Incumbent Paul Vierling lost his seat and incumbent Darwin Ching narrowly avoided losing his.

"I'm ecstatic, pleased and surprised," said Penebacker, who spent the day watching his grandson play soccer and his daughter play beach volleyball.

Ikeda said she, too, was pleased with the early results and noted that several on the board could be new.

Returns showed Ikeda was closely followed by longtime board member Karen Knudsen, then Terrance Tom, Brian Yamane, Kim Coco Iwamoto and incumbent Darwin Ching.

Knudsen said even though incumbents were behind challengers, she feels it's not a reflection of voter unhappiness with the board.

"These are people who have been involved in the community for years and years so it's hard to beat that," Knudsen said.

In the O'ahu at-large race, the six top vote-getters go to the general election, where three will be chosen.

In the Windward district, Penebacker was followed by newcomer Kris DeRego, with incumbent Vierling losing. The top two go on to the general election.

With only two candidates in the race for the Central O'ahu seat, incumbent Shirley Robinson and challenger Eileen Clarke automatically advance.

The sixth open seat in this election — for Maui district — was won outright by incumbent Mary Cochran, who had no opposition.

The 23 candidates raised a wide range of issues, among them safety, teacher retention, funding, and the need to improve the schools' physical environment.

The race drew a number of experienced politicians back into competition for public office. It also created at least one controversy when the Advertiser Editorial Board withdrew its endorsement of DeRego after a former employer charged he had stolen money and wine during a brief employment. DeRego partly admitted the theft allegations but said he had made a written admission to quickly resolve the dispute and avoid legal costs.

The 14-member Board of Education oversees the state's 285 public schools and a budget of more than $2 billion.