Three incumbents and one challenger held leads for four open seats on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) Board of Education, based on unofficial election-night returns from the Nov. 3 vote.

No updated SMMUSD vote totals have been verified since that first count. The Santa Monica Mirror reported Nov. 5 that the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk released updated figures on Nov. 4 for other Santa Monica races, but the Mirror's Nov. 4 update did not include new school board numbers. The LA County results page listed its status as "Election night tally in progress" as of the most recent capture.

Election-night returns

Five candidates competed for four four-year seats. Voters could select up to four candidates, according to Patch's Santa Monica voter guide. The top four vote-getters win seats.

The Santa Monica Mirror reported the following totals from the opening count, which reflected vote-by-mail ballots received and signature-verified before Election Day:

  • Alicia Mignano (incumbent, board president): 16,655 votes (24.25%)
  • Robbie Staenberg: 15,463 votes (22.52%)
  • Laurie Lieberman (incumbent, board vice president): 14,849 votes (21.62%)
  • Stacy Rouse (incumbent): 14,358 votes (20.91%)
  • Harry Leshner: 10.58%, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press

The SMDP reported that all four leaders were in position to take the open seats and that Leshner trailed in fifth. The gap between fourth-place Rouse at 20.91% and fifth-place Leshner at 10.58% was roughly 10 percentage points in that first count.

These are partial, unofficial results. The county released the first returns shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m. Pacific on Nov. 3, the Mirror reported. Thousands of outstanding vote-by-mail and provisional ballots remained to be processed across Los Angeles County, the Mirror reported. County election officials are continuing to process remaining ballots, provisional submissions and conditional voter registrations, the Mirror reported Nov. 5. No source in the available record has called the race, and no concessions or victory statements have been reported.

The candidates

The city's election page lists Mignano as board president and Lieberman as board vice president. Rouse, a Malibu resident seeking a second term, is the only candidate from Malibu. Incumbent Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein did not seek reelection, Patch reported.

Staenberg, a Santa Monica resident, works as a legislative staffer and previously taught at a Title I high school in Oakland, according to Malibu FM. Leshner, described by Malibu FM as "the outsider," campaigned on bringing a current parent's perspective to the board.

The board oversees district finances, educational programs and school facilities. The race came as the district works through a years-long effort to split SMMUSD into separate Santa Monica and Malibu districts, Patch reported.

What happens next

The county will continue counting ballots in the coming days and weeks, the SMDP reported. Election results are not official until certified. The Daily Breeze reported that local election officials have until Dec. 3 to certify county results, with the California secretary of state's deadline on Dec. 11.

Updated results are posted by the LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk at results.lavote.gov.