Four Salt Lake City school board seats are on the ballot. Here are the races

Four of the seven seats on the Salt Lake City School Board are up for grabs, with three contested races and one candidate running unopposed. The election guarantees at least one new board member: Amanda Finlayson is the sole candidate for the Precinct 4 seat, which Board President Nate Salazar is leaving to run for the Salt Lake County Council.

The races offer voters a choice among current board members, educators and newcomers. School board offices are nonpartisan, so candidates do not disclose party affiliations. Election Day is Nov. 3.

The four races

In Precinct 3, incumbent Ashley Anderson faces Jared Wright, a former West High School principal who now leads Granger High School in the Granite School District. Anderson has represented the precinct since 2023 and is an artist and longtime arts educator. Wright’s campaign says he has worked in education for more than 22 years.

Finlayson, a social worker at a public charter high school whose children attend district schools, is unopposed in Precinct 4. In Precinct 5, board member Annie Romano faces Sandra Buendia. The board appointed Romano in September 2025 after a bribery scandal prompted a previous member to resign. Romano works at University of Utah Health. Buendia has 37 years of education experience and held administrative roles in the district from 2014 to 2025.

The fourth contest pits incumbent Bryan Jensen against newcomer Jennifer Smith. Jensen has served on the board since 2022 and previously taught for 11 years at Newman Elementary. Smith moved from Michigan to Utah in 2010 and says she has since been active in school board matters.

Discipline and ballot deadlines

Wright has alleged that district officials retaliated against him for pressing for answers about a 2023 student stabbing. Superintendent Elizabeth Grant testified that his retaliation claims were false and accused him of falsifying transcripts and acting unprofessionally. UPPAC formally reprimanded Wright. He said the reprimand arose from an allegation that he used an expletive toward a colleague years ago and a more recent grade change the district said was improper. Wright said he followed district policy and called the reprimand baseless.

Buendia’s professional license was suspended for two years in 2025 after a state disciplinary commission found she gave false testimony under oath and did not correct the record. Buendia called the discipline punitive and said it followed an unintentional memory lapse. Mail ballots must reach the county clerk by 8 p.m. on Election Day, or voters may drop them at a ballot drop box by that deadline.

This report draws on information from The Salt Lake Tribune.