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Change is coming to the Mountain View Los Altos High School District’s board this November, with one incumbent not seeking reelection and two more facing off for the same seat in the district’s inaugural area-based election.
Three spots on the five-member governing body are up for a vote this fall. Trustee Esmeralda Ortiz told the Voice that she doesn’t plan to run for a second term. Fellow incumbents Thida Cornes and Catherine Vonnegut will be running against each other because they live in the same trustee area. That leaves two seats with no incumbent in the race.
The November election marks the first time that MVLA will be using trustee areas, in which the district is split into five segments that each pick one trustee. Previously, the district used an at-large system, where all trustees were elected by voters throughout the school district.
Cornes and Vonnegut both live in Area 3, which contains an eastern portion of Mountain View, south of Central Expressway, including the Cuesta Park, Old Mountain View and Shoreline West neighborhoods.
“It will be unfortunate that we lose a good board member regardless of the vote, but this is the law,” Superintendent Eric Volta told the Voice.
Also coming before voters this November are Area 1, which covers Mountain View north of U.S. Highway 101, as well as the Monta Loma and part of the San Antonio neighborhoods, and Area 2, which encompasses a northeastern portion of Mountain View, including the Rex Manor, Stierlin Estates, Moffett Boulevard, North Whisman, Wagon Wheel, Slater, Whisman Station and Sylvan Park neighborhoods.
Areas 4 and 5, which largely cover Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, as well as smaller portions of Mountain View, will be on the ballot in November 2028.
Current trustees make their plans
First elected in 2022, Ortiz said she opted not to run again because of increasing personal and professional commitments.
“My family recently welcomed a new baby, and my full-time professional responsibilities have continued to grow,” Ortiz wrote in an email. “As I looked ahead to another term, I realized I wouldn’t be able to make the same level of commitment that this role deserves over the next four years while also being present for my family and meeting my professional responsibilities.”
In addition to sitting on MVLA’s board, Ortiz is the senior vice president of high school and post secondary programs at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula. Ortiz lives in Area 2.
Both Vonnegut and Cornes confirmed to the Voice that they plan to run again. Vonnegut was first elected in 2018, while Cornes joined the board in 2022. In recent months, the two have at times clashed with one another.
Switching to area-based elections
All five current trustees were elected prior to the district’s shift to area-based voting. The change, approved unanimously by the board in April 2025, was prompted by a demand letter from an attorney representing a district resident. Many government entities have received similar letters, threatening lawsuits under the California Voting Rights Act.
“The school board decided to not fight the challenge and to move forward towards trustee area elections,” Volta said.
The Los Altos City Council and Foothill-De Anza Community College District are among the other local bodies that have switched to by-district voting after receiving demand letters.
The board picked the trustee area map out of options presented by a demographer, who considered factors including city boundaries, school attendance areas, Mountain View neighborhood groups and the racial demographics of the proposed trustee areas.
The areas up for election this year were decided by which board members were terming out, Volta said. The remaining trustees, Vadim Katz and Alex Levich, told the Voice in 2025 that they live in Area 4 and Area 5, respectively. Those areas will come before voters in 2028.
School board hopefuls have until Aug. 7 to file nomination documents with the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. However, if an incumbent doesn’t file to run for a given seat, the deadline is expected to Aug. 12.
As of July 22, Cornes and Vonnegut had pulled nomination papers to run for Area 3, Nir Paz had pulled papers to run for Area 1 and no one had pulled papers to run for Area 2. No candidate had filed their nomination papers, according to Registrar of Voters records.
