OKC school board update

Steve Shafer and Phil Horning are ahead in the race for two spots on the Oklahoma City School Board.

But don’t count out their opponents just yet: Barely one-fifth of each area’s precincts are reporting right now.

As of 7:20 p.m., Shafer holds a slight edge over incumbent Joe Clytus for the District 4 seat.

Shafer has 167 votes, representing 51 percent of the total reporting so far, Oklahoma County Election Board officials say. Clytus has 158 votes, or 49 percent.

In the race for District 3, which is currently vacant, Horning leads Tom Beall 82 votes to 48 votes, or 63 percent to 37 percent, according to the election board.

As candidates running in small-scale races compared to today’s presidential contenders, the school board hopefuls had the opportunity to talk to close-knit groups of constituents during their campaigns, like parents of Harding Charter Preparatory High School students, and residents of the Cleveland Neighborhood Association.

I attended one — the one at Harding. Three of the four candidates were there; Beall said he was ill.

The three who came each got to talk about themselves, and then answered questions from the parents scattered throughout the auditorium about bullying, charter school support, standardized testing and leadership turnover.

Clytus, in thanking the small crowd for showing up that evening, summed up the forum’s purpose: “democracy America.”

Meanwhile, the votes are still being counted.

–Wendy Kleinman, staff writer

7:34 p.m.

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