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The race for three open seats on the Los Altos School District Board of Trustees is tight, based on early ballot returns. Incumbents Bryan Johnson, Vaishali “Shali” Sirkay and Brandon Stroy are in the lead, but David Poll is close behind.
Johnson is leading with 28.50% (6,146 votes) while Sirkay follows with 26.01% (5,610 votes), based on results released at 4:49 p.m. Wednesday. Stroy and Poll are neck-and-neck, with a difference of 17 votes. Stroy has 22.77% (4,910 votes) while Poll has 22.69% (4,893 votes).
While Johnson said it was too early for him to be comfortable saying he was re-elected, he told the Voice that “based on the results now, I think I’m in good shape.”
“I think I take this result as vote of confidence in the work that I’ve done over my last 10 years on the board,” he said. “I look forward to continuing to move the district forward.”
Three of the seats on the five-member board are up for election this year, with incumbents Stroy, Johnson and Sirkay hoping to return for another term on the board. Newcomer Poll vies to oust one of them. When all the votes are tallied, the top three finishers will each be elected to serve a four-year term on the governing body.
Whomever is elected will be tasked with leading the school district as it continues – and eventually completes – construction of the San Antonio campus. The new school site has been a point of contention across the district, as trustees and Bullis Charter School leaders quarrel over what school will be housed at the location.
The district will also be switching to by-area voting in the upcoming years, which could potentially cause some upheaval.
Whoever is elected will join Jim Malone and Stella Kam, whose terms run for another two years.
Johnson has served on the school board for a decade. During his most recent campaign, he said he’s wanting to continue the expansion the district has seen in the last few years, while also modernizing existing school sites.
Sirkay has served on the Los Altos School Board since 2018. During her current campaign, she’s emphasized the importance of student mental health and an approach to education that highlights the “whole child,” while also working to decrease the achievement gap between student demographics.
Stroy was appointed to the school board in March after trustee Vladimir Ivanovic stepped down mid-term. He’s focused his first election campaign on ensuring the board provides fair and competitive teacher compensation while providing enough facilities so that every school has its own site.
He also wants the district to work with teachers and administrators to iron out artificial intelligence best practices and other emerging technologies.
Poll, a newcomer to the district, has run his campaign with the goal of improving outreach to and communication with parents while keeping an open door between the district and Bullis Charter School.
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