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Early election night results for Menlo Park City School District school board show newcomer Maya Herstein and incumbents Sherwin Chen and Jed Scolnick leading to fill three open seats, with Andrew Barnes trailing by hundreds of votes.
As of 11 p.m. on election night, Herstein received 3,244 votes, or 29.8%, Chen had 2,942 votes, or 27.1% and Scolnick had 2,709 votes or 24.9%, while Barnes received 1,977 votes, 18.2%
“I’m honored to have received so much support from MPCSD voters so far,” said Herstein. “I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the results come in. I’m hopeful that I get the opportunity to serve this wonderful community.”
Herstein is the parent of three students in the Menlo Park City School District. She has served on the district’s Local Control and Accountability Plan committee, co-chaired Hillview’s service team and volunteered with the Parent Teacher Organization.
Her priorities for the school board include student safety, academic excellence, responsible budgeting and support for teachers, according to her candidate statement.
Chen is seeking reelection to his third term. He is the parent of two MPCSD graduates, a retired finance professional and a Menlo Park resident for over 20 years. He thanked voters in the school district for their support and said he looks forward to working with the community if he is elected.
Since being elected in 2018, Chen said he has been involved in the students’ return to campus during the COVID-19 pandemic, ending years of budget deficits and introducing a parcel tax that stabilized district finances.
Chen said he aims to strengthen academic excellence, student well-being, fiscal discipline and completing campus-wide construction projects on time and on budget.
Scolnick previously told The Almanac that he hopes to continue working with the district to deliver Measure U-funded projects transparently, protect long-term financial health and address declining enrollment in the district.
During his campaign, Scolnick told The Almanac that he was inspired to serve another term to provide “steady leadership.” Throughout his first term, he said he was proud of his work in pioneering San Mateo County’s first districtwide e-bike safety policy, ensuring oversight of Measure U-funded bond projects and representing MPCSD in labor negotiations while supporting teachers and maintaining a stable budget.
Barnes entered the race with hopes to support the district that supported his son, who is a former Laurel School and Hillview Middle School graduate. He is the chairman of the Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee for Measure U and currently works for the County of Santa Clara’s Facilities and Fleet Department, managing acquisitions and building improvements.
Barnes’ campaign focused on pushing forward Measure U-funded infrastructure projects and helping the district with development projects across MPCSD campuses.
