Malheur County voters will settle contested races for the Ontario, Nyssa and Adrian School Boards in the May election.
Three seats on the Ontario School Board have drawn competing candidates.
On the Ontario School Board, longtime member Blanca Rodriguez has decided not to run again. She has been on the board since 2017.
“It’s time for others to volunteer,” she said.
Running for Rodriguez’s seat, a four-year term, are Tomas Elizondo and Jenna Mejia.
Mejia, 38, is a preschool coach with the Malheur Education Service District. Mejia has three children in the school district. A member of the district’s Parent Teacher Organization for kindergarten to fifth grade, Mejia said while she said other parents in the district feel disconnected. If elected, she wants to help improve communication and collaboration between parents, staff and students.
Mejia said she wants parents to feel like they have a voice and that they can be involved.
She added that good things are going on in the district, including after-school programs and innovative classes taught by good educators.
“Ontario has some phenomenal educators and some amazing support staff,” she said. Mejia said she wants to make sure they feel supported.
Elizondo, 56, is a retired Ontario Police Department officer who works as a private investigator for Elkhorn Public Defenders. Elizondo said his nearly 30 years in law enforcement – a few as a school student resource officer – would bring a unique law enforcement perspective to the board.
Elizondo said he favors extracurricular activities, having coached sports and mentored kids through an anti-gang initiative at the Boys and Girls Club. Elizondo, whose wife Jodi is a district administrator, declined to comment on what existing board initiatives he supports or would like to see change.
“I’m not going to commit to something I have no experience with,” he said. “Let me find out once I get there.”
Abby Apodaca, Andrea Recla and Clay Hooker are running for the remaining four-year seat on the board. The seat has been vacant for over a year after A.J. Sunseri, an Argus reporter, stepped down. The board decided to leave the seat empty until this year’s election.
Apodaca, 37, the district’s Parent Teacher Organization president for kindergarten to fifth grade, has three children in the school district. Influenced by her teacher mother, Apodaca said education has always been a part of her life.
She said she wants to bring transparency and communication to her role as a school board member. Apodaca said the grade level school transition, which put all students in each grade into the same building this year, was hard on parents. She praised the district for the change and said the shift is good for students.
She said she has students at three different schools. Apodaca said the school system has done a “tremendous job” in communicating with parents. She wants to help the district continue to keep families informed.
“More awareness just really makes everybody buy into changes or anything that’s uncomfortable,” she said.
Recla, 39, is the director of outpatient services at Lifeways and has five children in the district. She said she aims to bring her education and professional experience to the board.
As a parent, Recla said while the school system has well-intended teachers, the one area the district might be lacking in is competitive education. She said she sees teachers practically begging students to show up to school and do their work. Sometimes, students might need that help, but overall, she would like to see the district “raise the bar.”
Hooker, 65, is a retired parole and probation officer with the Oregon Youth Authority.
With grandchildren soon attending school in the district, Hooker said he is running to serve children and families in the community.
As a retired youth parole and probation officer, Hooker said he understands the “unique makeup” of the area. He said he frequently worked with district staff in a professional capacity. Hooker added that during his career, he served on state committees related to youth and families.
Incumbent Matt Stringer filed for another four-year term. He was first elected in 2021. He faces challengers Lindsey Nieskens and Lisa Reeser.
Stringer, 65, said he is running for another term to see through various projects he has been engaged with as a board member, from the grade-level elementary school transition to the softball and baseball complex at Ontario Middle School.
Stringer, the former Four Rivers Cultural Center executive director, said Ontario students face challenges, including poverty and homelessness. He said he wants to continue to help build and improve “the quality of the school experience” for Ontario students.
Nieskens, 25, said she is getting into the race to help support mental health and addiction prevention. A prevention coordinator with Lifeways, she said she wants students, teachers, and families to have more access to resources and education surrounding mental health and drug and alcohol prevention.
Nieskens said she would like better transparency and communication from the district to improve parent involvement.
Nieskens noted that families are better served when “lines of communication” are open and “things are very transparent.”
Reeser, 43, a member of the district’s Parent Teacher Organization for kindergarten to fifth grade, has two kids in the district. Born and raised in Ontario, Reeser said among the reasons why she is running, is the dwindling number of college credit courses available to high school students. Reeser said while she does not have kids at the high school yet, she understands the district has lost certified educators to teach those classes. She wants to help the district find ways to bring those teachers back and credential the ones that remain with the school system.
Reeser also said transparency and communication are important to the school district. She said while the district did a good job with rolling out the grade level transition, “there can always be more communication and transparency within a district.”
Treasure Valley Community College Board
Roger Findley and Ken Hart are running uncontested for another four-year term.
Suzi Ireland is running for a seat held by longtime director Dirk DeBoer. DeBoer did not file for another term as of Thursday, March 20, the filing deadline.
Ontario Recreation District
On the Ontario Recreation District Board, there are two contested races. The independent board is tasked with overseeing the construction of a community pool.
Incumbent Mary Jo Evers filed for another term. Oscar Tamez will challenge her. Megan Cook did not file for another term. Sheila Hart and Sabrina Coley have filed for her seat.
Nyssa School Board
The Nyssa School Board will have one contested race.
Nick Hartley is running to unseat incumbent Megan Robbins.
Dustin Martinsen, appointed in June 2023, filed for a four-year term. Jazmine Ramirez, appointed in July to fill a seat held by Jeremy Peterson, filed for a two-year term.
Meantime, Pat Morinaka and Susan Ramos are both running unopposed for additional four-year terms.
Adrian School Board
Two seats are contested. Incumbent Eric White is challenging Quinten Shenk, an incumbent, for his seat, a four-year term
Bob Holmes and Trisha Shartner are running for the seat previously held by White, a four-year term.
Randy Bowns filed for a seat held by Ryan Martin, who did not file for another term.
In other districts, incumbents are running unopposed and a single candidate filed to fill a vacant seat.
-Malheur Education Service District: incumbents Greg Alexander and Rebecca Martinez are unopposed for another term. Incumbent Don Hodge is not running for reelection and B H (Topper) Schlupe is unopposed to replace him.
-Vale School District: incumbents Jason Chamberlain and Ryan Bates are unopposed. Michael Spelman is unopposed for a currently vacant seat.
-Jordan Valley School Board – incumbents Whitni Matteri, Joshua Mackenzie and Patrick Anderson are unopposed.
-Juntura School District: incumbents Forrest Overcash, Dan Pozzi and Erika Fitzpatrick are unopposed.
-Annex School District: incumbents Nick Grace, Joe White and Sharona Olsen are unopposed.
-Harper School District: incumbents Jeffrey Romans, Jim Joyce and Lisa Fisher are unopposed.
-McDermitt School: incumbents Gladys Elordi, Steve Maher, Jeanette Yturriondobeitia and Tim Maher are unopposed. Maher’s term is for two years.
-Arock School District: incumbents Joseph McElhannon, Brittany White and Elias Eiguren are unopposed.
There is little change with a host of other local boards as incumbents refiled for positions and face no opponents.
The boards and incumbents running include:
•Adrian Rural Fire Board – Jimmy Simpson and Robert Webb
•Annex Rural Fire Board – Joe White, Mike Panike and John Woods
•Nyssa Rural Fire Board – Dillon Mitchell and Frank Ausman
•Ontario Rural Fire District Board – Monty Culbertson and Brandon Coley filed for another term. Michael Derrick did not file and Dana Tuckness filed to replace him. Wes Allison filed for a vacant two-year seat.
•Vale Rural Fire Board – Jeff Burkhardt and Jeremy Chamberlain
•Dell-Brogan Cemetery Board – Jeannie Netcher and Margie Smith
•Fairview Cemetery Board – Todd Johnson and Shelly Johnson
•Hilltop Memorial Cemetery – Sandy Smallwood
•Ironside Cemetery – Rowena Lytle and Dona Speri
•Jordan Valley Cemetery – Anne Stephens and Lou Ann Krupp
•Owyhee Cemetery – Shagay Jones and Julene Bowns
•Valley View Cemetery – Bobbi Buttice and Nancy Anthony
•Nyssa Rural Road # 2 – Jill Conant
•Ontario Rural Road District #3 – Steven Hansen and Denis Price
•Juntura Rural Road District #4 – incumbent Dan Pozzi filed for another term. Nathan Joyce did not file for another term, but Morgan Butler is running unopposed.
•Ironside Rural Road # 5 – incumbent Rick Wilcox is unopposed for another term and incumbent Dwight Ramer did not file for another term. No candidate filed to replace him.
•Malheur Memorial Health – incumbents Christopher Stam, Joe Farmer and Kim Stipe are unopposed. Incumbent Genniel Frahm is unopposed for a two-year term.
For the Pioneer Place Board, incumbent John Nalivka did not file for another term. Toby McBride filed unopposed. Dennis Buttice, an incumbent, is unopposed. Incumbents Siri Jackman and Jean Findley are unopposed on the Ontario Library Board. Lynelle Christiani filed for another term and is challenged by Deanna Pobanz.
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