Osborne, Vickers set to win Laguna Beach USD election

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Kelly Osborne and Jan Vickers maintain strong leads in election returns for Laguna Beach Unified’s Board of Education.

Kelly Osborne and Jan Vickers were staged to claim two seats on the Laguna Beach Unified School District Board of Education on Friday, following a campaign dominated by local school officials’ response to COVID-19.

Osborne and Vickers respectively earned 30.96% and 23.11% of the vote as of the Independent’s deadline. They were trailed by Amy Kramer with 19.66%, Sheri Morgan with 16.94%, and Howard Hills with 9.33%. Although his name appeared on the ballot, Hills withdrew from the campaign early and endorsed Kramer and Morgan.

After a hard-fought political campaign, Osborne wrote an open letter Tuesday to fellow school board candidates, expressing appreciation for putting themselves forward for consideration. In an email to the Independent, Osborne wrote Wednesday that she’s ready to go to work to make sure all students succeed in Laguna Beach Unified schools.

“I am excited about the extremely strong results we had [Tuesday] and honored to serve as one of Laguna’s newest elected officials,” Osborne wrote. “I do not take the opportunity to serve on our Board of Education lightly.  “Our children, our hope for the future, is on the line.”

She also stands ready to address social intolerance and advance environmental stewardship in Laguna schools. 

“The winning candidate does not win the right to carry out a set of campaign promises, only the chance to govern,” Osborne wrote. “In governing, we must be professional, thoughtful, civil and always remain student-focused. This is my promise to voters.”

Vickers is set to add another term to her school board tenure, which stretches back to 2000. She first ran for office after the controversial closure of Aliso Elementary in 1981.

If the results hold, Laguna Beach voters will have vindicated Vickers’ role in helping the school district navigate the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19, including the school board’s controversial decisions to keep campuses closed for months. 

Laguna Beach parent and volunteer Kelly Osborne has spent the past six years as a volunteer for Laguna Beach schools, serving as president of both Top of the World Elementary PTA and Laguna Beach PTA Council, which oversees PTAs in all four schools.  

Osborne will fill a board seat currently occupied by board president Peggy Wolff, who decided not to run for reelection.

Candidates Amy Kramer and Sheri Morgan branded themselves as agents of change for a school board that was plagued by controversy even before COVID-19. Board member Dee Perry filed a complaint in California court claiming retaliation and discrimination by the board majority and Supt. Jason Viloria. After months of legal wrangling, a federal judge dismissed Perry’s complaint with prejudice.

Morgan has repeatedly raised concerns during board meetings over the school district’s legal fees in the Perry case. In her opinion, the conflict should have been settled in arbitration.

More broadly, Kramer and Morgan pledged to take more active roles on a school board that historically doesn’t stray from recommendations from district administrators.In a letter to the editor published in this edition of the Independent, Morgan wrote that she’s honored and humbled that so many voters entrusted their voice to her.

“The number of votes cast should tell district administration and leadership that it isn’t a ‘small group of parents that are never happy,’” Morgan wrote. “The Board should see clearly now that I do not stand alone in the fight demanding quality education for our kids and that we need better, more robust options for all.”

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