Ayana Kirkland Young
Ayana Kirkland Young was a candidate for an at-large seat on the West Contra Costa Unified School District school board in California. Young was defeated in the at-large general election on November 8, 2016.[1]
Young previously ran for a seat on the board. She was defeated in the general election on November 4, 2014.
In addition to choosing two new board members, citizens of the West Contra Costa Unified School District voted on whether the district should extend its funding measure for eight more years. The candidates running in this race discussed the measure in a candidate forum on September 29, 2016. Those in favor of passing the measure said it was necessary after a forensic financial audit revealed the district had misspent construction bond funds, leaving little funding left to complete renovations. Those opposed to extending the measure suggested the district instead look to private funding sources.
The controversy surrounding the district's misspent bond funds led to the resignation of former superintendent Bruce Harter and the hiring of new superintendent Matthew Duffy. In an effort to regain community members' trust, board member Valerie Cuevas proposed limiting campaign contributions to $1,000 for school board elections. Cuevas said such limits would help the voters have faith in the district again, but other board members and school board candidates disagreed.
The district was also involved in other funding conflicts. In June 2016, the district had to amend its spending plan for state funds after a complaint filed with the California Department of Education revealed $4.3 million had been omitted from a fund earmarked for services for high need students. In March 2016, the district settled a lawsuit with the California Charter Schools Association that alleged the district had not shared previous bond money with its charter school students.
Biography
Ayana Kirkland Young is a resident of Contra Costa County. Young graduated from Pinole Valley High School before earning a B.A. degree in liberal studies from San Francisco State University and a J.D. from the John F. Kennedy School of Law. She operates her own law firm specializing in employment law.[2] Young serves in the PTA at Stewart School. She has seven children.[3]
Elections
2016
Two of the five seats on the West Contra Costa Unified School District Board of Education were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. No incumbents filed to run for re-election, guaranteeing two new members joined the board. Former candidates Mister Phillips, Antonio Álvarez Medrano, and Ayana Kirkland Young and newcomers Don Gosney, Tom Panas, Miriam "Stephanie" Sequeira, and Carlos Taboada ran for the seats.[4] Phillips and Panas were elected to the board.[5]
Results
| West Contra Costa Unified School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Mister Phillips |
22.63% | 28,018 |
| Tom Panas |
18.57% | 22,990 |
| Miriam Sequeira | 15.98% | 19,777 |
| Ayana Kirkland Young | 12.55% | 15,529 |
| Antonio Álvarez Medrano | 12.08% | 14,954 |
| Carlos Taboada | 11.05% | 13,683 |
| Don Gosney | 6.84% | 8,468 |
| Write-in votes | 0.29% | 363 |
| Total Votes | 123,782 | |
| Source: Contra Costa County , "Presidential General Election Official Results - Final," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Funding
Young reported no contributions or expenditures to the Contra Costa County Elections Division as of November 1, 2016.[6]
Endorsements
Young was endorsed by the following organizations and elected officials:[7][8]
- East Bay Times
- Richmond Police Association
- State Sen. Loni Hancock (D-9)
- Hercules Vice Mayor Myrna de Vera
- Pinole City Council member Maureen Toms
- Pinole City Council member Pete Murray
- Richmond City Council member Jael Myrick
- West Contra Costa Unified Board of Education member Madeline Kronenberg
Young was also endorsed by community members Joan Carpenter with the League of Women Voters and West Contra Costa Unified teacher Nikki Hoopaugh.[8]
2014
The election in West Contra Costa featured three at-large seats up for general election on November 4, 2014. Incumbents Madeline Kronenberg and Elaine Merriweather faced eight challengers for the three at-large seats. The challengers were Elizabeth Block, Peter Nicholas Chau, Otheree Christian, Valerie Cuevas, Raquel Donoso, Mister Phillips, Chester R. Stevens, and Ayana Kirkland Young. Board President Charles T. Ramsey did not file for re-election.
Kronenberg, Block, and Cuevas won the election.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Elizabeth Block |
19.5% | 21,463 | |
| Nonpartisan | Madeline Kronenberg Incumbent |
15.4% | 16,950 | |
| Nonpartisan | Valerie Cuevas |
13.5% | 14,857 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mister Phillips | 11.8% | 13,027 | |
| Nonpartisan | Raquel Donoso | 10.1% | 11,064 | |
| Nonpartisan | Elaine Merriweather Incumbent | 8.8% | 9,737 | |
| Nonpartisan | Peter Nicholas Chau | 7.8% | 8,609 | |
| Nonpartisan | Chester R. Stevens | 4.5% | 4,946 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ayana Kirkland Young | 4.2% | 4,607 | |
| Nonpartisan | Otheree Christian | 4% | 4,429 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.4% | 390 | |
| Total Votes | 110,079 | |||
| Source: Contra Costa County Registrar of Voters, "Official Results - November 4, 2014 General Election," accessed January 2, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Candidates had to file contribution reports within 24 hours of receiving an aggregate total of $1,000 or more from a single source. The first scheduled pre-election report filing deadline was October 6, 2014. If candidates raised or spent less than $1,000 during the 2013 and 2014 calendar years, they had to file Form 470 at that time. If candidates raised or spent more during that time, they had to file Form 460 by the pre-election report filing deadline.[9]
Candidates required to file Form 460 also had to file a second pre-election report on October 23, 2014, and they had to file termination reports by December 31, 2014. If a termination report was not filed, candidates had to file a semi-annual report by February 2, 2015.[9]
Young reported $200.00 in contributions and $1,180.52 in expenditures during the election, which left her with $980.52 in debt according to the Contra Costa County Elections Division.[10]
Endorsements
Young did not receive any official endorsements during the election.
Campaign themes
2016
Young highlighted the following platform on her campaign website:
| “ | My platform:
-The way to raise academic achievement is by making it a priority for all. Turn the focus to educating students to be proficient or better in Math and Science. Encourage Reading and Comprehension through the Socratic Method and Collaborative Learning. - We can no longer be satisfied with mediocrity. Every student must be encouraged to reach their highest potential and be given the tools to do so, such as motivated teachers; during and after school academic support; and high achievement math and science programs and courses. - Arts and other extra- curricular activities support Math and Science. Students won’t learn if they hate school. By making the Arts a priority we can create a holistic environment for learning. There is definitely work to be done, and I will serve at the pleasure of the students and this community! Vote Ayana K. Young for WCCUSD School Board Member on 11/8/2016[11] |
” |
| —Ayana Kirkland Young (2016)[12] | ||
2014
Young highlighted the following platform on her campaign website:
| “ | The role of the school board is not to run the schools but to insure that every school within the district is ran well. As a candidate for the WCCUSD School Board, I have a practical vision of what is necessary to turn our district around The Major Issues incorporated in this Platform are Students and Education First, Respect to Our Teachers, Accountability to the Public and Parental Involvement. If we work together as a community, we can move forward.
STUDENTS AND EDUCATION FIRST When Students are the first priority, class sizes will stay small, after school programs will be funded; before and after school tutoring will be provided, etc. etc... students will then thrive rather than struggle. For some reason it has been the consensus of the current board that new buildings equal better academics. I totally disagree. For too long now, the focus of this district has been on any and everything other than education. Our students are being held back in first grade, only a third of our 3rd graders are proficient readers, and many of our students are simply not where they should be academically. This district needs intervention programs for these students, we should be opening after school programs and enrichment programs instead of closing them. If our students have problems in reading, we should be paying reading specialist, instead of trying to find money to fund a new building. Again, wrong focus. When I was in Kindergarten I was in a full day program and I learned how to read. When my family moved to this district when I was in the first grade, I had to wait on the first graders. We can teach students in this district to read in kindergarten, especially since we require it of them. I propose to start, full day Kindergarten. We already have 11 schools in our district which have this full day program. As a school board member, I want to see this expanded through out the district. We need early intervention programs rather than a "let's see what happens," approach which exist in this district now. Our children also need to be in a safe environment. It's difficult for children to learn if they are too scared to come to school. Simply putting more police officers is not the answer, we have to re-evaluate what will make our students feel safe. RESPECT TO OUR TEACHERS Teaching is one of the most important jobs in the world. Teachers spend nearly as much "day time" with our children as we do. The profession should be as respected as a doctor, lawyer or CEO of a company for example. We need to give the teachers the resources they need to be successful in the classroom and we also need to pay them their worth. It's not fair that this honorable position is sometimes paid less than a prison guard. We also have to address the teachers that give great teachers a "bad rep." If they don't want to be here, which is usually evident by their attitude and how the students and parents feel about them, then we need to wish them luck and wish them on their way. It's time we get all teachers on the same positive train, whoever doesn't want to give the positivity needed to turn this district around can get off the train, because as a School Board Member I'm moving this train forward, so that this district can move forward. ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE PUBLIC The district has a duty to account to the public in regards to how the district spends their money. I don't believe that this district has done a good job at this thus far. It's as if they have been trying to hide their dealings from "us." This has to stop. As a school board member I plan on making sure to keep the public "in the loop," to hear the public and take their concerns seriously. The school board should not be making decisions from an office, they should hear what the public wants and implement what the majority wants, not just what three deciding school boards members and some construction companies want. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT I decided to run for school board because I am concerned about my own children. It's time that we as parents get even more involved. We also have to work at getting parents who aren't involved motivated about turning this district around. As a school board member, I want to rally parents together. How will I do that you ask? I have many ideas and can't list them all, but I will say this, "food" and "daycare." If you're a parent, you know exactly what I'm talking about.[11] |
” |
| —Ayana Kirkland Young (2014)[13] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Ayana Kirkland Young' 'West Contra Costa Unified School District'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- West Contra Costa Unified School District, California
- West Contra Costa Unified School District elections (2016)
- West Contra Costa Unified School District elections (2014)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Contra Costa County, California, "Contest/Candidate Proof List Presidential General Election," accessed August 18, 2016
- ↑ Ayana Kirkland Young - Attorney at Law, "About Ayana," accessed November 3, 2014
- ↑ Ayana Young WCCUSD Board Member, "About Ayana," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ Contra Costa County, California, "Contest/Candidate Proof List Presidential General Election," accessed August 18, 2016
- ↑ Contra Costa County, "Unofficial Results - Election Night Final," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ Contra Costa County Elections Division, "Contra Costa County Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ East Bay Times, "Editorial: End West Contra Costa pay-to-play culture," October 11, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Ayana Young," October 19, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 4, 2014," accessed August 19, 2014
- ↑ Contra Costa County Elections Division, "CampaignDocs Search Engine," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ayana Young WCCUSD School Board Member, "Home," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ Ayana Kirkland Young - Attorney at Law, "Issues," accessed November 3, 2014
| 2016 West Contra Costa Unified School District Elections | |
| Contra Costa County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Don Gosney • Antonio Álvarez Medrano • Tom Panas • Mister Phillips • Miriam "Stephanie" Sequeira • Carlos Taboada • Ayana Kirkland Young |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
