Anderson the victor in OKC school board race; Edmond elects Jones, Hobgood

Key metro-area school board elections concluded Tuesday with a new candidate for east Oklahoma City Public Schools, two non-partisan candidates winning a fractured Edmond race and a defeat of Norman's board president.

For the first time in a dozen years, District 5 of the Oklahoma City school district will have a new representative. Current board member Ruth Veales chose not to seek reelection to the office covering Oklahoma City's east side and Spencer.

Adrian D. Anderson won the District 5 seat with 52.75% of the vote. Sharri Coleman earned 47.25%.

Anderson, of Spencer, is a longtime volunteer in Oklahoma City schools. The Star Spencer High School alumnus started as a varsity basketball coach in 2008 and later served on numerous committees contributing to district policy.

Now a financial professional at Prudential, Anderson formerly worked as a behavioral health rehabilitation specialist at Star Spencer.

He could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

“I’m truly genuine on helping our children, and it’s all about the kids,” Anderson previously told The Oklahoman. “I’m committed to working, serving and helping Oklahoma City Public Schools.

“I’ve been doing the work and I will continue to do the work and the work speaks for itself.”

More coverage: OKC school board candidate changes voter registration, address before filing to run

Coleman could not be reached, but her campaign manager said Coleman's work "does not stop here."

"She's going to continue working with the children in this community and making sure that the children of northeast Oklahoma City, Spencer and south OKC have what they need to be successful in any way that she can do that," her campaign manager said on Coleman's behalf. "So, she’s going to be supportive of the new board member and making sure that he has the resources that she can possibly bring to the table."

Doubts surrounded whether Coleman lives in District 5.

Neighbors of the rental house she lists as the home address on her voter registration say the property has long been vacant.

Meanwhile, neighbors on her former block in the Lincoln Terrace neighborhood outside of District 5 told The Oklahoman a married couple still occupies the home where Coleman’s husband is registered — the same address she claimed until three days before candidate filing.

Registering a District 5 address shortly before running for office brought her short of state law. Candidates are required to live and be a registered voter in their school board district for six months before the filing period.

Coleman didn’t register a District 5 address until Dec. 3, only days before the filing period opened Dec. 6.

This could have been potentially disqualifying for Coleman had Anderson contested her candidacy, but he did not. Without a contest of candidacy, Coleman was guaranteed a spot on Tuesday’s ballot.

More: 2022 Oklahoma City Area Election Results

After The Oklahoman published a story on her registration history, she blamed the discrepancy on OKCPS' 2019 school consolidations, despite the consolidation plan having no effect on board seat boundaries.

Although her voter registration records show otherwise, Coleman claimed to "have lived in the district for years."

"Due to Pathway to Greatness, I was out of it temporarily," Coleman said. "Pathway to Greatness went into effect a couple years ago, and I made the necessary steps that I needed to take to make sure that I was in compliance."

Jones, Hobgood win Edmond races

In a race heavy with divisive cultural themes, two candidates running on more traditional school-board platforms prevailed over more conservative opponents.

Courtney Hobgood defeated Cheryl Williams 61.3% to 38.7%. The two emerged from a crowded five-candidate primary with Williams leading the way on the Feb. 8 election night.

But Hobgood — a mother of three and district volunteer — won decisively on Tuesday.

Neither she nor Williams could be reached for comment.

Results in Edmond's District 5 race also flipped from the primary.

This time, sitting board member Marcus Jones edged Edmond parent Michael Grande 50.52% to 49.48%.

Grande came little more than a percentage point away from winning the District 5 seat outright in February. He and Jones continued to the general election, where the incumbent came out on top in another razor-thin race.

Jones said he's "ecstatic" to be reelected. He said the tight election margins are a sign the school district has room for improvement.

"There’s definitely some areas that parents feel that Edmond could improve on," Jones said when reached by phone Tuesday night. "They have ideas, and I’m very open to those ideas and trying to see how we can, as Edmond, come together and I can represent all of my constituents.”

Grande couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Williams, a grandmother of EPS students, gained recognition for her boisterous speeches at public meetings, in which she deemed certain school-assigned books inappropriate and demanded the resignation of the entire Edmond school board.

She and Grande, whose campaign materials describe as a "true conservative," emphasized parent empowerment in public schools. They opposed social-emotional learning and critical race theory, two concepts that have become themes for conservative candidates in elections across the country.

Grande, at a political forum last month, described social-emotional learning as "basically race-based, which brings in those elements of CRT (critical race theory) in which we put laws into place to make sure we don't bring those tenets into our school.”

Critical race theory is a college-level concept on systemic racism that is not taught in Oklahoma K-12 schools.

In a video posted to her campaign Facebook page, Hobgood said she opposes critical race theory but acknowledged it isn't taught in the Edmond district.

She and Jones said they’re in favor of teaching social-emotional learning as a tool to regulate emotions. Both also supported lowering the student-to-counselor ratio in Edmond schools and mending the relationship between teachers and parents.

“I think this next board has the potential to work very well together," Jones said. "I think that the ideas that (Courtney and I) can provide and the understanding that we can provide as parents and volunteers within the schools could definitely benefit us as a board."

Norman board president defeated, Putnam City's hangs on

Elsewhere in the metro area, former Norman Public Schools teacher Alex Ruggiers defeated district board President Dan Snell.

Snell served on the board for 25 years. He told the Norman Transcript last year he didn't intend to run for office again after 2022.

Ruggiers thanked Snell for his service and celebrated his election victory in a social media post Tuesday evening.

"In a time when the teaching profession is under attack and educators’ voices are silenced, Norman pushed back and put a teacher on the school board," Ruggiers wrote. "Our community also took a stand for LGBTQ+ children and families who are being targeted all over the country by putting the first openly LGBTQ+ member on their board."

Putnam City Public Schools' board president narrowly kept his seat. Jay Sherrill overcame Richenda Davis Bates 54.9% to 45.1%.

OKC metro-area school board election results

Bethany Public Schools — Office No. 2

Ken Smart: 34.04%

Kent Lee Walstad: 65.96% — Winner

Choctaw-Nicoma Park Public Schools — Office No. 2

Jennifer Barba: 34.62%

James Don Alsup: 65.38% — Winner

Deer Creek Public Schools — Ward No. 2

Jennifer Lyne Applebee: 45.34%

Stan Green: 54.66% — Winner

Edmond Public Schools — District 2

Courtney Hobgood: 61.33% — Winner

Cheryl Williams: 38.67%

Edmond Public Schools — District 5

Marcus L. Jones: 50.52% — Winner

Michael Grande: 49.48%

McLoud Public Schools — Office No. 2

Shelton Mapira: 57.14% — Winner

Laureen M. Maxwell: 42.86%

Mustang Public Schools — Seat 2

Robert Rader: 79.13% — Winner

Audra Tucker: 20.87%

Norman Public Schools — Office No. 2

Alex Ruggiers: 63.63% — Winner

Dan Snell: 36.37%

Oakdale Public Schools — Office No. 3

Kimber Shoop: 61.48% — Winner

Tyler W. Messec: 38.52%

Oklahoma City Public Schools — District 5

Adrian D. Anderson: 52.75% — Winner

Sharri L. Coleman: 47.25%

Putnam City Public Schools — Office No. 2

Jay Sherrill: 54.95% — Winner

Richenda Davis Bates: 45.05%

Yukon Public Schools — Board Post No. 2

Paul Gerber: 39.47%

Leonard J. Wells: 60.53% — Winner

Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. Have a story idea for Nuria? She can be reached at nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @NuriaMKeel. Support Nuria’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Anderson victor in OKC school board race; Edmond elects Jones, Hobgood