Who is running for Forsyth County Board of Education District 5 in 2026?

Forsyth County Board of Education District 5: 2026 Candidates & Ballot

2 candidates are tracked for Forsyth County Board of Education District 5 on the November 3, 2026 ballot: Mike Valdes and Vishal Srivastava. Candidate information follows official Forsyth County election filings; verify with the official election office linked below.

Republican incumbent Mike Valdes ran unopposed in the May 19, 2026 Republican primary (4,223 votes) and Democrat Vishal Srivastava ran unopposed in the Democratic primary (2,456 votes); the two meet in the November 3, 2026 general election, per Heritage Forsyth's primary ballot guide. This school board seat is elected on a partisan ballot in Forsyth County.

Mike Valdes

Republican

Mike Valdes is the incumbent District 5 board member, who has served on the Forsyth County Board of Education since January 2023 and chaired the board in 2025, per the school district's board page and Forsyth County News. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Mike Valdes.

Vishal Srivastava

Democratic

Vishal Srivastava is a data and analytics industry professional with 25 years of experience and a longtime Forsyth County resident and parent, per his campaign site.

2026 priorities (per the campaign site)

Benchmark the school system against leading education and technology hubs, not only against other Georgia districts
Guide the ethical and practical integration of technology, including AI, into classrooms
Refocus the district on academic excellence, literacy and mental health resources

Source: candidate campaign site.

Campaign site →