Milpitas Unified School Board: Norwood, Yip-Chuan and Lacanlale Lead Three-Seat Vote

MILPITAS, SANTA CLARA COUNTY — NOVEMBER 5, 2026. Three positions on the Milpitas Unified School District governing board are on the November 3 ballot. In the most recently displayed election-night returns, updated at 7:28 p.m. Wednesday, November 4, Chris Norwood leads with 6,578 candidate selections (33.8%), followed by Kelly Yip-Chuan with 6,065 (31.2%) and Franchesca Lacanlale with 3,761 (19.3%). These are preliminary rankings, not an official final roster of trustees.

Three seats means shares need careful explanation

Unlike the Milpitas mayoral election, in which each valid ballot supports one named candidate, the school-board race allows multiple selections for three open positions. A candidate receiving 33.8% of recorded selections does not mean that only 33.8% of individual participating voters included that candidate. That is because the denominator is the total valid candidate votes distributed among the field, not the number of unique ballots cast.

Other candidates and incomplete totals

The KQED tracker lists Anuradha Sankaran among the candidates, in addition to Norwood, Yip-Chuan and Lacanlale. The summary figures quoted in this report identify the leading three but are not a complete final candidate-vote accounting. Readers should open the full Santa Clara County school-race page for the other names and later totals, and not infer a final margin for a position without consulting the complete ballot listing.

How the governing board affects schools

Public-school district trustees approve budgets, oversee district policy and facilities, enter into contracts, and supervise the superintendent under California law. In a growing South Bay community, matters such as classroom space, personnel, educational services and capital maintenance can be central board decisions. The role is not equivalent to the separately elected Milpitas City Council; the two public institutions have different statutory powers.

Local election context

California58 also reports on the close mayoral contest and a separate two-seat council race. A voter can select people for multiple local offices on one election ballot, but the count for each race must be reported separately. We cannot use citywide mayor percentages to estimate how the school trustees will finish.

Count and certification

The Registrar of Voters must process eligible late-arriving mail, provisional and conditional-registration ballots before certifying the election. The November 4 numbers are a time-stamped result only. See the official Santa Clara County election office for later batches; California’s statewide certification deadline is December 11.

Primary source: KQED school election results, Santa Clara County data updated November 4, 7:28 p.m. Pacific, checked November 5. Not certified.

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