Ghaffary and Pasarell Tsai will win Reed seats as Godfrey, Antani battle for third

Mike Ghaffary and Shelby Pasarell Tsai will win seats on the Reed Union School District board of trustees, and Lina Godfrey led fellow challenger Krupa Antani by 16 votes for the third seat in early election-night returns.

Ghaffary led the four-person field with votes on 51.3% of the ballots counted in the race, or 1,792 votes, in returns the Marin County Elections Department posted at 8:25 p.m. Nov. 3, with 59,846 ballots counted countywide. Pasarell Tsai had votes on 49.1% of ballots, or 1,715 votes. Godfrey had votes on 36.3%, or 1,270, and Antani trailed the three leaders with votes on 35.9%, or 1,254.

Those results are unofficial. Mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day can arrive as late as Nov. 10 and still be counted, and Marin County has until Dec. 3 to certify the results.

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The top three finishers will win four-year terms that end in 2030.

“I’m very thankful that so many voters seem that they want to return me and that I’m thankful for the support,” Pasarell Tsai said.

Godfrey acknowledged that results were early and commended her fellow candidates for their campaigns, saying there were “four qualified candidates for these seats.”

“I’m hopeful that we had better turnout,” she said.

“I am grateful to all the students, parents, teachers and staff who work so hard in our school district every day. Thank you to our community for continuing to support our excellent Reed Union schools,” Ghaffary said.

Antani did not return requests for comment by The Ark’s election-night deadline.

The board race was one of two decisions facing Reed Union voters. Residents in the district, which includes Tiburon, Belvedere and east Corte Madera, also decided whether to approve Measure O, a $115 million bond measure that would fund upgrades at all three district campuses.

If the bond measure wins the 55% approval needed to pass, the winners of the board race will join their two other colleagues in overseeing how those funds are spent. The fate of the bond measure is just one issue facing the Reed district. Other key initiatives for board candidates include continuing efforts to challenge all students academically, to balance the district budget without sacrificing student programs and to look critically at how technology is used in the classroom.

Ghaffary previously said his top priorities if elected would be encouraging the district to develop responsible guidelines around technology use in the classroom, ensuring the district continues to support and challenge all students academically and continuing to plan for the district’s long-term fiscal stability.

Pasarell Tsai previously said she was focused on increasing academic rigor for all students as part of her second term. She pointed to a change the district made beginning in the 2023-2024 school year to have all seventh-grade students take accelerated math as an example of how differentiated learning can be successful. She also highlighted the board’s need to balance its budget and support district staff in what’s a “very expensive cost-of-living area.”

Antani previously said her goals included making sure the district is following its 2024-2030 strategic plan. She noted that means focusing on the whole child, including academic rigor and social-emotional learning. She also said another priority was using the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan — a state-mandated document that requires districts to outline their priorities and track student progress — as a guide to better understand whether the funds being spent for interventions and academic programs are resulting in the desired outcomes.

Godfrey said she wanted to focus on providing Reed Union students with an academically rigorous experience and increase transparency in governance. She lobbied the board to stream its meetings on Zoom to allow more people to view sessions and wants to allow for live public comment for those watching remotely.

Reach Tiburon reporter Francisco Martinez at 415-944-4634.