Preliminary vote counts reported for Orange County school board races

The Orange County Registrar of Voters posted the following school board election results for Newport-Mesa Unified, Fountain Valley, Ocean View, Huntington Beach City, Huntington Beach Union and Laguna Beach Unified school districts, as of 5 p.m. Wednesday:

Newport-Mesa Unified School District

In the race for Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education, seven candidates competed for seats representing trustee areas 1, 3 and 6.

Wednesday’s early results showed incumbent Leah Ersoylu narrowly holding the lead over challenger Robin Mensinger in Trustee Area 1 with 50.44% and 4,324 ballots cast as of 5 p.m., compared to Mensinger’s 49.56% approval, or 4,248 votes. Area 1 encompasses Early College and Estancia high schools, TeWinkle Middle School, and Adams, California and Killybrooke elementary schools.

In Area 3, which includes Eastbluff Elementary, Corona del Mar Middle School, and Back Bay/Monte Vista and Corona del Mar high schools, incumbent Carol Crane led a two-candidate race by a margin of fewer than 100 votes with 50.44% approval and 5,402 votes, over Philip Stemler, who earned 49.56% of the vote with 5,307 ballots cast in his favor.

Among three candidates in Trustee Area 6 — representing Kaiser, Woodland, Mariners and Newport Heights elementary schools — incumbent Krista Weigand led the pack with 46.64% and 4,510 ballots, followed by Amy Peters, who’d earned 35.97% approval with 3,478 votes. Early returns placed Chris Kretzu third, with 17.39% of the vote and 1,681 ballots cast.

Fountain Valley School District

Early returns gave incumbent Steve Schultz a wide lead over challengers in a race for two seats on the Fountain Valley School District Board of Education, which governs seven elementary schools and three middle schools.

Schultz, as of Wednesday evening, had earned 13,096 ballots, representing 45.18% of the vote total. But the race among the remaining two challengers is still close, with Ashley Ramirez receiving 27.62% approval with 8,008 votes — a narrow margin over third-place candidate Huy Tran’s 27.2% approval and 7,885 votes.

Ocean View School District

In a race for two at-large seats on the five-member Board of Trustees, incumbent Gina Clayton-Tarvin led a pack of five candidates, securing 14,841 ballots and 28.14% voter approval, a tidy lead over second-placed Keri Gorsage’s 23.06% rating and 12,163 ballots.

Trailing the pair were candidates David Clifford, who received 11,833 votes (22.44%), Keith Jorgensen, who earned 19.01% voter approval with 10,024 ballots, and John Brisco, who received 3,873 votes and 7.34% of the vote.

Huntington Beach City School District

The K-8 district, which serves a student population of just under 5,000 in two middle schools, six elementary schools and one preschool academy, two candidates faced off against each other for one seat on the governing board.

Wednesday’s vote totals showed Brian Burley with a bit of a lead, having earned 3,515 votes, or 50.85% voter approval, compared to Cindy Barrios, two trailed slightly with 49.15% of the vote and 3,397 ballots cast in her favor.

Huntington Beach Union High School District

With one seat on the board’s Trustee Area 3 up for grabs, incumbent Susan Henry secured twice as many votes as challenger Leeann Corral, receiving 14,217 votes and 66.54% approval, compared to Corral’s 33.46% approval rating with 7,149 votes.

The five-member board oversees the operations of the district, which serves around 15,500 students in grades 9-12 residing in the cities of Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove and Westminster.

Laguna Beach Unified School District

Five candidates competed for two at-large seats on the seven-member Board of Education, which oversees nearly 2,500 TK-12 students attending Laguna Beach High School, Thurston Middle School, and El Morro and Top of the World Elementary schools.

Sheri Morgan maintained a slight lead over the next top vote getter, earning 4,795 votes (23.47%), followed by Howard Hills, who secured 4,709 votes and 23.4% voter approval. Both candidates unsuccessfully ran for office in 2020.

Meanwhile, incumbent Jan Vickers, who’s served six consecutive terms since being elected to the board in 2000, placed third with 22.1% voter approval and 4,515 votes. Rounding out the pack were Lauren Boeck with 4,135 ballots and 20.24% of the vote and Margaret Mary Warder, who earned 11.16% approval with 2,280 votes in her favor.

For more results, including daily 5 p.m. updates, visit ocvote.gov/results/current-election-results.