The Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board will have at least one new member next year.

While Amy Carney is running for reelection, Carine Werner did not file to defend her SUSD seat. She apparently is focusing on a reelection campaign as state senator of Legislative District 4.

School district boards do not have primary races.

Jennifer Johnson and Jeanne Beasley – both Scottsdale residents – will join Carney, who lives in Paradise Valley, on the November ballot for two SUSD seats.

The three filed applications to the Maricopa County Elections Department with the required 400-plus signatures of support.

The filing period was June 8 through July 6.

Carney and Werner were elected in 2022.

Beasley failed in a bid for the SUSD board in the 2024 election.

“From my experience as a volunteer when my three kids were part of the Scottsdale Unified School District to my continued involvement on the district’s Audit Committee and attending board meetings,” Beasley states on her website, “I am running for our Governing Board to make a legitimate difference in the lives of the children in this community.” 

She cites her experience as a litigation paralegal with “skills in extensive research, critical thinking regarding complex issues (and) problem-solving.”

According to Johnson’s website, “I am a proud lifelong Arizonan who raised my sons in Arizona public schools. I have served in all levels of education in our state: as a teacher, a principal, a superintendent, and a Grand Canyon University vice president. 

“I hold a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Public Policy from Arizona State University.”

Carney bills herself as “a mom of six children, all educated in Scottsdale Unified, and a proven leader in the community.”

She is an author, freelance writer “and public speaker whose work centers on strengthening families and communities.”

Over the last three-and-a-half years, Carney and Werner often have been at the short end of 3-2 votes, most recently over a raise and contract extension for SUSD Superintendent Scott Menzel.

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