Scoggins, Ranta win Yakima school board spots

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Jim Scoggins will get his seat back.

Preliminary results in the race between the former school board member and incumbent Raymond Navarro Jr. show Scoggins taking the lead for a spot on the Yakima School District Board of Directors by a landslide.

Scoggins received 5,711 votes -- more than 72 percent of the total ballots cast -- in Tuesday's general election.

"Certainly, I'm very happy. It's very gratifying," said Scoggins, 70. "I'm very appreciative of all the support that I've gotten -- the people who voted for me and the people who contributed to my campaign."

Navarro captured 2,155 votes, just more than 27 percent of the ballots.

"Congrat-ulations to Jim, and I wish him the best as he steps into the position," Navarro said. "I am disappointed with it, but voters have made their choice."

The 45-year-old has served on the board of Yakima County's largest school district for three years and works as the manager of the Special Projects Department for OIC of Washington.

Scoggins resigned from the board in 2006 to care for his late mother-in-law. The retired Yakima Herald-Republic sports editor served on the board from 2001 to 2006.

"I hope what resonated with (voters) is my commitment to being in touch with the schools," Scoggins said. "That's the reason I ran, and I hope that's the reason people voted for me."

Scoggins will be at the table with Walt Ranta, both serving four-year terms.

In the other race for a seat on the board, preliminary results show Ranta, a 58-year-old retired teacher and current school board member, taking a significant lead over Earl S. Lee, a teacher at the Yakama Nation Tribal School.

Ranta logged 5,579 votes -- more than 72 percent of the total ballots cast.

"I'm really happy that I will have this opportunity," said Ranta, adding that he's grateful for his supporters and he's looking forward to continuing to work on issues that affect the school district.

"The big thing is going to be how we deal with the budget crunch that is staring us in the face," he said.

Ranta is nearing the end of his first term. He's been on the board since 2005. He taught in the district for 30 years before retiring in 2004. And he still serves as a substitute teacher in nearby districts.

Lee, his opponent, captured 2,089 votes, or about 27 percent of the total ballots cast. The 55-year-old worked for the district from 1985 to 1993 as a teacher in its alternative programs.

* Adriana Janovich can be reached at 509-577-7653 or ajanovich@yakimaherald.com.