SALT LAKE CITY — Outspoken Salt Lake City Board of Education member Mike Nemelka is trailing his opponent, Jenny Sika, in the Precinct 2 race, which could mean the seven-member board could have three new members come January.
According to unofficial and not-yet-final election results, Sika garnered nearly 66% of the Precinct 2 vote, compared to Nemelka’s 34%.
Nemelka recently filed a complaint against three other school board members alleging “unlawful behavior, discrimination and violation of Utah’s Open and Public Meeting laws.” One of the remedies he is seeking is the resignation of board members Katherine Kennedy, Nate Salazar and Samuel Hanson.
The terms of Kennedy and Salazar expire in December 2022.
Hanson was appointed to fill the unexpired term of his mother, Heather Bennett, who died unexpectedly in March 2019. He did not file to seek election in Precinct 5.
Mohamed Baayd was leading challenger Dorothy Draper for election to the open Precinct 5 seat 70% to 30% in early returns.
Joel-Lehi Organista ran unopposed for the Precinct 1 seat held by Michelle Tuitupou. Tuitupou was appointed to the seat after board member Tiffany Sandberg resigned in April. Tuitupou opted not to run for the seat.
Incumbent Kristi Swett was unopposed in her bid for reelection to the Precinct 7 seat.
The newly constituted board will have a full plate of responsibilities, including addressing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, hiring a new superintendent and managing a shrinking school enrollment, which dropped by 7% this fall and 20% to 25% at some elementary schools.
Nemelka was elected to the school board in 2016, defeating board member Michael Clara, who was often at odds with other board members and administrators, filing complaints against the district with the U.S. Department of Education and filing lawsuits against board colleagues over alleged violations of Utah’s open meetings laws.
At the time, Nemelka described himself as a “peacemaker.”
Nemelka said Wednesday that he filed for office in 2020 because he heard that Clara was interested in running again.
Nemelka wished Sika well.
“Good for her. I hope she enjoys it. I didn’t enjoy it all,” he said. “Worst four years of my life.”
Nemelka said his complaint against board members is in the hands of the school board attorneys.
Recently, Nemelka has advocated for a return to in-person learning in the city schools. Salt Lake City School District was the only school district in Utah that opted to conduct school via remote learning when classes resumed this fall.
The board continues to study the implications of a return to the classroom and awaits the results of a parent survey indicating their preference between staying on remote learning or returning to classrooms.