LITTLE IF ANYTHING MAY CHANGE FOR SIMI SCHOOL BOARD'S BALANCE.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Daily News Staff Writer

The race for the divisive Simi Valley school board might end up much like it began, with two incumbents on either side of the political aisle holding their seats and a range of challengers failing to make inroads.

Incumbent Norm Walker, a conservative minister, was leading with 20.3 percent of the vote, as was educator Carla Kurachi with 20.2 percent, according to semiofficial final results released Wednesday.

The closest challenger, moderate parent Michael Murphy, briefly bested Kurachi in early returns, but ended up trailing with 17 percent of the vote.

``I am thrilled to be elected to a third term,'' said Kurachi, who had been planning to step down from office but sought another term to preserve a board majority for the newly hired superintendent, who was selected during the summer on a 3-2 vote of the board. ``I'm just really excited about the direction the school board is going in.''

The county registrar of voters reported that 6,000 ballots are still out in Simi Valley, which could tilt the outcome in some races, particularly those with less than a 1,000-vote difference.

Walker finished with 8,287 votes and Kurachi with 8,239, while Murphy trailed with 7,304. Four other challengers also ran in the race for two seats on the five-member board that oversees the 19,617-student district.

Walker, seeking his second term on the board, was in the lead throughout the race and withstood negative attacks from the Simi Educators Association. The teachers union waged a last-minute no-confidence campaign against the conservative board member and ran television ads against him.

Walker was not available for comment.

The union feared that a Walker-backed majority on the board could turn the tables against newly hired Superintendent Joyce Mahdesian, the ninth top administrator since 1990, who is supported by the board majority and many teachers.

Walker had endorsed fellow back-to-basics candidate Lee Yalowiec, a father with one child in local schools, who trailed with 13.9 percent of the vote. The two had maintained that they had no intention of seeking to overturn Mahdesian's position as the new superintendent.