By Alexander J. Schorr
May 23, 2026 — Grossmont Education Association (GEA), the teachers’ union in the Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD) has endorsed a slate of three challengers running against controversial incumbents for the district’ s board of trustees. The endorsed slate includes Jeneé Littrell for area 3 against incumbent Gary Woods, Steve Mull for area 4 against Robert Shield, and Pete Mergens in area 5 against Jim Kelly. GEA has withheld endorsements from the previously backed incumbents due to allegations of severe ethical misconduct, election manipulation, and a breakdown in district labor relations.
Photo: Left to Right: Pete Mergens, Jeneé Littrell, and Steve Mull
Trustees Woods, Shield, Kelly and Scott Eckert reportedly met regularly to discuss board businesses in private texts and emails, and have faced controversy and litigation for Brown Act Violations. These messages portray an insular political circle of board trustees and administrators that fought to maintain control of the district by retaliating against employees whom they viewed as opponents, as well as those who they viewed as disloyal.
The board voted to eliminate 61 positions despite strong public opposition. The cuts, approved during spring 2025, included 9 librarians, 23 teachers, 4 school psychologists, 10 vice principals, 1 principal, 2 program specialists, and 14 support staff, as well as 30 temporary certificated employees who were cut earlier that year.
Additionally, public backlash against the GUHSD governing board involved the trustees giving themselves a massive 373% salary increase while simultaneously executing severe district job cuts, including firing all teacher-librarians. This contrast in funding priorities triggered accusations of self-enrichment, ongoing public protests, a recall effort, and litigations.
At the Lakefront Clubhouse (formerly Lakeside Mobile Estates_ in Lakeside earlier this month, the challengers discussed their efforts to unseat board members, citing collectively that the governing board has abandoned the trust and needs of their constituents.
The election takes place in November. Community members and district educators regularly host regional campaign events and candidate meet-and-greets through local chapters like the Grossmont Education Association (GEA) Facebook Page.
The Candidates
Jeneé Littrell, an educator, school safety expert, and mental health advocate is running against Gary Woods for Area 3 in San Diego County. With a career spanning more than 25 years, she has earned national recognition for her pioneering work in student safety, mental health support, and human trafficking prevention.
After the shooting at Santana High School in 2001, she led Project Shield, a comprehensive public high school safety initiative designed to mitigate violence, address student homelessness, and support families in crisis. In July 2014, Littrell testified before the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions regarding the vulnerabilities of high school youth to child trafficking and private “re-homing” practices.
In July 2014, Littrell testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions regarding the vulnerabilities of high school youth to child trafficking and private “re-homing” practices. In addition to being endorsed by GEA, her campaign has actively emphasized political transparency, where in the case of her role in the Camp LEAD Program, provided additional services to the school district free of charge.
Littrell emphasized the importance of “addressing barriers to learning,” where she expressed concern over reduced academic performance even after a declining enrollment after the lockdown of 2020. She took particular aim at her opponent Gary Woods: “My opponent is all about AI,” she said, adding that because student learning has “shifted away from critical thinking,” students will not be as properly equipped to handle technology, media literacy, and intellectual independence.
Steve Mull is running to represent Area 4 against incumbent Shield. He has over 34 years of experience in public education and currently serves as the Principal of Lakeside Middle School within the neighboring Lakeside Union School District.
His platform focuses heavily on expanding Career Technical Education (CTE) and STEM programs, as well as prioritizing targeted supportive academic plans for vulnerable student populations. Mull is running alongside Littrell and Mergens as a slate of union-backed candidates aiming to shift the direction of the governing board toward a more student and teacher-centered approach.
He was named the 2026 Lakeside Citizen of the Year, with labor and teacher groups, including the Lakeside Teachers Association strongly endorsing him due to his public opposition to imposing “last and final” contract offers on educators.
Steve Mull also simplified the issue facing students who have issues being unable to evolve in their education and feel a sense of belonging and community at a school campus: “Connecting kids to schools … turns them around,” he said. “If you want struggling kids to succeed, give them a violin. Put them in a music program. Kids who participate in the arts do better in school.”
Mull referenced the issue of declining enrollment, and the board has evidently turned away from the learning short-comings of students who either are apathetic to school or have learning deficiencies. Both Mull and Littrell said that just being a teenager is adversity, noting that it is not only important to have more diverse programs at school campuses, but to be able to customize programs that work with student students and families’ schedules.”
Pete Mergens, an active supporter of GEA is running against incumbent Jim Kelly for Area 5 which includes Alpine and El Cajon. He is also endorsed by GEA, the local teacher’s union for the upcoming election. He served as a public school educator for 36 years as a math teacher within the district— primarily at West Hills High School.
In 2019, he co-developed a collaborative, district-wide Integrated Math II curriculum, earning him the district’s Excellence in Innovation & Collaboration Award. His priorities for the school board involve:
- Advocating for the return of essential district programs and personnel that where cut by the governing board, which includes counselors and librarians, as well as the San Diego Youth Sympony (SDYS) partnership.
- Implementing fully resourced English Learner (EL) strategies across campuses.
- Opposing executive management tactics and pushing back against controversial administrative and layoff decisions made by the school board.
Mergens illustrated that students will continue to have issues learning and excelling in school so long as they are unable to find clubs, libraries, and support among teachers and staff that are able to assist and accommodate them. “I went to USC because of a calculus teacher I had that cared,” he said. “That’s when all my grades changed.”
One of the core foundations to a learning environment, Megens stated, is how “libraries are the heart of the school.” He added that the governing boards firings of librarians in particular “was never about libraries” but rather ideological spite to remove books at the inconvenience of students. Ultimately, Pete Megens defined the importance of decent school support for students without barriers; “We teach them to be adults.”
When it came to the issue of the fired librarians, counselors, and teachers, Mergens emphasized that elected— and at a board majority— they would be able restore key teaching and staff positions.