Seven candidates are competing for three seats on the Tamalpais Union High School District board of trustees in the Nov. 3 election, guaranteeing at least one newcomer after incumbent Emily Uhlhorn chose not to seek re-election.
Superintendent Courtney Goode confirmed the turnover at the Aug. 4 board meeting, according to the Mill Valley Briefing. "There will be at least one new board member," Goode told trustees, regardless of how the race shakes out.
Uhlhorn, a Mill Valley parent of four Tam High students with eight years of governance experience across TUHSD and the Mill Valley School District, will finish her term in December before becoming executive director of the Tam High Foundation in January 2027. In an Aug. 2 email reported by the Marin IJ, Uhlhorn said she was "looking forward to moving into a role where I will get to collaborate more directly" with teachers, staff and students.
Incumbents Cynthia Roenisch and Kevin Saavedra filed for another term, according to Marin County candidate filing records. Five challengers also filed: Leslie Harlander, Joy Koo, Maria Sandoval, Brian Sutherland and Valerie Wynn.
Budget pressure awaits the new board
Whoever wins inherits a district under financial strain. TUHSD cut $2.2 million from its approximately $133 million general fund budget for 2026-27 to maintain minimum reserves, according to Assistant Superintendent for Finance Corbett Elsen. Enrollment has dropped from a peak of 5,146 students in 2020-21 to 4,316 in 2026-27. A 1% staff raise costs the district roughly $770,000, and annual utility and service costs are climbing about 5.8% per year.
The board voted June 16 to dissolve its parcel tax exploratory committee and defer any renewal effort to 2028. The current parcel tax, about $560 per parcel, expires June 30, 2029, but February 2026 polling showed support falling just short of the two-thirds threshold needed to pass.
Phone policy vote previewed board fault lines
The election comes days after the district's new phone-free policy takes effect Wednesday, Aug. 19, the first day of classes at Tam High and Redwood High. As we reported Aug. 13, students will lock their phones in NuKase pouches from first bell to last, including lunch.
The board approved the $112,906 contract for the pouches in April on a 3-2 vote. Trustees Holden, Saavedra and Roenisch voted yes and trustees Ida Green and Uhlhorn voted no, according to the Redwood Bark. That split offers a window into the dynamics voters will weigh in November: two of the three "yes" votes (Saavedra and Roenisch) are on the ballot seeking re-election, while Uhlhorn, who voted no, is leaving.
Trustees Jennifer Holden and Ida Green hold the two seats not up for election this cycle.
What's next
A public candidate forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Kreps Conference Center, 395 Doherty Drive in Larkspur, according to the Marin IJ. No candidate platforms or endorsements have been publicly released.
