PORT ANGELES — Incumbent School Board members Sarah Methner and Cindy Kelly were headed toward holding onto their Port Angeles School Board seats after the first count of general election ballots Tuesday.
Methner led challenger Debby Fuson with 3,108 votes, or 64.72 percent, to 1,694 votes, or 38.52 percent, for Position 1 on the Port Angeles School Board after the Clallam County Auditor’s Office counted 15,348 ballots, or 32.8 percent, of the 46,665 general election ballots mailed to registered voters.
Kelly led challenger Mike McCarty with, 2,624 votes, or 53.45 percent to 2,285 votes or 46.55 votes, for Position 2 on the School Board.
Methner, 43, has held the seat since 2010. She is a school volunteer and parent of students at the elementary, middle and high school levels.
Fuson, 60, an office manager and bookkeeper, ran against Methner in 2009 and was defeated.
Kelly, 56, has been a member of the School Board since 2002. She is the manager of the Dry Creek Water Association.
McCarty, 73 is a retired sales and technical support consultant with AT&T Global Services Inc.
School Board members serve a four-year terms and are eligible for $50 per day of service up to 96 says, or $4,800 annually.
The board oversees a 2013-14 enrollment of about 3,800 students and an annual budget of $39.2 million, with $500,000 for capital projects.
About 5,000 ballots were on hand but not counted Tuesday night.
A second count will be done by 4:30 p.m. Friday.
Auditor Patty Rosand hopes to see total voter turnout top 50 percent.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.