Lenz, Burton win seats on Old Adobe School Board

Two newcomers – Jon Lenz and Heather Burton – have been elected to fill two seats on the Old Adobe Union School District board of trustees, holding off a challenge from Marilyn Cohoe in the district’s first contested election in years.

Lenz, an assistant superintendent for special education at the Marin County Office of Education, and Burton, a system analyst for the County of Marin’s finance department, will replace incumbents Marlene Abel and Jennifer Cusimano, who did not seek re-election to the five-member board that serves more than 1,800 students at five east side elementary schools.

With 17 of 17 precincts reporting, Lenz, an educator with 14 years of experience, emerged as the top vote getter, earning 43.3 percent of the vote. Burton, a mother of two district students, earned 33.5 percent of the vote, with Marilyn Cohoe, a 69-year-old who retired from a career in telecommunications and volunteers at Old Adobe Elementary school, trailing with 23.2 percent of the vote.

Lenz, a father of four, said he plans to channel his experience working in public schools to ensure positive outcomes for students.

“I am most excited about being part of a district board that places such a strong focus on the continuous growth and achievement of all students,” Lenz, 41, said in an email.

Burton, a member of the Parent Teacher Association of La Tercera Elementary school, said her experience in public sector finance will be a boon to her role on the board, and she plans to use her expertise to ensure that funds are efficiently used for the maximum benefit for students. She also hopes to work to bolster inclusiveness for the district’s diverse population, she said.

“I’m extremely honored and very excited, and I’m really looking forward to moving forward with some of the great initiatives that the current board has started,” Burton, 45, said.

Lenz and Burton will be tasked with overseeing the district’s annual budget of $19 million, and will be faced with decisions about how to spend the remaining proceeds from a $26 million bond measure approved by voters in 2012.

(Contact Beausang at hannah.beausang@arguscourier.com.)