Irvine Re-elects Bokota and Brooks and Welcomes Carroll to the Board of Education

Tuesday, November 8, Irvine voters re-elected IUSD Governing Board Members Paul Bokota and Lauren Brooks, according to the unofficial election results provided by the Orange County Registrar of Voters.  This is the second term for both Bokota and Brooks, who won with 21 percent and nearly 24 percent of the vote, respectively. Businesswoman and parent Betty Carroll, also won with nearly 19 percent of the vote.  Carroll’s experience includes Irvine Public Schools Foundation Board Chair, IUSD Education Advisory Committee, School Site Councilmember, PTA board, room parent and classroom volunteer.  She received her Bachelor’s of Art degree in English from UC Santa Barbara and a law degree from Brooklyn Law School. Bokota, Brooks and Carroll will be sworn in during the December 13, 2016 Board Meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the District Office (5050 Barranca Pkwy, Irvine). In other education-related election news, Prop. 51 is leading in early returns, which will allow the sale of $9 billion in general obligation bonds to pay for building and modernizing K-12 and community college facilities statewide.  IUSD will receive matching funds that will allow the District to further augment its facilities planning and Measure E funds to ensure all IUSD schools meet the same safety and education standards as our newer schools. Voters passed Prop. 55, which is a temporary extension of taxes on top earners through 2030, which will raise between $4 billion and $9 billion annually for K-12 schools and community colleges throughout California.  As one of the lowest funded school districts in the state, the passage of Prop. 55 will help provide vital funds for IUSD students. Prop. 58 was also passed by voters, which is an English education proposition that eliminates the English only mandate of Prop. 227, which was passed in 1998 and approves a multilingual education.  This gives school districts flexibility to teach English learners in a manner that best fits their community.  This proposition has little impact on IUSD, which offers a comprehensive K-12 approach to language programs.