A new person will help lead the Salt Lake City School District after former board member Mohammed Baayed stepped down this summer following a bribery scandal.
Ann Elizabeth Romano was chosen by board members late Tuesday to fill the Precinct 5 vacancy created after Baayd in July pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of attempted bribery in elections and agreed to resign by Aug. 5 under a plea in abeyance agreement.
“It’s an opportunity to start fresh,” Romano told The Salt Lake Tribune after the 5-1 vote, with only board member Charlotte Fife-Jepperson opposed.
Precinct 5 spans from 900 West to 1300 East in the south-central part of Salt Lake City, including East High School and three elementary schools.
Romano currently works as an education coordinator with the University of Utah Health’s Office of Network Development and Telehealth. She has two children who attend district schools and said she is a product of the Salt Lake City School District.
“I think a challenge for Precinct 5 is regaining trust,” Romano told board members during her public interview. “I think with the circumstances surrounding the board vacancy, as well as the closure of two schools in the precinct — Hawthorne and Riley — that left possibly some upset community members.”
Board members last year shuttered a total of four elementary schools after a 2022 state audit found the Salt Lake City School District was wasting millions in taxpayer dollars to keep elementary schools open despite declining enrollment.
“There are many opportunities to regain trust,” Romano said. “I’d love to be a part of that.”
(Carmen Nesbitt | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman swears in Ann Elizabeth Romano to the Salt Lake City School District Board of Education on Tuesday Sept. 2, 2025
Romano was one of five candidates who board members interviewed during Tuesday’s roughly three-hour meeting. Among the candidates was Baayd’s former opponent, Russel Askren, whom Baayd allegedly tried to bribe in 2024.
According to court documents, Baayd is accused of telling Askren over coffee that if he withdrew from the school board race, Baayd would use his position to secure Askren an appointment in two years, when an unspecified “councilmember” seat Baayd planned to pursue was expected to open, according to court documents.
Askren refused the alleged offer, court documents state. Baayd went on defeat Askren with 64.22% of the vote in November and was charged a month later with one third-degree felony count of bribery in elections.
In addition to resigning, Baayd agreed to six months of abeyance probation, during which he cannot violate the law except for “minor traffic violations,” according to his plea in abeyance agreement to the lesser charge. If he meets those terms, the misdemeanor will be dismissed.
Sixteen hopefuls initially applied for Baayd’s former seat, three of whom were ineligible because they did not live within Precinct 5’s boundaries, said district spokesperson Yándary Chatwin. Of the 13 who remained, just eight completed the paperwork required by Salt Lake County, Chatwin said.
Board members had planned to interview all eight candidates Tuesday, but three withdrew their candidacy before interviews started around 4:30 p.m.
Candidates were asked about their views on school board policies, fiscal responsibility and other topics before board members narrowed down their top three picks: Elisabeth Bunker, a K-12 fine arts specialist for the Utah State Board of Education; David Jones, a retired attorney; and Romano.
Romano stood out to the board because she’s a parent with children in the district.
“To me, one thing that brings [Romano] to the top is just wanting to keep that parent voice, in this precinct especially,” board member Ashley Anderson said.
Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman swore Romano in shortly after the vote.
Romano will serve through 2026, when voters will determine who will serve out the remainder of Baayd’s term, which runs through 2028.