The Escondido Union School District Board of Trustees is expected to decide Thursday night how to fill the vacant Area 3 seat after trustee, Mark Olson, resigned.
Olson served as the Area 3 trustee for six years. Questions about his residency surfaced after he attended an Ogden, Utah, city council meeting in person in May, where he was introduced as a new city employee who started in March.
At that time, Olson was still serving on the Escondido Union school board. Three days later, he attended an Escondido Union board meeting in person.
Brandi Krepps, president of the Escondido Elementary Educators Association, said she began monitoring Olson’s residency status.
“I began watching to see if he was selling his house. Because that’s a huge stipulation of being board member: being a resident within the trustee area to which you represent and that you were elected into,” Krepps said.
According to tax records reviewed by NBC San Diego, Olson sold his Escondido home on June 25. He also attended a board meeting that same day.
The district announced Olson did not formally resign from his seat until July 24.
Juan Manuel Vargas, an Escondido Union High School District admissions and records technician who ran against Olson for the Area 3 seat in 2024, questioned the timing of the resignation.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” Vargas said. “Obviously, I would have been there in person doing the work, getting my hands dirty.”
Vargas also said, “that makes me wonder, how long ago the board, knew about his potential resignation.”
Krepps said resigning close to the election deadline could make it too expensive for the district to hold a special election, leaving the board with the option of appointing a replacement instead.
“My fear is that certain people in our community did not want that seat to be open in a new election for somebody else to potentially come in that doesn’t have like-minded views as our school board … Our school board is very conservative,” Krepps said.
Olson responded in a statement to NBC San Diego:
In recent months, my family and I have faced unexpected circumstances that required us to thoughtfully evaluate our next steps. As we navigated these challenges, it became increasingly clear that our future path would likely require relocation. While we had hoped to remain in Escondido for many more years, we began preparing for the possibility of a transition.
Over time, the need to be closer to our children as they pursue their college education and begin their professional journeys became more significant. We sold our home on June 25, 2026, and remained in Escondido, within my trustee area, while working through the details of this transition. In recent weeks, as we finalized our plans to move, it became clear that our time in Escondido was coming to a close.
Following the Board meeting on July 16, I informed my fellow Board members of my circumstances. On that same day, I closed escrow on a house in the state of Utah where we planned to relocate. I formally submitted my resignation the following week, effective July 24.
Serving in this capacity over the past six years has been one of the greatest honors of my life. The trust placed in me by the families, students, and staff of Escondido is something I will carry with deep gratitude. These years have shaped me in ways I will always cherish, and I remain profoundly proud of the work we accomplished together.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.