PALMDALE BOARD 'ON PINS AND NEEDLES' SCHOOL RACE TOO CLOSE TO CALL, MAY HINGE ON PROVISIONALS.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

PALMDALE - The outcome of the Palmdale School District board election remained uncertain Wednesday with only 31 votes separating the top vote-getter Dolores Dominguez and second-place finisher Robert ``Bo'' Bynum.

Bynum, a Palmdale planning commissioner and owner of a sports retail store, said he wasn't ready to concede the election until a final accounting is made.

``It's a slim margin and it could change and go either way,'' said Bynum, 50. ``That's where we are right now, on pins and needles waiting.''

More than 100,000 so-called provisional ballots remain to be counted countywide, officials of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Office said. An election update is scheduled for early afternoon Friday.

Dominguez, a 69-year-old retired teacher, could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

Dominguez, Bynum and three other candidates were vying to fill the seat left vacant by former trustee Larry Logsdon, who resigned because he moved out of the district.

In the Mojave Unified School District, the three open seats were claimed by former district teacher and farmer Jim Hooper, who was the top vote-getter, followed by incumbents Shawn Sprague and Annette Edblad. Incumbent George Lewis failed to win re-election.

In the Muroc Joint Unified School District, Janet Muckerheide won one of the Edwards Air Force Base seats, beating Wendy McCallister.

In the Palmdale school board race, Bynum campaigned on accountability in spending, restoring cuts in school bus service, conducting a nationwide search for a new superintendent, and switching back from the three-track year-round calendar to the five-track schedule, which Palmdale schools had prior to two years ago.

Dominguez retired in June after teaching more than 16 years in the Palmdale district at Yucca and Juniper intermediate schools. Parents who had sought her out to talk about problems encouraged her to run for office, she said.

Dominguez said she ran because of concerns over what appears to be unequal funding of schools and was critical of bus service cuts. She also said the district needs to address overcrowded classrooms, build parent support, raise test scores, have a superintendent and administration that are more accessible and willing to listen to parents, and concentrate more on low-achieving schools in poor and minority neighborhoods.

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ELECTION RESULTS