School Board Candidates Must File Paperwork by August 9 to Get on the Nov. 2024 Ballot

If you want to run for public office in Orange County, now is the time.

July 15 marked the start of the period for candidates to file paperwork to run in the November 2024 Presidential General Election in Orange County. That includes for school board races across the county's 28 public school districts. The Orange County Registrar of Voters' (ROV) office, which oversees local elections, will accept paperwork from prospective candidates until 5 p.m. on Friday, August 9.

In general, to run for school board you must be a registered voter living in the school district area you wish to represent. You can find out more about what it takes to run for local office by consulting the Candidate's Handbook, which was created by the ROV.

Several candidates for local school boards have already filed their paperwork and launched campaigns. The Los Alamitos Unified School District Board of Education has three of its five seats on the November ballot. Incumbent Chris Forehan has already declared he is running for reelection in Trustee Area 2. In Trustee Area 4, L. Bobby Papoulias, Ed.D., a lecturer at Cal State Fullerton, is running. District parent and former PTA President Farnaz Pardasani has also declared her candidacy for Trustee Area 4.  In Trustee Area 5, district parent and former charter school principal Matt Bragman is running. (Editor's note: I have volunteered with Bragman and Pardasani for several years at McGaugh Elementary School.)

In the Westminster School District, two of its five seats are on the November ballot. Incumbent David Johnson was listed in the ROV database as a candidate to represent Trustee Area 1.

In the Orange Unified School District, five seats on its board of education are up for grabs. Trustee Area 3 incumbent and current Board President Ana Page has declared she will run for reelection. Candidates seeking to represent Trustee Area 4 and Trustee Area 7 are vying for a chance to fill out the remainder of the term of Madison Miner and Rick Ledesma, who were both recalled in March.

Former OUSD teacher and principal Sara Pelly and former OUSD educator and current Long Beach State professor Stephen Glass, Ed.D. were appointed to fill the seats of the recalled trustees until December. Both Pelly and Dr. Glass have announced they will run in 2024 to try to stay in their positions until 2026. Hengameh Abraham is also listed as a candidate for Trustee Area 4.

To find out which other candidates have already filed paperwork check the O.C. Registrar of Voters' website or search this database.  

Scroll down to see the complete list of the school board races on the Nov. 5 ballot across Orange County’s 28 public school districts. 

Don't forget – > The last day to register to vote for the November 5 General Election is October 21, 2024.

SCHOOL BOARD RACES ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT

This list was compiled from the O.C. Registrar of Voters' office website.

Anaheim Elementary School District

• Trustee Area 1
• Trustee Area 3

Anaheim Union High School District

• Trustee Area 3
• Trustee Area 4
• Trustee Area 5, Short Term

Brea Olinda Unified School District

• Trustee Area 2
• Trustee Area 3
• Trustee Area 5

Buena Park School District

• Trustee Area 3
• Trustee Area 4

Capistrano Unified School District

• Trustee Area 1
• Trustee Area 2
• Trustee Area 3
• Trustee Area 5

Centralia School District

• Trustee Area 3
• Trustee Area 4

Cypress School District

• Trustee Area A
• Trustee Area E

Fountain Valley School District

•  2 Members

Fullerton School District

• Trustee Area 2
• Trustee Area 5

Fullerton Joint Union School District

• Trustee Area 2
• Trustee Area 3

Garden Grove Unified School District

• Trustee Area 1
• Trustee Area 3
• Trustee Area 5

Huntington Beach City School District

• Trustee Area 1
• Trustee Area 3

Huntington Beach Union High School District

• Trustee Area 2
• Trustee Area 3

Irvine Unified School District

• Trustee Area 1
• Trustee Area 3
• Trustee Area 5

La Habra City School District, Full Term

•  2 Members

La Habra City School District, Short Term

•  1 Member

Laguna Beach Unified School District

• 2 Members

Los Alamitos Unified School District

• Trustee Area 2
• Trustee Area 4
• Trustee Area 5

 Lowell Joint School District

• Trustee Area 1

Magnolia School District

• Trustee Area 1, Short Term
• Trustee Area 3
• Trustee Area 4

Newport-Mesa Unified School District

• Trustee Area 1
• Trustee Area 3
• Trustee Area 6

Ocean View School District

• 2 Members       

Orange Unified School District

• Trustee Area 2
• Trustee Area 3
• Trustee Area 4, Short Term
• Trustee Area 6
• Trustee Area 7, Short Term

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District

• Trustee Area 1
• Trustee Area 2
• Trustee Area 3

Saddleback Valley Unified School District

• Trustee Area 2
• Trustee Area 3
• Trustee Area 4

Santa Ana Unified School District

• Trustee Area 1
• Trustee Area 2
• Trustee Area 3

Savanna School District

• Trustee Area 4
• Trustee Area 5

Tustin Unified School District

• Trustee Area 1
• Trustee Area 2
• Trustee Area 4     

Westminster School District

• Trustee Area 1
• Trustee Area 4