Democratic- and Republican-endorsed candidates both claimed a fair share of wins on San Diego County school boards — an outcome that some Democrats saw as an unexpected disappointment in a county dominated by their party and historically favorable for teachers union-endorsed candidates. “I think it was definitely a tough year for Democrats and for candidates who were endorsed by teachers,” said Democratic campaign consultant Kevin Sabellico, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the San Dieguito Union High School District Board of Trustees. More than 110 local school board seats around the county were on the ballot this fall, but about a third of them were uncontested. Related Articles Education | South County long pined for a 4-year college. One overlooked school has been there all along — and now is thriving. Education | California teachers are cursing Donald Trump in the classroom. Is it their right? Education | How are local schools doing? Here are the annual performance ratings in every district in San Diego County Education | Trump has called for dismantling the Education Department. Here’s what that would mean Education | How Trump could impact San Diego County schools School board races are technically nonpartisan, but it’s common for school board candidates to get endorsements and campaign support from partisan groups and to campaign with political stances on education issues. And political issues such as protections for LGBTQ+ students, how to teach about race and LGBTQ+ topics in schools and whether to ban books or curriculum materials have increasingly taken the stage in school districts locally and nationally in the past couple years. The Democratic and Republican parties of San Diego County each had about two dozen endorsed school board candidates win office in contested races. More than two dozen school board candidates who were recommended by the RMNNT, a conservative political organization affiliated with the evangelical Awaken Church, won election in contested races. Several races were close, decided by just a few hundred votes. And many school boards saw split results, with at least one seat going toward a Democrat-endorsed candidate and at least one other going to a Republican-endorsed candidate. That was the case for several high-profile races, including in Poway Unified, Grossmont Union High, Carlsbad Unified, San Marcos Unified and San Dieguito Union High. Some Democratic candidates said the fact that many conservative candidates had won election to local school boards in a county that, as a whole, is dominated by their party seemed to mirror a general decline in enthusiasm this election for Democrats, with a greater share of voters choosing Donald Trump this year than in 2020. Some candidates also said that because school board races are so small, and because voters tend to know significantly less about who’s running, it’s also likely some tight school board elections could have been influenced by other factors, such as the appearance of names on the ballot or the efforts of a small but successfully mobilized cadre of supporters. “It’s easier to get in with a smaller amount of committed voters,” said Chris Fite, a Democrat who won re-election to the Grossmont Union High School District board. The county’s most expensive school board race was fought in San Dieguito Union High School District, between Michael Allman, the conservative and Republican-endorsed incumbent, and Sabellico, backed by the teachers union. The board’s other open seat went to Democratic Party-endorsed Jodie Williams, who defeated Republican-endorsed Kelly Friis. Sabellico had run on a platform of ending what he called right-wing extremism and dysfunction that he accused Allman of bringing to the district during his four years in office. Allman has been a polarizing figure in the district, on issues ranging from redistricting to ethnic studies to the firing of a past superintendent. Sabellico raised more than any other school board candidate, pulling in more than $102,000 as of the week before the election. Allman had raised the second most, with more than $56,000. “Even though we came up short, I’m so proud of this campaign. We ran a race that desperately needed to be fought against extremism and corruption,” Sabellico said in a video on X conceding the race to Allman on Thursday night. “Losses like these are difficult to accept, but we must accept them.” Allman disputed Sabellico’s characterization of him as extremist and corrupt, calling it a political ploy to try to generate more votes. Allman said he ran his campaign with a focus on improving academics and increasing transparency for parents and the public in matters from curriculum to district finances. “It was an expensive race, and (Sabellico) still came up short,” Allman said in an interview. “I think that is a signal that when parents and voters are organized and put parents’ and students’ interests first, that can overcome the built-in advantage of the teachers union.” In San Diego Unified, the county’s largest district, only one out of three open board seats was contested. That seat was narrowly kept by incumbent Sabrina Bazzo against repeat challenger and district committee member Crystal Trull. The San Diego Unified teachers union’s political action committee spent more than $132,000 on mailers and digital ads in support of Bazzo, county campaign finance reports show. Bazzo ran on a platform that echoes the board’s current focus, which is on setting goals to improve student outcomes by 2030. Bazzo has said she was surprised the race between her and Trull, who was endorsed by Republicans and conservative groups, was so close. Despite what she believes is a rise in conservative momentum, she thinks her win means that in San Diego Unified, voters are pleased with student performance in the district. “We’re continuing to make those gains — and even with the termination of our superintendent, our deputy superintendent has now jumped in, and we’re just continuing to move forward,” Bazzo said in an interview. Trull had argued that the district is falling short on transparency, accountability and communication. She also hoped to bring “real-time experience” to the board as the only would-be member whose children currently attend district schools. “I’m just hoping people can see it’s possible to have another choice,” Trull said in an interview. While Bazzo and Sabellico talked frankly about partisan politics framing the school board races, Trull and Allman said they didn’t see the school board races as being partisan. Trull said her “whole focus” was to not focus on politics because it is divisive and distracting. “It’s a nonpartisan position for a reason. I will talk all day long about curriculum, standardized testing and facilities management. We don’t need to bring politics to our school,” Allman said. Several of the highest-spending school board races also took place in Grossmont Union High, which has weathered political turmoil over the past few years, including controversies over LGBTQ+ issues and staffing decisions made by the school board. Fite, an incumbent who had the teachers union’s backing, held on to his seat against Republican-endorsed candidate Randall Dear, while Republican-endorsed Scott Eckert defeated Democrat Jay Steiger in the board’s other race. Both Dear and Eckert had been supported by members of the current conservative board majority. Another high-spending race was in Cajon Valley, another East County district that has had controversies of its own; in recent months, the board has been roiled by infighting among its members and with district administration, and it has made controversial moves on LGBTQ+ students and topics, including requiring parents to be notified of changes to students’ gender presentation. Incumbent and conservative board President Jim Miller kept his seat in the face of challenges from two others — including Alex Welling, who had been supported by current conservative board member Anthony Carnevale. More than two dozen political action committees recorded campaign donations and in-kind contributions of at least $500 each made directly to school board candidates. On the left, those committees included local teachers unions, other labor groups such as the Progressive Labor Alliance and San Diego Labor Coalition, and local Democratic clubs. On the right, the groups included Citizens for a Better East County, Restore San Diego and the New Majority.