(This story will be updated as votes are tabulated.)

Seven candidates are vying for three seats on the board of trustees for College of the Desert. The other two seats in the five-member board will be up for election in 2026.

If elected to represent specific geographic areas across the Coachella Valley, board trustees will serve four-year terms to oversee a community college district that serves roughly 9,800 full-time equivalent students, according to the most recent data from the 2023-24 academic year. Enrollment is steadily recovering from pre-pandemic levels in the 2019-20 academic year, when about 10,732 full-time students studied at COD. The college could lose $2.2 million if Indio’s campus fails to reach 1,000 full-time equivalent students and an additional $2.2 million if COD does not reach 10,300 full-time equivalent students by the end of the current academic year. Read full article here