Linda Lunn, Julie Vandegrift, and Christine Schmidt are leading in the races for three Murrieta Valley school board seats, early election results show Tuesday, Nov. 5.
LIVE ELECTION RESULTS: See a chart of the latest vote counts
Lunn is leading with 50.31% of the vote, Vandegrift earned 51.13% and Schmidt had 41.82%, early results show.
With three seats on the ballot, there could be a change in the board’s political balance.
The board in 2023 voted for a parent notification policy that requires schools to inform parents within three days if their child identifies as transgender but rescinded the rule last month. Earlier this year, trustees decided not to put a school bond measure on the November ballot, despite many calls to let voters decide.
Yvonne Munoz and board member Vandegrift are vying for the Trustee Area 3 seat.
Vandegrift joined the board in 2022, and voted for the parent notification policy and against asking voters to approve a school bond. She supports parents’ rights and wants to emphasize academics, according to her website. Munoz wants more support for teachers, academic assistance for students and opposes the privatization of education, she wrote on her website.
Early results show Munoz trailing behind at 48.87% less than 3% behind Vandegrift.
Board member Lunn, who has served seven years on the board, and Eleanor Cruz Briggs are running for the Area 4 seat.
Briggs currently has 49.69% of the vote less than 1% behind Lunn.
Lunn has voted against conservative policies, such as the parent notification policy, and wrote in a questionnaire for Southern California News Group that she supports parent involvement and support for students based on their needs. Briggs said she wants transparency between schools and families and to focus on improving mental health and safety standards, her website states.
Incumbent Paul Diffley faces Deon Mario Hairston and Schmidt for the Area 5 seat.
Diffley and Hairston have 29.06% and 29.11% of the vote, respectively.
Diffley, the board president, voted for the parent notification policy and for placing a bond measure on the ballot. Diffley, a 20-year-trustee, plans to continue supporting academic excellence, he wrote on his website. In the questionnaire, Hairston said he wants to improve fiscal responsibility and address bullying.
On her website Schmidt, a school teacher, wrote that she plans to focus on classroom safety, transparency, and academic excellence.
The board on a 3-2 vote passed a parent notification policy that required schools to inform parents within three days if a child identifies as transgender and looks into gender-affirming activities. Trustees voted again in March to keep the policy but in April received a letter from the state calling on the district not to enforce it. In October, the board voted to revoke the rule.
The board voted against putting a school bond on the ballot. It would have been earmarked for a new school to address crowding. The board needed four of five board members to agree to add the measure to November’s ballot, but Nick Pardue and Vandegrift voted no. The district has now turned toward redistricting to address crowded schools.
