tc-web.widen.net (opens in a new tab)Tulare County Elections -- official "Contest/Candidate Proof List" (report CFMR001) for the November 3, 2026 General Election: within its county-office section, only two contests appear -- Supervisor District 4 (Ian Bakke, Eddie Valero incumbent, flagged as going into extension/runoff) and Board of Education Trustee Area 1 (Juan Arzola, Sandra R. Burnitzki; Felipe Martinez listed only as the appointed incumbent, not a candidate) -- no Sheriff, District Attorney, Assessor, Auditor, Treasurer, Clerk-Recorder, Superior Court, or Public Defender contest appears anywhere in the 63-page document
tcoe.org (opens in a new tab)Tulare County Office of Education -- its own Board of Education page: a 7-member board by trustee area; names Felipe Martinez (Trustee Area 1) with his biography -- a retired California Highway Patrol sergeant and former Selma Police Department reserve officer -- and states his term expires December 2026 with no indication he refiled; describes Trustee Area 1's boundary as Dinuba Unified, Kings River Union, Traver Joint, and a portion of Visalia Unified school districts, all within Tulare County
catalog.cos.edu (opens in a new tab)College of the Sequoias Academic Catalog -- Political Science department faculty contact page: lists Juan Arzola among the department's political science faculty, independently corroborating his "College Professor" designation on the county's candidate-filing document
visaliatimesdelta.com (opens in a new tab)Visalia Times-Delta -- "'Hands on Heroes' honors changemakers in Tulare County" (April 8, 2025): First 5 Tulare County's community-changemaker honorees include Sandra Burnitzki, named and quoted as a CASA of Tulare County volunteer who cares for children with special needs "in honor of her late son" -- independent corroboration of her identity and community background, consistent with the "Retired Staff Analyst" designation on the county's candidate-filing document
cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS -- filer search for "Arzola": no results; no campaign committee or candidate filer entry registered under his name
cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS -- filer search for "Burnitzki": no results; no campaign committee or candidate filer entry registered under her name

Last updated September 7, 2026.

School District

Tulare County Board of Education, Trustee Area 1

This person serves on the Tulare County Board of Education. The board has 7 members. It runs special education and alternative education programs for the county. It also hears school appeals and decides county budget matters. The term is four years.

Tulare County's Board of Education has an open seat in Trustee Area 1. Juan Arzola faces Sandra R. Burnitzki. There is no June primary, so the top vote-getter in November wins. The sitting appointed incumbent, Felipe Martinez, is not running.

The winner serves a 4-year term on the county's 7-member Board of Education. The seat represents Trustee Area 1. That area covers Dinuba Unified, Kings River Union, and Traver Joint school districts. It also covers part of Visalia Unified. The board sets policy for the County Superintendent of Schools' office. That office runs the county's special-education and alternative-education programs. It hears expulsion and inter-district-transfer appeals from local school districts. It also decides county-level budget and property matters.

The appointed incumbent is not running, so this is a fresh start for the seat. Neither candidate has held elected office before. The choice comes down to two kinds of local experience. One has a career in higher-education instruction. The other has a background in county government and volunteer child advocacy.

Juan Arzola

Juan Arzola is a political science professor at College of the Sequoias. They are not a current officeholder. They filed to run in July 2026.

Sandra R. Burnitzki

Sandra R. Burnitzki is a retired county staff analyst. They volunteer with CASA of Tulare County. They care for children with special needs. They filed to run in August 2026.

Your pick

A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

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