The Walnut Creek School District runs the city’s elementary and middle schools. Its high schools belong to the separate Acalanes Union High School District. Three seats on the five-member board are up on Nov. 3, and six people are running. Voters may choose up to three.

The candidates

  • Wenlei Johnson is an incumbent, according to the ballot designations in Local News Matters’ guide.
  • Heidi Hernandez Gatty is also an incumbent.
  • Rod Ehsani describes himself as a CPA, business executive, entrepreneur and real estate investor. He told the Walnut Creek Record that he held executive roles at VSP Vision from 2008 to 2023, including chief audit executive. He and his wife have three daughters who all attended Walnut Creek public schools. He says the district must handle financial challenges “with transparency, discipline, and long-term planning.”
  • Aileen Ong says she has spent more than 20 years in communications for organizations such as Google and PayPal. Her campaign site says she got involved after Tice Creek School lost its principal last spring and more than 200 parents petitioned the district. It also notes that the district’s Measure L parcel tax won 64% but needed two-thirds, which Ong calls a trust problem. She has two daughters in the district.
  • Geetha Ganti, a parent of two elementary students, lists a Georgia Tech engineering and economics background, a master’s in public health, past work as a journalist and a biotech career. Her priorities are strong reading, math and science, teaching kids to think for themselves before using tools like AI, student mental health and evidence-based board decisions. She says she is backed by local educators.
  • Eryn Holl King, whose ballot designation is mother and school volunteer, says she has spent nearly a decade working with parents, teachers and administrators. Her site lists sustainable investments, putting students first, governance that explains its decisions, and protecting electives like orchestra, art and science.

What the race is about

The challengers’ messages overlap: clearer communication with parents, careful budgeting after the failed parcel tax, and keeping programs students value. Johnson and Gatty had not posted detailed platforms we could find. The county lists about 38,176 registered voters in the district.

Walnut Creek voters also see Acalanes’ Measure W parcel tax, city Measure T and Measure U. The City Council race is uncontested. For drop boxes, see our Contra Costa voting guide.

How to vote

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls and vote centers close at 8 p.m., and mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive within seven days. You can check your registration and ballot status at sos.ca.gov/elections. California lets you register and vote the same day at a vote center. For more local races and measures, see our 2026 Bay Area election hub.