Three Orange County Board of Education seats are up for grabs on the 2024 ballot, with incumbents running in all three races.
The Board of Education, as laid out in California’s Education code, gives approval to the Orange County Department of Education’s budget and purchasing property. It also serves as an appeals committee for expulsions, charter school applications and inter-district transfers. It does not have a say over any district in the county, including curriculum.
Candidates needed to submit their completed paperwork by Friday, Dec. 8, and an official list of who will be on the March primary ballot will be posted by the secretary of state on Dec. 28.
In Trustee Area 1, incumbent Jorge Valdes filed to continue representing his seat, which serves portions of Anaheim, Santa Ana, Orange, Stanton, Garden Grove and Tustin. Financial service educator Beatriz Mendoza has also filed to run for that seat.
Valdes has served on the OCBE since August 2022 when a spot opened after Beckie Gomez stepped down.
Mendoza previously ran for the Santa Ana Unified School District in 2016 and the Santa Ana City Council in 2019.