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Newport-Mesa board provisionally appoints Kirsten Walsh to Trustee Area 5
Summary
After interviewing four candidates and hearing public comment urging Andrea McElroy, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education voted 4-2 to provisionally appoint Kirsten Walsh to fill the Trustee Area 5 vacancy, with the appointment effective Jan. 27, 2025.
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education voted to provisionally appoint Kirsten Walsh to fill the Trustee Area 5 vacancy, with the appointment effective Jan. 27, 2025. The board met in a special session that opened at 6:01 p.m., interviewed candidates, took public comment, and adjourned at 7:09 p.m.
The vacancy was created Dec. 9, 2024, and the district accepted applications from Dec. 20, 2024, through Jan. 21, 2025, according to the board's announcements. The board received applications from Andrew Lawler (absent), Phil Mauer, Andrea McElroy, Valerie Shud, and Kirsten Walsh.
Members of the public urged the board to appoint Andrea McElroy during the public-comment period. Parent Kate Malouf said she spoke "on behalf of many constituents in District 5" and asked trustees to choose a candidate who reflects Area 5 voters' values, explicitly urging them to appoint McElroy.
Board members then interviewed each candidate in turn. Phil Mauer emphasized his cybersecurity and higher-education background and urged stronger pathways into technical careers, stating, "Programming is gonna be rapidly taken over by AI." Andrea McElroy said every student should be allowed to pursue a personal path and prioritized career-technical programs, arts, cursive and financial literacy. Valerie Shud described 34 years in public education and experience overseeing special education and facilities. Kirsten Walsh said her PTA leadership and having two children currently in the district informed her perspective, and said, "Kids are first. They're the priority."
After interviews the board moved to deliberations. Trustee Anderson moved to provisionally appoint Kirsten Walsh for the remainder of the term effective Jan. 27, 2025; Trustee Murphy seconded. Trustee Pearson offered a substitute motion to appoint Andrea McElroy, seconded by Trustee Weigand.
The board voted first on the substitute motion to appoint McElroy; the roll-call vote recorded Trustee Weigand "Yes," Trustee Ersoylu/Soilov "No," Trustee Murphy "No," Trustee Pearson "Yes," Trustee Anderson "No," and Trustee Crane "No." The substitute motion failed 2-4. The board then voted on the original motion to appoint Kirsten Walsh, which passed 4-2 on a roll call: Trustees Soly/Ersoylu, Murphy, Anderson and Crane voted "Yes," while Trustees Weigand and Pearson voted "No."
President Wagon announced the appointment and the board recessed briefly to administer the oath of office. Trustee Kirsten Walsh repeated the oath and was sworn in as the provisional trustee for Area 5. President Wagon thanked applicants and attendees before adjourning the meeting.
What happens next: the appointment is effective Jan. 27, 2025, and the appointee will serve the remainder of the term through December 2026 unless a successful petition terminates the appointment. The board noted notification of the appointment will be published in accordance with the education code reference provided during the meeting.
