Two candidates have qualified for the June 10 special election ballot for the Newport-Mesa Unified School Board.
Andrea McElroy, 55, a businesswoman and parent, and Kristin Walsh, 53, a parent and occupational therapist, are both running to fill the remaining term of the Trustee Area 5 seat left vacated when former board trustee Michelle Barto was elected to the Newport Beach City Council in November.
Walsh was appointed to the seat over McElroy and other applicants by a divided school board in late January. After her appointment, however, a petition for her removal was circulated, successfully getting enough signatures to force the special election instead.
The deadline to file as a candidate was Friday.
Walsh was removed from her provisional appointment as of March 5.
“I will champion the needs of students, parents, and taxpayers, fighting to ensure every child has access to a world-class education,” Walsh, the parent of a sophomore and a senior at Newport Mesa High School and the school’s PTA president, said in her candidate’s statement. “I plan to focus on educational excellence, parent engagement, fiscal transparency, and campus safety.”
McElroy said in her statement she is running for “safety, transparency, and a strong educational foundation” in schools.
“Our schools also need to focus on fundamentals over Sacramento’s culture wars,” she said. “We must limit the indoctrinating efforts of programs like ethnic studies curriculum. Ultimately, this election is about all of us wanting what is best for our children.”
Area 5 encompasses the neighborhoods feeding Newport Elementary, Ensign Intermediate and Newport Harbor High School.
The Orange County Superintendent of Schools ordered the election on March 11 after the Registrar of Voters verified that 361 signatures had been submitted on the petition to require the special election and terminate Walsh’s provisional appointment by the school board.