HomeChon, Chan Lin Secure School Board Seats

Chon, Chan Lin Secure School Board Seats

Julie Chan Lin has officially edged out Mike Killackey in the tight race for the second of two available seats on the San Marino Unified School District Board of Education, with Jane Chon having clinched the other spot in the Nov. 3 election.
Chan Lin received 2,608 votes to Killackey’s 2,516 in the election, results of which were certified by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office on Monday. Chon was the leading vote-getter among the five candidates, with her name marked on a total of 3,590 ballots. Killackey led Chan Lin on election night by a count of 2,022 to 2,003, but in the following weeks the latter moved ahead to claim the second seat.
Chan Lin has already attended a conference for school board members and will be sworn in along with Chon at a special school board meeting on Friday, Dec. 11, at 5 p.m. Chan Lin reemphasized her campaign promises in a statement emailed early Tuesday morning.
“It is my honor to serve our community with accountability, communication and transparency,” she said after thanking voters. “With no time to lose, I am attending the important California School Boards Association governance meeting, a worthwhile workshop for all California school board members.
“The most resonating of all the concepts pointed out so far is that the highest-performing school boards allocate an average of 65% of their time in consideration and discussions of student learning and achievement, whereas the typical California board spends merely 10% of their time,” she continued. “I want to ensure that our school board is counted as a high-performing school board that holds the achievement and learning for our kids as its top priority.”
Killackey said he will not challenge the results of the election and promised to continue to support San Marino’s schools.
“I want to thank each of the members of our community who have stood with me to support our students and their teachers,” Killackey said late Monday night. “Dedication to working with our schools as opposed to against them is what has kept SMUSD the best school district in California for decades. This remains true, regardless of who is elected.”
This marks the second narrow defeat for Killackey, who also finished one place out of the running in November 2018, when three seats were filled.
“Our students, their teachers and schools continue to face tremendous challenges in today’s environment,” continued Killackey, who remains active as a member of the San Marino Schools Foundation. “I am hopeful that as the new board members are confronted by these challenges they work to break down barriers to success, such as racism and division.
“Hopefully, our new board will enact policies which minimize declining enrollment and maximize student body diversity by embracing more inter-district transfer students in our schools,” Killackey added. “Our students would benefit from learning in an environment rich in diversity and our schools would benefit financially as well. I will continue to support our district and wish it luck with this newly constituted board. SMUSD needs the unyielding support of every community member to identify and achieve every child’s maximum potential. I encourage each of us to raise our hand and ask our district how we can help work with it on this path to success.”
The 2020 election marked the first contest in more than two decades that did not have an incumbent candidate, with outgoing board members Chris Norgaard and Lisa Link long ago announcing they would not defend their seats.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular

[bsa_pro_ad_space id=3]

27