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Berkeley Unified School District elections (2016)
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Two of the five seats on the Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. Incumbents Judith Appel and Beatriz Leyva-Cutler defeated challenger Abdur Sikder in their bids for re-election.[1][2]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Berkeley Unified Board of Education consists of five members elected to four-year terms. Elections are held at large on a staggered basis every November of even-numbered years. Three seats were up for election on November 4, 2014, and two seats were up for election on November 8, 2016. There was no primary election.[3]
To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to register with the county elections office by August 12, 2016. If incumbents did not file by that deadline, the filing deadline was extended for non-incumbent candidates until August 17, 2016.[4]
To vote in this election, residents of the school district had to register by October 24, 2016.[5] Photo identification was not required to vote in this election.[6]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| Berkeley Unified School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Judith Appel Incumbent |
50.60% | 39,461 |
| Beatriz Leyva-Cutler Incumbent |
38.61% | 30,116 |
| Abdur Sikder | 10.30% | 8,032 |
| Write-in votes | 0.49% | 383 |
| Total Votes | 77,992 | |
| Source: Alameda County, "General Election (Certified Results) - November 08, 2016," accessed December 22, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Judith Appel 
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Beatriz Leyva-Cutler
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Abdur Sikder | |||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: California elections, 2016
The district's school board election shared the ballot with a number of statewide ballot measures as well as elections for the following offices:[7]
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Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for California school board elections in 2016:[8][9]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| August 1, 2016 | Semi-annual campaign finance report due |
| August 10, 2016 - November 8, 2016 | 24-hour campaign contribution reporting period |
| August 12, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| August 17, 2016 | Extended filing deadline for non-incumbent candidates for open seats |
| September 29, 2016 | First pre-election campaign finance report due |
| October 24, 2016 | Voter registration deadline |
| October 27, 2016 | Second pre-election campaign finance report due |
| November 8, 2016 | Election Day |
| January 31, 2017 | Semi-annual campaign finance report due |
Endorsements
The Alameda County Democratic Party endorsed incumbents Judith Appel and Beatriz Leyva-Cutler.[10] Leyva-Cutler was also endorsed by the East Bay Young Democrats (EBYD).[11] Appel, Leyva-Cutler, and challenger Abdur Sikder were endorsed by the community organization Evolve.[12] Appel was further endorsed by Equality California.[13]
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
Candidates in this race were required to file two pre-election reports. The first was due on September 29, 2016, and the second was due on October 27, 2016. If candidates received more than $1,000 from a single source between August 10, 2016, and November 8, 2016, they had to file a campaign finance report within 24 hours of receiving the contribution.[9]
Candidates who did not raise or spend more than $2,000 on their campaigns had to file an exemption form by September 29, 2016. They did not have to file additional campaign finance reports.[9]
Candidates who had a remaining balance from previous campaigns or who had raised or spent money on their campaigns prior to the candidate filing deadline had to file a semi-annual campaign finance report by August 1, 2016. The next semi-annual campaign finance report was due January 31, 2017.[9]
Reports
No contributions or expenditures were reported in the election, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters.[14]
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2016
Issues in the district
District one of 100 to pursue socioeconomic integration
The Berkeley Unified School District was included in a list of 100 school districts pursuing socioeconomic integration. The school districts, which included 13 other California school districts and charter schools, were listed in a report published by the Century Foundation, a "progressive, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to foster opportunity, reduce inequality, and promote security at home and abroad," according to its website. The report showed that socioeconomic integration grew from two schools in 1996, when the foundation first started researching the issue, to 100 in October 2016, when the report was published. Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, praised the U.S. Department of Education for offering incentives for school districts to voluntarily use socioeconomic integration.[15][16]
The Century Foundation's report came five months after data released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in May 2016 showed schools across the country had been largely resegregated. The data showed that "the number of high-poverty schools serving primarily black and brown students more than doubled between 2001 and 2014," according to The Washington Post.[17]
The GAO said that those high-poverty schools did not offer students the same access to opportunities that other schools did and were also more likely to expel or suspend students for disciplinary issues. The rise of resegregation began in the 1990s when school districts that had integrated were released from court-ordered mandates. The student population in the United States also changed, becoming less white and affluent.[17]
A 2007 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court stopped school districts from assigning students to schools based on race. Those in favor of integrating schools turned to a different integration method: using the socioeconomic status of students.[15]
Candidate survey
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Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
About the district
The Berkeley Unified School District is located in Alameda County in central California. The county seat is Oakland.[18] Alameda County was home to 1,638,215 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[19] The district was the 159th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 10,181 students.[20]
Demographics
Alameda County outperformed California as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2010 and 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 42.1 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 31 percent of state residents. The median household income for Alameda County was $73,775, compared to $61,489 for the entire state. The percentage of people in poverty in the county was 12.5 percent, compared to 16.4 percent statewide.[19]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Berkeley Unified School District' 'California'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Berkeley Unified School District | California | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Berkeley City Clerk, "Roster of Candidate Activity - November 8, 2016," accessed August 15, 2016
- ↑ Alameda County, "General Election (Unofficial Results) - November 08, 2016," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ Berkeley Unified School District, "School Board Members," accessed June 16, 2016
- ↑ California Elections Code, “Part 5, Section 10600-10604: School District And Community College District Governing Board Elections,” accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Voter Registration," accessed June 13, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "California Online Voter Registration," accessed June 13, 2016
- ↑ Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "Candidate List: General Election - 11/08/2016," accessed September 22, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "November 8, 2016, General Election Calendar," accessed July 27, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 California Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 8, 2016," accessed July 27, 2016
- ↑ Alameda County Democratic Party, "Endorsements," accessed October 12, 2016
- ↑ Facebook, "East Bay Young Democrats (EBYD) post from September 30, 2016 at 2:40pm," accessed October 3, 2016
- ↑ Evolve, "Endorsements: November 8, 2016 General Election," accessed October 12, 2016
- ↑ Equality California, "Our Endorsements," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ Alameda County Registrar of Voters, "County of Alameda Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed February 7, 2017
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 The Washington Post, "These are the 100 U.S. school districts that are actively pursuing socioeconomic integration," October 14, 2016
- ↑ The Century Foundation, "About the Century Foundation," accessed October 18, 2016
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 The Washington Post, "On the anniversary of Brown v. Board, new evidence that U.S. schools are resegregating," May 17, 2016
- ↑ Alameda County, "About Us," accessed July 1, 2014
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 United States Census Bureau, "Alameda County, California," accessed June 13, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Statewide elections," accessed June 30, 2014
| 2016 Berkeley Unified School District Elections | |
| Alameda County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Judith Appel • Incumbent, Beatriz Leyva-Cutler • Abdur Sikder |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
