Laura Massenat, victor in Oklahoma City school board race, to take oath on Monday


Laura Massenat is scheduled to join the Oklahoma City Board of Education, taking the oath of office at the Monday, February 20 meeting at the public school district’s headquarters, 900 N. Klein. 


Local school officials told CapitolBeatOK the departing board member, Steve Shafer, will be honored for his service to the district during the same meeting.


Massenat, owner of Elemental Coffee celebrated her victory Tuesday night with a crowd of 150 supporters at Oklahoma Theatre Supply. 


In a three-way race, her first attempt at elective office, Massenat garnered an outright majority of votes cast, avoiding an April runoff. When her victory became clear, she sent The City Sentinel a statement. She thanked her opponents, “for taking an interest in the children of Oklahoma City and for a lively discussion of the issues.”


Turnout was extremely low by general election standards, yet moderate for a typical late winter board race in Oklahoma. Massenat garnered 890 votes (54.57 percent) to 425 (26.05 percent) for Patrick Gaines, and 316 for Crystal Hodges (19.37 percent). 


The founder of EatWise OKC, Massenat campaigned for better nutrition in local schools, and is supportive of existing programs of parental choice. She was leery of moving board elections to November, and supportive of the “Common Core” curriculum being advanced statewide by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Janet Barresi.