No changes made on Conejo Board of Education

After one of the most contentious elections in the history of the district, voters stayed with those they knew, reelecting all three incumbents to the Conejo Valley Unified Board of Education.

President Pat Phelps took the majority, 19.04 percent of votes, followed by Mike Dunn with 17.01 percent and Tim Stephens with 16.96 percent.

"I do work hard to stay connected with the school, and I think that was maybe what gave me my extra edge," Phelps said. "I think parents realized I'm there if they need me. It's great to be first."

Stephens' closest competitor was former small business owner Peggy Buckles, who captured 11.32 percent of the vote, followed by business owner John Anderson with 10.09 percent.

"It was a real challenge this time," Stephens said. "This is my third race, and it was probably the most challenging. There was a field of eight, so we had lots of competition. . . . It's nice to have it over with."

Dunn was unavailable for comment, as he was on a desert trip this week. Dunn's wife, Linda, said that the election had been stressful for him.

"He needed to be alone," Linda Dunn said. "That's just how he likes to deal with things."

Dunn, a firefighter and financial counselor, has been head-to-head with other members of the board on several issues, including vacation scheduling and the board's decision to adopt a politically correct definition of marriage in a textbook. In each case, he asserted that he was representing the opinions of the community.

Dunn's main campaign focus has been to say he supports empowering parents and taxpayers and giving them more control.

"I think it's just that people, maybe they don't realize, there's been some conflict on the board," Phelps said. "To the outside, everything is going smoothly, the district is doing well . . . we are working hard to work more smoothly."

Despite the board's familiar faces, Stephens said there would be some changes.

"The superintendent is going to put in board protocols," Stephens said. "They will be very clear and concise, and they will serve as a roadmap for board members so they don't get themselves into a pickle on different issues.

"I think it will be very helpful for our board to have that. We should have had those a long time ago, but (Superintendent) Mario Contini has been very successful about getting them going."

Phelps has been involved in putting together the protocols since before Contini arrived this year.