The race was for the school board member position in San Jose Unified School District Trustee Area 3 where Foley received 8,071 votes or 50.26 percent and Myers got 7.959 or 49.56 percent. These tallies reflect absentee and provisional ballets counted as of Nov. 8.

"I'm excited," Foley said. "To beat a 14-year incumbent is huge. Incumbents usually win because they have name recognition."

Foley attributes her win to the assistance of her volunteers, walking precincts and speaking directly with members of the community.

"You need committed volunteers who support your agenda and buy into you," she said. "I learned that walking precincts really works, and just getting out there and talking to people."

While interacting with Willow Glen residents, Foley said she learned that neighborhood schools are a priority in the community.

"Public and private school parents want to choose Willow Glen schools," she said. "But there is a lot of uncertainty out there. The message we kept hammering home while campaigning was that we need to elevate the level of education at Willow Glen schools to others in the district, so parents are making a tough choice between public and private schools."

Although she acknowledged that "a lot of great things are going on in the schools," Foley said that ameliorating local schools remained a top priority.

"I ran to improve Willow Glen schools," she said. "It's time for positive improvement."

Another key priority, Foley said, was engaging the community.

"[Improving Willow Glen schools] takes communication, and I can't do that on my own," she said. "I want to enlist the support of community groups and businesses and unify the school board for positive improvement in Willow Glen."

And part of reaching out to the community, Foley said, is repairing damaged relations between the school board and residents.

"I talked to a lot of people while walking precincts, and there is a real distrust of the school board and district that needs to be turned around as a part of changing the community's outlook on the schools. The community needs to believe the schools are good," she said.

Foley also realizes that with school closures looming on the horizon and ongoing financial woes, she is entering the school board at a difficult and uneasy time. But Foley said she is prepared to meet whatever obstacles she may come across.

"I would rather jump in at a controversial time," she said. "That way, the learning curve is steep but quick. When we face challenges, positive things can occur. It's an exciting time, but a stressful time as well."

To prepare herself for a position on the board, Foley said she has attended board meetings, followed the financial situation of the board carefully, and had one-on-one meetings with board members.

"I am not starting from zero," she said.

Foley said her next step would be to reach out to the people who are directly affected by the school board's decisions--the parents and teachers.

"One of the first things I want to do is to extend a hand to the parent-teacher associations and parent groups, particularly at the elementary schools," she said. "It's really a partnership."

According to departing board member Carol Myers, interacting with parents and teachers is one of the most important things the new board member can do. She said that visiting schools and attending parent meetings were absolutely imperative in understanding the special needs of individual schools, particularly at struggling schools.

"You need to set aside time to visit schools," Myers said. "You need to understand the environment of the school and see how many people are showing up to meetings."

And, although she is officially no longer a part of the school board, Myers said she plans to remain connected to Willow Glen schools.

"Willow Glen is my community," she said. "I have such a history and background with the schools."