Newcomer leads TUSD governing board race, likely ousting one incumbent

Tucson’s largest school district will likely have a new Governing Board member on the dais, as early votes Tuesday showed newcomer Leila Counts ousting one of two incumbents running to regain two open seats.

Counts led early results in Tuesday’s election with nearly 28 percent of votes cast within the Tucson Unified School District. Longtime incumbent Adelita Grijalva was leading for the second open seat on the board, with nearly 24 percent.

Adam Ragan had nearly 18 percent of the votes cast, according to early results, compared to incumbent Michael Hicks’ nearly 18 percent and Doug Robson’s nearly 13 percent.

Grijalva, 46, has been on the board since 2002 and works for Pima Prevention Partnership as the director of Pima Country Teen Court.

Counts, 39, works for the Arizona Department of Economic Security as professional education development instructor and has previously volunteered for local campaigns and served on several advisory boards.

Some key issues for the district going into the election were the falling student enrollment, budget deficits and poorly performing schools.

Grijalva said her top priority is creating a new strategic plan for TUSD, as well as pressuring the state for more funding. She also said the board will have to work together in a more productive way.

Prioritizing students and teachers in the budget, educational needs and discipline is Counts’ top priority. She also plans to address TUSD’s “history of making unwise budgetary choices.”

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Jo Holt, chair of the Pima County Democratic Party, said TUSD should be known “far and wide” as a great school district, and to make that happen, there needs to be people on the board who believe in public education.

“I think it’s important to learn work together. If the board can have a single focus, to focus on TUSD, things could change so much,” Holt said.

Ultimately, Holt said the impact of this race is greater than people might realize. “It’s a funny thing, it’s a school board race, but it actually impacts the economics of the entire region,” Holt said.

Incumbents re-elected to MARANA SCHOOL BOARD

In the Marana Unified School District, incumbents Tom Carlson and John Lewandowski retained their open school board seats. Based on early ballots, Carlson had nearly 40 percent of the vote and Lewandowski nearly 38 percent.

Challenger Mark Neish had nearly 23 percent of the vote.

Carlson, 54, is an engineer at Raytheon and has been on the MUSD school board for the past eight years. Lewandowski, 73, has been on the school board for a total of 20 years and is a retired teacher from the Amphitheater district.

Some key issues for the district going into the election were a lack of funding for the district, growth management and student achievement levels.