Incumbents Alexia Palacios-Peters and Mal Sandie lead the four-candidate race for three open Coronado Unified School District board seats, according to the first unofficial results released on election night.

Palacios-Peters topped the field with 30.37% of votes, followed by Sandie at 25.69% and newcomer Peggy Duncan at 24.80%, The Coronado News reported. First-time candidate Kaye Schneider trailed at 19.14%.

The results are unofficial. The San Diego County Registrar of Voters said all results remain unofficial until the official canvass is completed on or before Dec. 3.

As we reported Nov. 3, the four candidates are competing for three seats on the board of trustees. Polls closed at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The first posting included mail-in ballots, official drop-box returns and early votes cast at vote centers between Oct. 24 and Nov. 2, according to the Registrar.

The next unofficial updates are scheduled by 6 p.m. on Nov. 5, Nov. 6 and Nov. 9.

What the candidates said

Palacios-Peters, 46, a practicing attorney first elected in 2022, said she spent the last four years trying to represent everybody on the board. She told The Coronado News she now looks toward a transparent process of building reserves under Basic Aid funding.

"To come in as number one right now is a complete surprise and overwhelming," Palacios-Peters said on election night. "And I'm just so grateful to this Coronado community, and their support of me."

Sandie, 58, a retired Navy captain first elected four years ago, said he plans to continue the district's transition to Basic Aid. He was the only candidate who did not raise or spend $2,000 or more, according to Registrar filings.

"I said what I believe, I said what I plan to do and I said what my concerns are and I guess it sounds like people agreed," Sandie said.

Duncan, 54, is an attorney and president of the Coronado nonprofit Friends of Children United Society. She is married to Coronado Mayor John Duncan. Her campaign committee reported $24,747 in total contributions and $19,781 in total expenditures as of Oct. 17.

"There's still a lot of votes to be counted," Duncan said. "But I believe I've received enough votes to be elected."

Schneider, owner of Lydia Company and founder of Vital Connections, is making her first run for office. She reported spending over $4,000 on her campaign committee. The Coronado News reported that Schneider said she did not have a comment on the election night results.

What's at stake

The new board will face major decisions. CUSD Board President Renee Cavanaugh told the Coronado Eagle & Journal that heat events forcing shortened school days are the biggest issue the board is working on. Cavanaugh estimated that installing air conditioning across all four CUSD schools could cost more than $40 million. Superintendent Karl Mueller told the Eagle & Journal the last cost estimate, from 2022, was $40 million, and the money would have to come from the general fund unless the district finds alternative financing.

The district is also transitioning to Basic Aid funding, which ties revenue to local property taxes instead of per-student state allocations. Palacios-Peters said at a September candidates forum that under Basic Aid, the district will need to rebuild reserves to 17% of the annual budget, up from the state-required 3%.

Coronado has 11,033 registered voters, including 4,048 Republicans and 3,474 Democrats, according to the Registrar. The next vote count update is due by 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5.