Bowman Leads Las Virgenes Schools Race

The incumbent president of the Las Virgenes Unified School District board was among the leaders in early returns from Tuesday’s at-large race for three seats on the panel.

Barbara Bowman was the sole incumbent seeking reelection in the Las Virgenes Unified School District race. Fellow board members Betty Noling and Ron Jauch declined to run for reelection.

Four challengers were seeking to fill the three seats. They were: Roger Wakefield, a special-education coordinator at Chatsworth High School; Iraj Broomand, director of a school for emotionally disturbed adolescents in Reseda; Judy Jordan, a veteran teacher with a master’s degree in education from Stanford University; and Jack Bethel, a banker.

The early election returns showed Bowman and Jordan leading, with a close race between Wakefield and Bethel for the third seat. Broomand was not far behind the pack.

Discussion during the relatively uneventful campaign focused on the future, including the fiscal challenges the district faces during the next several years.

Next May, contract negotiations are scheduled to begin between the school board and the district’s 420 teachers. There was a $1.4-million deficit in the district’s $32-million 1989-90 budget, and candidates were asked during the campaign to decide on which educational programs they would be willing to cut in order to find money to increase teacher salaries. None of the candidates was specific about priorities.