(This story will be updated as votes are tabulated.)

Coachella Valley Unified School District board of education election results remain pending as of Wednesday, while Riverside County continues to count outstanding vote-by-mail and conditional voter registration ballots.

The registrars of voters for Imperial and Riverside counties plan to issue a joint statement explaining why the results were withheld after three contested races were held in the trustee area. inadvertently omitted ballots for about 2,400 voters in Imperial County, said Eddie Lopez, spokesman for the Imperial County Registrar of Voters.

However, in an email sent before noon Wednesday, Lopez said they are still waiting for Riverside County’s input on the statement.

The Riverside County Registrar of Voters had issued a statement on Facebook shortly before midnight Tuesday, announcing that a Superior Court judge granted a temporary restraining order sought by CVUSD and Imperial County, prohibiting Riverside County from reporting CVUSD vote counts in Trust Area 1 races , 2 and 4.

“Given the court order, CVUSD trustee races will not be included in the Riverside County election report,” the statement said.

A status hearing was held Wednesday morning in Riverside Historic Court, where the court addressed an injunction filed Tuesday by the Imperial County Board of Supervisors and CVUSD on behalf of school board candidates . The next hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 22, according to Riverside County’s public information officer, who said they are still waiting for instructions from the court on how to proceed.

The case summary from Wednesday’s hearing states that the court extended the temporary restraining order until 5 p.m. on December 6 and that a written plan will be submitted by November 21.

On Wednesday morning, Jocelyn Vargas, who is seeking re-election in Trustee Area 4, posted on Instagram that she has been weighing possible scenarios and outcomes.

“I think it is problematic to assume that all options are not being considered by the voter registrar (whose) responsibility it is to oversee elections,” he wrote. “While we all have a stake in the results, especially Riverside voters, I believe it is also important to ensure that Imperial residents are able to exercise their right to vote in a fair election.”

What’s in store for CVUSD school board members?

The elected school board members will serve four-year terms and oversee a district that educates about 16,000 students. They will manage the budget, approve policies and resolutions, as well as hire and evaluate the superintendent. In July, the board appointed Frances Esparza as superintendent after Resignation and retirement of Luis Valentino.

After the state revealed a $27.6 billion budget shortfall and projected a $28.4 billion deficit for next year, California school districts are tightening the belt. Board members will need to navigate these challenges as districts, including CVUSD, face fiscal pressures such as inflation, expiring COVID-19 relief funds, and declining student enrollment.

Coachella Valley results: Live results from races across the Coachella Valley

As the only K-12 school district in the Coachella Valley no law enforcement officers on campusCVUSD board members (and candidates) have raised the issue of reinstating school resource officers or implementing other security measures, such as metal detectors or clear backpacks, to address current safety and security concerns after of recent incidents.

Earlier this year, CVUSD issued layoff notices to teachers due to the loss of federal pandemic relief funds. The school district also restructured its educational services department implement a multi-tiered system of support framework aimed at improving literacy and mathematics efforts in schools.

Board members represent specific geographic areas, but in some parts of the eastern Coachella Valley, trustees share overlapping regions with other members.

Trust Area 1 (Coachella)

Agustín Arreola challenges Trinidad “Trini” Arredondo, who is seeking a second term with the support of the teaching union. arredondoParent of CVUSD and Director of TA Mentoring Services, LLC., provides mentoring in Southern California school districts. He is also a member of Rotary and a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz. His parents served as CVUSD employees for more than 30 years.

arreolaa external affairs manager in the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, previously worked as a senior implementation manager at Lift to Rise, a Coachella Valley nonprofit focused on addressing housing instability. A graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, he also co-founded a network that supports young professionals from all sectors.

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(Joey Acuña Jr. also represents Trustee Area 1 and is running for election to represent District 36 in the California State Assembly.)

Trust Area 2 (Thermal)

Altrena Santillanes faces incumbent Jesús González, who has been part of the board since 2020.

González previously served as mayor of Coachella. he had been charged with felonies of bribery and conspiracyresult of a land deal in which his sister and the property developers participated. Years later, he pleaded guilty to a single lesser charge, but always maintained his innocence. He re-entered politics when he ran unopposed for a seat on the CVUSD board of directors during his first term.

Santillanendorsed by the teachers union, serves as tribal council secretary to the Cahuilla Indians of the Torres Martínez desert and sits in the Salton Sea Authority board. He brings notable experience in government and civic engagement, including roles with North American First Nations, the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument campaign, as well as the Coachella Valley Association of Governments.

(Silvia Paz also represents Térmica.)

Trust Area 3 (Oasis and Salton Sea)

Tomás Tortez Jr., tribal president of the Cahuilla Indians of the Torres Martínez Desert, is presented without opposition. Trustee Area 3 has been without representation since late June, when Adonis Galarza-Toledo, who joined the board in 2020, resigned.

At a board meeting in October, Acuña said Tortez will be the first Native American tribal president to serve on the CVUSD board.

Trust Area 4 (Mecca and North Coast)

Adrian Rodriguezsmall business owner, tax accountant and CVUSD parent, is challenging incumbent Vargas. Rodriguez previously ran for the board in 2016.

Vargas, a first-generation UCLA graduate and Basic Needs Center Manager at College of the Desert, won his seat unopposed in 2020. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in higher education.

Jennifer Cortez covers education in the Coachella Valley. Contact her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared in the Palm Springs Desert Sun: Election Results: Coachella Valley Unified School District