Twenty percent of the State School Board members who will begin terms this winter are new to the prestigious group that has general oversight of education in Utah.
Three of 15 members will be first-timers on the board, two having won over incumbents and a third winning in a district where the incumbent chose not to run.Two incumbents - Harold Jensen of District 3 and Allen Litster of District 13 - failed in their re-election bids, and new representation was elected in District 10, where incumbent Donald Chris-ten-sen did not seek re-election.
New to the board will be Marilyn Shields, Stansbury Park civic worker, historian and local school board member, who defeated Jensen, a Gunnison certified public accountant; Janet A. Cannon, a Holladay speech pathologist and local school worker, who enjoyed a handy edge over Litster throughout the count in District 13; and Waynette Steel, a university student and community worker who won in District 10 over Stan E. Weed, an education researcher and consultant.
The closest race was run in District 1, where long-time state board member Neola Brown remained only slightly ahead as returns came in. She beat Ruth Jackson, who has been a local school board member in Sevier District. Both women have long been active in education groups and are well-known by the state's education community. Brown lives in Beaver and Jackson in Richfield, at the other end of the sprawling rural district.
Besides Brown, successful incumbents include retired Ogden businessman Tom Davidson, who beat Neal Clinger in District 5; Katharine B. Garff, Bountiful, who had a substantial margin over William Bonn of Farmington in District 7; and Kay McDonough, who became the sole candidate in District 13 when Cliff Higbee withdrew from the race.
Unofficial vote totals include: District 1, Brown - 16,408, Jackson 15,595; District 3, Shields - 16,245, Jensen 11,019; District 5, Davidson - 9,273, Clinger - 6,327; District 7, Garff - 21,272, Bonn 8,818; District 9, McDonough -16,145; District 10, Steel - 13,380, Weed - 9,465; District 13, Cannon - 21,014, Litster - 10,422.
This election represents the first turnover on the board since it was expanded from nine to 15 members and a new method of choosing candidates was initiated. The governor selects candidates after local committees recommend them.
Local committees in each district screen potential candidates and recommend three to five to the governor, who then selects two names for the ballot.