In the Nov. 8 midterm election — for which ballots were mailed this week — six candidates are running for three seats on the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District’s board of trustees. On the ballot are Dianna “Deedee” Driller, Shannon Hansen, Richard Ludke, Patrick Mooney, Denyelle Nishimori, and Heather Whitney. It’s the most heated school board race this community has seen in years.
The TTUSD school board is made up of five trustees, each of whom serve a four-year term and represent a specific region within the district. It has been many years since a candidate has run opposed for local school board seats. So, why the sudden onslaught of candidates?
“This is the lowest level of government action you can get in on relatively simply,” said Driller, who’s served on the TTUSD Board of Trustees for the past 12 years and is currently running for reelection — the only incumbent in the race. “There are people who were upset at the process by which we as a board and a district followed COVID protocols and state mandates. Those are definitely some of the comments coming at us.”