Santa Cruz County Faces School Board Vacancies and Uncontested Elections
Santa Cruz County is grappling with numerous vacancies and uncontested races for school board seats and Cabrillo College trustee positions ahead of the November election. Several districts, including Bonny Doon Union Elementary, Mountain Elementary, and Scotts Valley Unified, have seats with no candidates at all. Bonny Doon Union Elementary School District, for instance, has three open seats with zero candidates. In these cases, the respective school boards have until November 3 to appoint individuals to fill these positions. Additionally, many races are uncontested, meaning candidates will be appointed without an election. Even in contested races, some candidates have announced their intention not to actively campaign, though their names will still appear on the ballot due to filing deadlines. For example, Jennifer Schacher, a candidate for Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Area 5, has stated she will not campaign, but her name cannot be removed from the ballot. If she were to win, she would n...