Jenkins, Brown, O’Hare elected to School Board

Incumbent Betsy Jenkins swept to victory, along with Ketta Brown and Theresa O’Hare, in Tuesday’s Laguna Beach Unified school board race.

Five local parents vied for three open seats on the board. The count is unofficial because provisional ballots have yet to be tallied.

All three victors each took at least 20% of the vote; Jeff Elghanayan summed in with 15.7%, while Kelly Cornwell followed with 14.5%.

“I’m happy to be back,” Jenkins said. “I’ve loved being on the board these four years, and I’m looking forward to four more.”
Jenkins, a retired teacher, has served as a board member for the local Regional Occupation Program as well as PTA Council president and board liaison. She earned 4,567 votes, or 25.9% of the electorate.

She plans to focus on academics while conducting a comprehensive search for a new superintendent.

Ketta Brown was second to Jenkins, with 4,081 votes, or 23.2%.
Brown, who has served as PTA president at three LBUSD campuses and been involved with the Friendship Shelter and her church, has described a need for transparency at the district, which she hopes to achieve through electronic newsletters and regular online posting of district publications.

Theresa O’Hare followed with 3,644 votes, or 20.7%. She spent election night applying pancake makeup to drama students at Laguna Beach High School, who were getting ready for the dress rehearsal of their fall play, “The Man Who Came to Dinner.”

“I’ve done this for years,” she said of her involvement. She added that her future commitments will not change with her new role on the school board. “I’m still going to have all the jobs I have now,” she said.

O’Hare is president of the high school’s performing arts boosters, and is a past president and board member of SchoolPower. She is also involved with school bond committees and site councils.

Her priorities are maintaining budget reserves and reducing class sizes.

All three victors each took at least 20% of the vote; Jeff Elghanayan tallied 15.7%, while Kelly Cornwell followed with 14.5%.