By Sara Beth Williams–
Next year the San Juan Unified School District School Board of Trustees will look both familiar and different in 2027 as two incumbents ran for reelection unopposed, and two newly elected. On top of the four representatives with terms expiring in 2026, Trustee Area 1’s representative resigned in August, briefly leaving a fifth seat up for grabs.
San Juan Unified School District Election:
Trustee Area 1: Due to a resignation of previous Trustee Area 1 representative in August 2026, the remaining members opted in September to hold a special School Board election for Trustee Area 1 on Oct. 13, instead of waiting until March of 2027 to hold a Special Election.
After the district held a short window in which hopefuls could submit applications to represent Area 1, the San Juan Unified School District spent two hours questioning and then discussing several possible candidates and voted 4- 2 to appoint Mohammad Afzal Rashid to represent Trustee Area 1. Rashid was immediately sworn into office on Oct. 13 and will be seated through Nov. 2028.
Trustee Area 3: Candidate Roxeanne Stellmacher holds a tight lead over challenger Morri Elliot with 51.8 percent of the vote over Elliot’s 48 percent. There is only a 482-vote gap between the two. Trustee Area 3 encompasses Carmichael, southeast Arden Arcade, and Arden Town.
Trustee Area 7: Incumbent Manuel Perez has maintained a steady lead over repeat candidate Murad “Moe” Sarama, though his lead has dropped from 61 to 59 percent as of Friday evening. Perez leads with 1,600 more votes.
Perez was previously elected during a special election in 2023, following the sudden death of board member Steve Miller, who was the first one elected to serve in the newly created Trustee Area 7 to specifically represent Citrus Heights’ interests.
Trustee Areas 5 & 6: Both incumbents Tanya Kravchuk (Area 5) and Ben Avey (Area 6) ran for reelection unopposed. Trustee Areas 5 and 6 encompass portions of Orangevale, Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Gold River and Citrus Heights.
