Two newcomers join incumbent on San Mateo-Foster City board:

To a large extent, community volunteer Ellen Mallory Ulrich was glad she didn't win a seat on the San Mateo-Foster City School District board of trustees when she first ran four years ago.

"I went on to do other things," Ulrich said Wednesday, "and that experience I feel made me a better candidate now."

Ulrich was the top vote-getter with 28.4 percent in the board race. Incumbent Lory Lorimer Lawson followed at 27.8 percent while project manager Julie Chan garnered 25.2 percent. Software developer John Miller was the odd man out with 18.6 percent.

They competed for three open seats, since board President Cathy Rincon and Trustee Jack Coyne Jr. decided not to seek re-election.

When she first pursued a board seat, Ulrich placed fourth out of seven candidates. But she didn't stop working. She served as co-chair on the campaign for the $175 million Measure L bond, which district voters approved in 2008 for campus upgrades. She has also served on district committees that address campus building, enrollment and grading concerns.

That kind of involvement helped her win this second time around, said Ulrich.

The new board faces pressing issues, including ongoing budget uncertainties and finding land for a proposed new elementary campus to relieve an enrollment surge. The district also needs to tackle being labeled as needing improvement

San Mateo Union School board incumbents win:

Ongoing budget uncertainties and federal pressure to improve student achievement are among the immediate concerns for incumbents returning to the San Mateo Union High School District board of trustees.

Voters Tuesday re-elected all three current trustees — Peter Hanley, Linda Lees Dwyer and Robert Griffin — over challengers Mike Loy and Guadalupe Ortiz.

In the election's aftermath, Griffin said he sees the board focusing on bolstering finances, given the budget problems that continue statewide. The election touched on the possible exploration of a parcel tax as one option to generate new revenue for the district.

The board is also tackling the fact that the district has been newly labeled as needing improvement by a federal program, Griffin said. The district is already working with the San Mateo County Office of Education on that matter, trustees said.

Hanley agreed that the district has "too many students performing at a low level" but said he will propose ideas to help remedy that.

Hanley led all candidates in campaign fundraising by far, drawing in more than $30,000.

"I knew I was in a very competitive race," said Hanley, who serves as board president. "I didn't take anything or any vote for granted."

—Neil Gonzales

Advocate, volunteer elected to Sequoia Union board:

An advocate for improving Sequoia Union High School District's relations with charter schools and a longtime schools volunteer will be the district's newest trustees.

In the race for two seats left vacant by departing incumbents, Chris Thomsen and Alan Sarver led six other candidates after all precincts reported. Thomsen, director of a research institute at Stanford University, collected the most votes with 22 percent, followed by Sarver, a retired software manager active in local school organizations, who picked up 19.6 percent.

Thomsen has said he will focus on improving the 8,000-student district's strained relationships with some of its charter schools, fixing the district's budget problems and closing the academic achievement gap.

"The things I campaigned about are things I care deeply about, so they'll be what I hope to carry forward and have an effect on in serving on the board," Thomsen said.

Sarver, 56, chairman of the Carlmont High School Foundation, said he is pleased to be done with campaigning and is ready to tackle challenges facing the district, including state cuts to education.

"We're in a dramatic financial crisis, and we want to keep this district on an even keel and moving upward in the face of a tremendous shortfall in funding," Sarver said.

—Shaun Bishop

Redwood City school board incumbents re-elected:

Two incumbents on the Redwood City School District board of trustees staved off two challengers to win re-election.

Hilary Paulson and Maria Diaz-Slocum both accumulated significant leads over two other candidates. Paulson, who was appointed to the board last year, won her first election. Diaz-Slocum was re-elected to her third term. Jack Hickey came in third and Lea Cuniberti-Duran took fourth place.

Diaz-Slocum said her experience on the board will be an asset as the district prepares to cut millions of dollars out of next year's budget to account for drops in state funding.

"I just want to make a difference in the lives of the students," Diaz-Slocum said.

Paulson said she hopes to help district schools do a better job of sharing information about which programs are working well and then replicate those efforts at other campuses.

"Now I can get back to the work that I want to do," Paulson said.

—Shaun Bishop

Newcomer joins San Bruno Park school board:

The San Bruno Park School District board has picked up a reputation over the years for being a contentious group, but a newcomer believes he can help in that regard.

"I have good interpersonal skills to help ... improve the image of the board," said university professor Henry Sanchez, who won one of three open seats. "I will help bridge differences and move the board forward."

Incumbents William "Skip" Henderson and James Prescott were re-elected. Losing in their bids were businessman Charles "Chuck" Zelnik Jr. and food server Maria Araujo.

As the new person on the board, Sanchez said he plans to visit the district's schools and "do a lot of fact-finding" on various key issues.

One of those concerns is a proposal to reconfigure grades at the schools and renovate Parkside Intermediate.

—Neil Gonzales

two new faces on Hillsborough school board:

The new board for the Hillsborough City School District will likely first tackle fiscal issues given statewide budget problems, one of the winners in Tuesday's election said.

"We need to be proactive" in addressing the district's budget, said finance professional Steven Koury, who won one of three open seats on the board. "I hope to contribute in that."

Koury garnered 29.6 percent of the vote, while fellow newcomer Lynne Esselstein, an attorney, received 25.4 percent. Trustee Mary Ellen Benninger, the lone incumbent in the five-candidate race, was the top vote-getter with 30.8 percent. Losing in their bids for the board were software architect Steven Gans and physician Pearl Wu, a write-in candidate.

Koury believes the new board will function well. He said he has worked with some of the trustees in the past.

During the board race, candidates explored ideas on how to enhance the curriculum for the district's students, who are already high-achieving. One way to do that is develop the district's foreign-language program, candidates said.

—Neil Gonzales