All quiet on the Lemoore school boards election front; only one race

At the elementary school level, incumbents Ed Mendes and Jim Inglis will automatically earn new terms, each running unopposed for another four-year term. Only two-term incumbent Tim Wahl managed to draw a challenger - sort of.

A short time after filing his papers to run for Wahl’s District 4 seat, George Sanderson, a Huron teacher, decided maybe he didn’t want to run against Wahl after all. Wahl is a long-time resident of Lemoore and a former teacher himself, who taught in the Central Union School District for 36 years.

Sanderson will still be on the ballot but says he won’t campaign. In fact he sent a letter to the Lemoore Elementary School Board officially withdrawing from the race. “I just had personal reasons,” he said, adding that he felt that perhaps Wahl was a better-known candidate.

Wahl was surprised at Sanderson’s decision to drop out, but looks forward to another four-years on the board - if elected. He enjoys the challenge of serving at the school board level. “I like that the school district is making many improvements and test scores are up,” he said. “And there are a lot of challenges with this Common Core,” insisting that the school district needs to be ready to implement it.

There is currently a vacancy on the board and the district has been advertising to appoint someone to fill the seat formerly occupied by Barbara Shannon, who resigned recently for personal reasons. Shannon had served on the board for two years before leaving.

Wahl told The Leader that the school board will interview applicants and probably appoint someone by the end of October.

There won’t be any races at the high school level as well. Incumbents Lois Hubanks, Jeanne Castadio and Guadalupe Solis failed to draw any challengers and will automatically earn new terms.