Ventura County voters will choose a new superintendent of schools on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and the race has a strong Thousand Oaks connection. One candidate was the last principal of La Reina High School and Middle School before the all-girls Catholic school closed in 2024.

That candidate, Maggie Marschner, 45, faces Karen Sher, 56, in a runoff first reported by the Ventura County Star as the first election without an incumbent on the ballot since 1934. The last five county superintendents were appointed to replace predecessors who retired midterm and almost never faced opposition at re-election.

The seat opened after incumbent César Morales placed third in the June primary with 25% of the vote. Sher led with 42%, and Marschner followed with 33%.

Morales scandal set the stage

Morales admitted in May to paying himself a $15,750 bonus in 2024 that the Ventura County Board of Education had not authorized, a violation of the California Education Code. He repaid the money the day before the disclosure. His office also gave top deputies lifetime health benefits without board approval and spent nearly $700,000 over three years on branded giveaway merchandise, including tote bags and water bottles bearing Morales' name. That figure exceeded what the office spent on textbooks in the same period.

The Board of Education approved a forensic audit and new oversight measures. Morales went on medical leave June 5, and his term ends at the end of 2026.

Mike Teasdale, a Board of Education member whose district includes Thousand Oaks and parts of Camarillo, said in June that the superintendent's role "has very little checks and balances, so I think something needs to be done."

Two paths to the job

Marschner returned to Ventura County in 2019 to lead La Reina, a school run by the Sisters of Notre Dame. Midway through her fifth year, the school's board of directors announced La Reina would close. A parent lawsuit that followed does not name Marschner as a defendant. She told the Ventura County Star she learned of the planned closure only a week before students and parents did.

Before La Reina, Marschner taught in public and private schools in Las Vegas and worked as a reading intervention specialist, school district administrator and elementary school principal.

Sher grew up in Thousand Oaks. She has taught middle school in the Oxnard School District since 1999 and has served on the Oxnard Union High School District board of trustees since 2014. For the past three years she has been on special assignment with the California Department of Education as director of teacher recruitment.

Endorsements split along party lines

Marschner, a registered No Party Preference voter, has the endorsement of the Ventura County Republican Party, three Republican county supervisors and four of the five current Board of Education members. Sher has the backing of the Ventura County Democratic Party, the California Federation of Teachers, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and State Treasurer Fiona Ma.

Rachel Ulrich, a Board of Education trustee who represents Ventura, Ojai and parts of Oxnard, described herself as "a lifelong Democrat" and said she endorsed Marschner after "a long discussion with Maggie about her understanding of this role being completely nonpartisan."

At the Oct. 5 League of Women Voters forum in Camarillo, Sher addressed the need to rebuild trust in the county office. "Every public dollar should be spent like it belongs to the students and families that we serve," she said.

Both candidates told the Ventura County Star that teacher training is an area where the county office can do more, especially in reading and math instruction. In 2025, 48% of Ventura County public school students met state standards in English and 35% met them in math. Both figures fell slightly below statewide averages.

The Ventura County Office of Education employs about 700 people and has a $135 million general operating fund. The superintendent does not run local school districts directly but provides budget oversight, payroll processing, teacher training and programs for students with special needs and those in juvenile justice facilities.

Ballots are due by Tuesday, Nov. 3.