The two incumbents in Ramona Unified School District’s school board race were handily ahead as of Monday evening, Nov. 11.

School board President Dawn Perfect had 61.17% of the vote while Stephanie Cooter trailed with 38.83% in Trustee Area 3, and school board member Daryn Drum had 63.08%, with John Rajcic at 36.92% in Trustee Area 4.

The school board is comprised of five members who are elected to serve for four-year overlapping terms.

Perfect has served on the Ramona Unified school board for 16 years, including stints as board president for several of those years. As a trustee, Perfect said she has successfully built strong relationships, managed budgets with transparency, and implemented innovative solutions to complex challenges.

Her priorities are to advocate for local control of schools and to ensure Ramona schools meet the needs of the families, she said. Perfect said she wants to ensure schools are safe and clean, teachers are supported and parents are heard.

“The returns look very encouraging at this time and I am absolutely honored to work with such a solid school board team,” Perfect said Tuesday morning. “The election results show that I am on the right track and working with the community and meeting the needs of students.”

Perfect has also served as a delegate at the state level with the California School Boards Association for 10 years.

Sentinel File PhotoTrustee Area 3 incumbent Dawn Perfect (Sentinel File Photo)

Perfect said she thought it was “really great” that other community members were interested in serving on Ramona Unified’s school board. She said she was unsure why Ramona Community Planning Group and Ramona Unified Water District elections ran uncontested, with just enough Planning Group candidates to fill the eight vacant seats.

“I look at this as affirmation for me, and that people think I’m doing a good job, which I really appreciate,” she said. “I am absolutely just so moved and so honored to continue serving the community. I am fully vested in this community and its children.”

Cooter, 43, who works as a marketing manager for F&F Properties, is raising two sons with her husband, John Cooter.

She is president of Ramona Pony Baseball, PTA secretary at Ramona Community Campus, and an appointee to the Women in Leadership Advisory Board at Cal Poly Pomona Enterprises.

She said her top priorities, if elected, were fiscal responsibility and ensuring students and teachers receive the resources they deserve for success.

Drum, 59, a school board member for eight years, said he is seeking re-election because Ramona’s schools and children “matter to me.” The father of three daughters, ages 14, 19 and 21, has lived in Ramona for 20 years with his wife, Denise. He said he is dedicated to ensuring that the schools are as good as they can be.

Drum is a retired firefighter who works for Capstone Fire & Safety Management.

He said the outcome of the election is still up in the air, but the early voting returns are encouraging.

“I think the school district is headed in a good direction,” he said. “I’m proud of where we’re going and where we’ll continue to go.”

Courtesy Daryn DrumTrustee Area 4 incumbent Daryn Drum (Courtesy Daryn Drum)

Rajcic, 93, has lived in Ramona 29 years. He and his wife, Constance, have four children, eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Rajcic previously served on the Ramona Unified school board and said he has experience as a teacher, college lecturer and deputy superintendent. He has worked at GM Kawai America Corp. as well as served as an assistant chief of staff 6th Army. In Ramona, he was a director for the San Diego Country Estates Association.

Rajcic said his top priorities included student and staff safety, and ensuring the school district is fiscally strong, effective and efficient.