The election

November 2026: your vote shapes our schools

Seats on the Mountain View Whisman School District Board of Trustees are on the ballot in the November 3, 2026 general election, administered by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. School board races are often decided by small margins — every vote genuinely counts.

Four candidates are running for two seats: incumbents Devon Conley and Bill Lambert, and newcomers Quintin Riis and Sundar Subbarayan. The two top vote-getters win four-year terms on the five-member board.

Why it matters

Why this election matters to you, with or without kids in school

Parents of MVWSD students, neighbors with no school-age kids, and families whose children are not in the district yet or anymore: three short cases, every figure linked to its source.

Find your case →

Compare the candidates

Where Sundar stands, side by side

In October 2026 the Mountain View Voice sent every candidate the same questionnaire on the district budget, classroom technology, and academic achievement. Candidates could add a short explanation of up to 150 characters per answer. Responses below are reproduced from the Voice’s candidate comparison grids. Sundar’s answers appear first; the other three candidates are shown alongside for comparison.

Favor or oppose

Positions on recent district decisions and proposals.

Do you favor or oppose the $7.4 million budget cuts that the board approved in January?

Sundar Subbarayan

Favor

“Our District Office was top heavy and so it was justified but some things needs tweaking e.g., PTAs paying for custodial OT is not ok”

Conley

Favor

Lambert

Favor

Riis

Favor

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “We voted unanimously to approve the cuts made after significant deliberation.”
Quintin Riis: “More cuts are needed, especially needless consultants, the district office and Ed Tech.”

Do you favor or oppose the district's plan to make an additional $8 million in cuts this school year?

Sundar Subbarayan

Favor

“With Assessed Values expected to decrease, we need to be prudent. However we cannot cut student facing services. Need to be deliberate and thoughtful”

Conley

Abstain

Lambert

Favor

Riis

Favor

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “The Board is currently discussing this and hasn't reached a specific amount, yet. Trustees asked for more information and examples of possible cuts.”

Do you favor or oppose the district's creation of its own employee housing complex, dubbed The Sevens?

Sundar Subbarayan

Oppose

“This is mainly pitched as a teaching recruiting and retention lever, but very few teachers are housed there. It is also mostly a done deal”

Conley

Favor

Lambert

Abstain

Riis

Oppose

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “The 7's provides 73 affordable units for MVWSD workforce housing and is 92% occupied.”
Bill Lambert: “The project was approved when I joined the board. Since then, I worked to ensure that the finances of the project were stabilized.”
Quintin Riis: “This is a nuanced issue that requires a response beyond 150 characters!”

Do you favor or oppose increasing the use of artificial intelligence in classrooms?

Sundar Subbarayan

Oppose

“Depends. K-2/3 don't need tech. Kids still need to write and problem solve using first principles. However, kids need exposure to this powerful tool”

Conley

Abstain

Lambert

Favor

Riis

Oppose

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “Students need to learn to be critical consumers/users of AI. As part of our Strategic Planning process, the Board will be discussing how in detail.”
Quintin Riis: “Students should understand AI on a conceptual level, its uses and limits. Fact checking and critical thinking are not optional.”

Do you favor or oppose reducing student screen time in classrooms?

Sundar Subbarayan

Favor

“Too often we confuse engagement (with an app or platform, energy points etc.) for learning. Screen time needs to be limited.”

Conley

Favor

Lambert

Oppose

Riis

Favor

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “I worked on a resolution we approved on the Intentional Use of Technology that recommends developing age appropriate screen time guidelines.”
Bill Lambert: “I favor use of technology in the classroom to the extent that it enhances education for all students.”
Quintin Riis: “Screen time needs to be drastically reduced. The evidence shows students benefit from hand written assignments and notes.”

Do you favor or oppose implementing a "gifted and talented" program?

Sundar Subbarayan

Abstain

“Not a yes/no answer here. 'Gifted and Talented' is important but not at the expense of 'exceptional education for all'. The latter needs to come first”

Conley

Oppose

Lambert

Oppose

Riis

Favor

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “Students in elementary school already get differentiated small group instruction as part of our RTI program. In middle school we have 3 math tracks.”
Quintin Riis: “I am strongly in favor. As a former "gifted child" and parent of the same, these programs are very important for enriching and challenging students.”

Do you favor or oppose the district's recent implementation of a social-emotional learning curriculum?

Sundar Subbarayan

Favor

“EQ and compassion are critical skills to succeed in any collaborative environment. SEL helps tremendously here”

Conley

Favor

Lambert

Oppose

Riis

Favor

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “All students benefit from developmentally appropriate social emotional support. Our children should feel a strong sense of belonging at school.”
Bill Lambert: “We need to assess the programs to ensure that they support improved academic outcomes.”
Quintin Riis: “I am tentatively in favor. I need to learn more about this program and its specifics.”

Do you favor or oppose the weighted lottery for the district's choice schools, which prioritizes low-income students?

Sundar Subbarayan

Favor

“I favor a weighted lottery, not just for SED families but also across zones. I am also opposed to closing choice schools.”

Conley

Favor

Lambert

Oppose

Riis

Favor

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “We still have work to do to make sure the weighted lottery results in choice schools that are representative of our economic diversity.”
Bill Lambert: “The weighted lottery does not change the enrollment at the choice schools.”
Quintin Riis: “We cannot let our choice schools become echo chambers. We must ensure all parents are aware of our choice schools and have opportunity to enroll.”

Do you favor or oppose the district's $15 million project to revamp outdoor areas on school campuses?

Sundar Subbarayan

Abstain

“Is there money left over from bond measure? If not, revamping outdoor areas doesn't rise to the top given so many other priorities”

Conley

Favor

Lambert

Oppose

Riis

Oppose

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “Climate change already impacts student access to our outdoor learning spaces when heat waves hit. This project makes our campuses more resilient.”
Bill Lambert: “I do not support the large amount of money being spent on outdoor learning.”
Quintin Riis: “So far this appears to be another money wasting boondoggle. Over budget, behind schedule. This could be funding wood and metal shop!”

Do you favor or oppose the district's 2025 decision to sign a 10-year funding extension for the Shoreline tax district?

Sundar Subbarayan

Favor

“We need to maintain a good relationship with the city of MV, we can't be fighting for incremental dollars. We are the same city, let's work together.”

Conley

Favor

Lambert

Favor

Riis

Favor

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “I voted with our Board to approve this agreement.”
Bill Lambert: “Speaking as a trustee, if the extension was not approved the district would lose about $6.5M in annual funding.”

Do you favor or oppose the district's decision in recent years to install fencing around its campuses?

Sundar Subbarayan

Oppose

“This wasn't something that was needed. This was another top down push by the district leadership without any oversight from the board.”

Conley

Favor

Lambert

Oppose

Riis

Oppose

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “As a MVWSD parent and former teacher here, I voted with our Board on fencing based on the recommendations of Everytown for Gun Safety research.”
Quintin Riis: “The community overwhelmingly did not want these fences and locks. Waste of $. Security theater; they're only 6 ft, not stopping determined adversary.”

Do you favor or oppose the school board's decision to publicly oppose the construction of an immigration detention center near Gilroy?

Sundar Subbarayan

Favor

“Well done on this one MVWSD! We have seen what ICE and detention centers can do whether they are in our backyard or not”

Conley

Favor

Lambert

Oppose

Riis

Abstain

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “I voted to approve this resolution.”
Quintin Riis: “While I favor on moral grounds, this is outside our bailiwick and potentially makes a target of our district.”

Do you favor or oppose redrawing enrollment boundaries to better balance the number of students at each school?

Sundar Subbarayan

Favor

“This is tough one, there are schools with 13 kids in a grade. Redrawing boundaries is hard and emotional but if necessary it needs to be done”

Conley

Abstain

Lambert

Favor

Riis

Oppose

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “The Board will have to consider redrawing boundaries as Mountain View continues to grow and change, but there is no firm timeline on this, yet.”
Bill Lambert: “I favor redrawing boundaries if it helps to achieve the district's equity objective and enhances the learning opportunities for all students.”
Quintin Riis: “Not at this time. This should be reviewed regularly of course.”

Where to invest

Should the district invest far fewer, fewer, the same, more, or far more resources in each area?

Closing gaps in academic achievement among student groups, including based on race and family income

Sundar Subbarayan

“It is not just invest more, but also stop spending on things that don't work. Hence I chose "more" vs. "far more"”

Conley

Lambert

Riis

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “We should direct funding where it has the most impact for students, especially our most vulnerable students.”
Bill Lambert: “The framing is mis-directed. All students are to be afforded the resources necessary to succeed academically. This is the board's job.”
Quintin Riis: “Close achievement gaps by identifying what works, targeting resources where students need them most, and measuring outcomes.”

Teacher compensation

Sundar Subbarayan

The same

“We have come around to paying our teachers fairly. Raises need to be in place, but I think we are in a good place here”

Conley

Lambert

Riis

Far more

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “Teachers deserve adequate pay, and our district will be negotiating raises this year.”
Bill Lambert: “Teachers and staff need to be compensated to enable them to live in Mountain View.”
Quintin Riis: “We need to hire the best teachers we can, pay them as much as we can, enable them, then GET OUT OF THEIR WAY. Performance bonuses should be an option.”

Employee housing

Sundar Subbarayan

Fewer

“We already had to spin off some of the housing to Foothill, we don't need more, we need fewer”

Conley

The same

Lambert

Far fewer

Riis

Far fewer

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “We are "fully leased up" on our current staff housing.”
Quintin Riis: “Not our place. Many teachers do not qualify to begin with. Pay our teachers more, let them choose where to live.”

Special education services

Sundar Subbarayan

Far more

“We need to invest more here. This is one of the factors contributing to our achievement gap.”

Conley

Lambert

Riis

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “Despite promising to fund 40% of special education costs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Federal Government funds ~13%.”
Bill Lambert: “We should be providing SE services to meet the growing need.”

Support for undocumented students

Sundar Subbarayan

Far more

Conley

Lambert

The same

Riis

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “Our undocumented students or students in mixed-status households are facing significant challenges under the current Federal administration.”
Bill Lambert: “The district is required by law to support undocumented students.”
Quintin Riis: “What a challenging position to be in. We must meet students where they are.”

Bullying prevention

Sundar Subbarayan

Far more

Conley

Lambert

The same

Riis

The same

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “We have School Counselors at every school site, a district-wide social emotional learning curriculum, and Project Cornerstone, but can always do more.”
Quintin Riis: “Maintain effective bullying prevention and intervention, continue using student climate data to identify groups that need additional support.”

Regulating student use of AI

Sundar Subbarayan

“While we are taking steps to reduce tech in early elementary. The use of AI needs to be regulated. Note: this doesn't mean a ban on tech”

Conley

Lambert

Fewer

Riis

Their explanations

Devon Conley: “As I mentioned in the other AI question, the Board will be working on this as part of our Strategic Plan this year.”
Bill Lambert: “Privately this is a parental decision. In the classroom, the district should develop best practices. I believe AI has great potential in education.”
Quintin Riis: “This is a precarious issue. Studies have shown increased use of AI leads to worse outcomes. See Lei and Wu, OECD, others.”

Top priorities

Each candidate ranked nine issues from 1 (highest priority) to 9. Rows are ordered by Sundar’s ranking.

Priority	Sundar	Conley	Lambert	Riis
Support for underserved students	1	2	5	4
District leadership oversight	2	5	6	8
Communication with parents and the community	3	6	4	6
Fiscal stability	4	4	9	9
Teacher and staff retention	5	7	7	5
Student mental health and safety	6	1	3	3
District-city relations	7	9	1	1
Increasing academic rigor	8	3	8	7
Facilities and construction	9	8	2	2

Show candidates’ explanations

Devon Conley on support for underserved students: “Our recent systems analysis highlights how we can do much more to support our underserved students.”
Devon Conley on student mental health and safety: “These conditions need to be in place for students to learn.”
Devon Conley on district-city relations: “Our City is an important partner and helps make sure our students and families have the living conditions they need to thrive.”
Devon Conley on communication with parents and the community: “Parents are the most important teachers in a student's life! We are continuously working to improve our communication.”
Devon Conley on facilities and construction: “We are currently updating our Master Facilities Plan as we finish out our 2020 bond program. We have successfully completed Priority 1 and 2 projects.”
Devon Conley on district leadership oversight: “2 years ago we replaced our superintendent and implemented fiscal reforms to strengthen district leadership oversight.”
Devon Conley on teacher and staff retention: “How: Competitive pay, high quality professional development and collaboration, workforce housing, preschool, and positive workforce conditions matter.”
Devon Conley on increasing academic rigor: “All students benefit from increasing academic rigor.”
Devon Conley on fiscal stability: “Responsible fiscal stewardship gives us the ability to provide innovative instruction and a high quality education for every child.”

Source: Mountain View Voice, “Candidate Comparison Grids: Mountain View Whisman School District Board of Trustees,” October 5, 2026. Quotes are the candidates’ own words as published. The campaign is not affiliated with the Voice.

Not registered yet?

California voter registration takes about two minutes online. If you live in Mountain View, you are eligible to vote in this race.

Official election resources

Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters — ballots, drop boxes, and vote centers
Check your registration status — California Secretary of State