Buena Park, Garden Grove and stretches down to Westminster, will decide between incumbent Tim Shaw and Westminster School District Trustee David Johnson to represent them.
During his tenure, Shaw was also sued for serving on the county board of education and as a La Habra City Councilman at the same time. He later resigned from both positions and then was reappointed to the OC Board of Education by his colleagues.
Shaw was sued again by a constituent arguing his appointment was illegal and a judge temporarily blocked him from serving on the board. In the end, he was reelected to the board of education seat in 2022 to finish out the term he vacated.
The incumbent is endorsed by the Republican Party of OC, all of his fellow county board members and a host of local Republican elected officials including Steel, Kim and Wagner.
“Looming issues we will need to tackle include protecting local control of our school districts, keeping the State from injecting politics into our classrooms, keeping our schools safe, and making sure students and their parents have a voice in their education,” reads Shaw’s campaign statement.
Shaw has raised over $50,000 for his campaign as of Jan. 20 with $20,000 coming from the Orange County Charter Advocates for Great Public Schools PAC and $11,000 from the Charter Public Schools PAC.
Johnson is endorsed by the Democratic Party of OC, the California Teachers Association, the California School Employees Association, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and a couple local elected Democrats including Congresswoman Katie Porter.
“Stop the political wars in our schools. Stand up to career politicians who have imposed an extreme political agenda and squandered millions of taxpayer funds pursuing frivolous lawsuits,” reads Johnson’s campaign statement.
Johnson has raised close to $13,000 for his campaign as of Jan. 20 with $3,000 from the Women For American Values and Ethics Political Action committee and $2,200 from Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties’ Community Action Fund PAC.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
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