All three incumbents are leading in the Anchorage School Board races, according to initial results posted Tuesday night.
Pat Higgins is currently ahead in the race for Seat E, with 56 percent of the vote to Kay Schuster’s 44 percent. In the race for Seat F, Dora Wilson has 63 percent of the vote and Angela Frank has 37 percent. Carl Jacobs leads in the race for Seat G against Chelsea Pohland with 58 percent of the vote to Pohland’s 42 percent.
Nearly 45,000 ballots have been tallied in the election so far and thousands of additional ballots will be counted over the next week.
In interviews late Tuesday, the three incumbents said they were pleased with the results.
“I view this as a solid victory, a rejection of what Mat-Su is doing with taking books off the shelves and attacking some groups of students,” Higgins said. “This school district is not heading in that direction and I’m so glad the election results are coming out as solid as they are.”
Wilson said she believes in public education and the results show that Anchorage does too.
“That’s why the numbers are looking as they are for myself and any other incumbents,” she said.
Check out the full results here.
Jacobs said he was eager to continue working to improve student outcomes.
“I’m grateful for the turnout and thankful for every Anchorage voter who cast their ballot, and I’m proud of the race that we ran that was focused on supporting students, families and our education professionals,” Jacobs said.
During campaign season, the incumbent candidates focused their messaging on the collective work of the school board. Their challengers said new voices were needed. The candidates had disparate feelings on social issues, including a proposed policy that would require district staff to notify parents of a student who wanted to use a different name or pronouns at school.
The municipal clerk’s office said it will continue releasing election results every evening this week. Tuesday night’s tally includes the number of ballots received by mail, through a voting center or at a drop box by the end of the day Monday.
The winning Anchorage School Board candidates will join the seven-member board, governing the state’s largest school district. They will serve three-year terms.
RELATED:
Initial results show LaFrance with slight lead over Bronson in Anchorage mayoral race
Anchorage school bond passing and public bathroom bond failing in initial results
Tim Rockey is the producer of Alaska News Nightly and covers education for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at trockey@alaskapublic.org or 907-550-8487. Read more about Tim here.
