Genie Kelley Appointed To Lake Elsinore USD Board

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A Canyon Hills resident with three decades of service in Lake Elsinore received a provisional appointment this week to the Lake Elsinore Unified School District Board of Trustees.

Genie Kelley will fill the Trustee Area 2 seat left vacant after longtime Trustee Susan Scott resigned effective Oct. 31. Kelley was unanimously appointed by the LEUSD Board of Trustees during a special meeting Tuesday. Unless a petition calling for a special election is filed within 30 days of the date of Kelley's provisional appointment, it shall become "an effective appointment" under state law.

Barring no special election, Kelley will hold the seat until the November 2022 general election. At that time, the position will be open to all qualified candidates to fill the remaining two years of Scott's term that expires in 2024.

"On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are proud to welcome Mrs. Kelley to the Board," LEUSD Board President Heidi Matthies Dodd said following Kelley's appointment. "Mrs. Kelley's heart of public service and dedication to her community is witnessed in her 30+ years of service as a teacher in our school district and, upon retirement, a decade of service as an elected official for the City of Lake Elsinore. Not only does she bring a breadth of knowledge of public education, but a spirit of partnership and focus on engagement with families and the community."

Over the past 30 years, Kelley has served as an educator in the Lake Elsinore Unified School District and as a public official for the City of Lake Elsinore. She currently serves as a board member for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southwest Riverside County. Community engagement and strong community partnership are a priority for Trustee Kelley, according to the district.

Kelley's educational background includes a master's degree in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on diversity from Azusa Pacific.

Kelley and her husband moved to Lake Elsinore in the 1980s, where they raised their three daughters — all graduates of Lake Elsinore schools. She and her family currently reside in Canyon Hills and are members of the Canyon Lake Community Church. She and her husband enjoy spending time with their granddaughters, who attend school in the LEUSD, according to a bio provided by the district.

Scott, who served on the LEUSD board for 13 years, announced her resignation during an Oct. 14 LEUSD board meeting. She told the community she was moving out of state.

Scott began her career in the LEUSD as a Railroad Canyon Elementary School teacher. She later served in the district as an assistant principal at Elsinore and Terra Cotta middle schools. She took an administrator position in the district before taking a job as director at the Romoland School District. She retired as a superintendent of Desert Center School District, and in 2008 began serving on the LEUSD board, including two terms as board president.

The board's decision to forgo an Area 2 special election to fill Scott's vacant seat was "internal," according to The Press-Enterprise.