Ceres Unified School District elections (2015)
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Three seats on the Ceres Unified School District Board of Trustees were supposed to be up for general election on November 3, 2015.[1] Due to lack of opposition, however, this election was canceled.[2]
Incumbents Jim Kinard, Faye Lane and Teresa Guerrero, representing Trustee Areas 1, 4 and 7, respectively, ran unopposed for re-election. All three of them were appointed to another term by default.[2][3][4][5] The 2013 school board election was also canceled due to lack of opposition.
See how this race compared to past school board elections in both the district and the state in the "Election trends" section.
About the district
Ceres Unified School District is located in Stanislaus County in central California. The county seat is Modesto. Stanislaus County was home to 531,997 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[6] During the 2012-2013 school year, Ceres Unified School District was the 127th-largest school district by enrollment in California and served 12,839 students.[7]
Demographics
Stanislaus County underperformed compared to the rest of California in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 16.4 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 30.7 for California as a whole. The median household income for Stanislaus County was $49,297, compared to $61,094 for the entire state. The poverty rate was 20.3 percent, compared to 15.9 percent statewide.[6]
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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.
Voter and candidate information
The Ceres Unified Board of Trustees consists of seven members elected geographically by district to four-year terms. Board members are elected on a staggered basis every November of odd-numbered years. There are no primary elections. The Trustee Area 2, 3, 5 and 6 seats were up for election on November 5, 2013, and the Trustee Area 1, 4 and 7 seats were on the ballot on November 3, 2015.[1][3]
School board candidates had to be at least 18 years old, residents of the school district and qualified voters. They could not be employees of the school district while in office.[3] To get on the ballot, candidates had to file their declaration of candidacy with the Stanislaus County Elections by August 7, 2015.[1]
To vote in this election, residents of the district had to register by October 19, 2015. Voters could cast vote-by-mail ballots from October 24, 2015, through Election Day.[1] Photo identification was not required to vote in California.
Elections
2015
Candidates
Trustee Area 1
Jim Kinard 
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Trustee Area 4
| Faye Lane
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Trustee Area 7
| Teresa Guerrero
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Election results
Due to lack of opposition, this election was canceled. Trustee Area 1 incumbent Jim Kinard, Trustee Area 4 incumbent Faye Lane and Trustee Area 7 incumbent Teresa Guerrero ran unopposed and were each appointed to another term.[2]
Campaign finance
No contributions or expenditures were reported during the election, according to the Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters.[9]
Campaign finance reporting requirements in California vary depending on how much money candidates spend or raise. For candidates planning to raise or spend less than $1,000, an Officeholder and Candidate Campaign Statement Short Form (Form 470) must be filed with their county or city elections office. If candidates plan to spend up to $1,000, including their own funds, they must also file a Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501). "If a candidate does not raise any money and personal funds are used only to pay filing or ballot statement fees, the candidate is not required to file the Form 501," according to the Fair Political Practices Commission. If candidates raise money outside of their own funds, a separate campaign bank account must be established.[10]
Candidates raising or spending more than $1,000, including their personal funds, must file a Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501), file a Statement of Organization (Form 410) and establish a separate bank account for campaign funds. They must then file Recipient Committee Campaign Statements (Form 460) to disclose their contributions and expenditures throughout their campaigns. If they receive more than $1,000 from a single source within 90 days of the election, they must file a 24-hour Contribution Report (Form 497).[10]
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |
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2013Four seats on the Ceres Unified School District Board of Trustees were up for election on November 5, 2013. The school district canceled the scheduled election due to lack of opposition, which left Mike Welsh, Valli Wigt, Lourdes Perez and Betty Davis as the default winners of the seats in Trustee Areas 2, 3, 5 and 6, respectively.[4] | |
What was at stake?
2015
Election trends
- See also: 2013 school board elections
With three seats up for election in 2015, nearly half of the Ceres Unified Board of Trustees had the potential to change hands; however, no one filed to run against the three incumbents. Because of this, the election was canceled, and the board members were appointed to new terms instead of appearing on the ballot. The 2013 school board election was also canceled due to lack of opposition.
Both the 2013 and 2015 school board elections had fewer candidates file per seat than the 2014 state average of 1.91 candidates running per seat up for election in California's largest school districts. That year, just over 25 percent of board seats in those districts were unopposed, and 37.65 percent of seats went to newcomers.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Ceres Unified School District election in 2015:[1][11][12]
| Deadline | Event |
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| June 8, 2015 - August 7, 2015 | Candidate filing period |
| July 31, 2015 | Semi-annual campaign finance report due |
| August 5, 2015 - November 2, 2015 | 24-hour campaign contribution reporting period |
| September 7, 2015 - October 20, 2015 | Write-in candidate filing period |
| September 24, 2015 | Pre-election campaign finance report due |
| October 19, 2015 | Voter registration deadline |
| October 22, 2015 | Pre-election campaign finance report due |
| October 24, 2015 | First day voters can cast vote-by-mail ballots |
| November 3, 2015 | Election Day |
| February 1, 2016 | Semi-annual campaign finance report due |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: California elections, 2015
If it had not been canceled, the Ceres Unified School District election would have shared the ballot with municipal elections for Ceres mayor and city council members.[13]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Ceres Unified School District California. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Ceres Unified School District | California | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters, “Consolidated District Election Calendar Tuesday, November 3, 2015,” accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ceres Unified School District, "Notice of Election," accessed September 18, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ceres Unified School District, "Board of Trustees," accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ceres Unified School District, "Trustee District Overview," accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ Stanislaus County, California, "Unofficial Candidate List," accessed August 11, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 United States Census Bureau, "Stanislaus County, California," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 29, 2015
- ↑ California Secretary of State, “Voter Registration Totals by County,” February 10, 2015
- ↑ Stanislaus County Registrar of Voters, "Campaign Disclosures," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Fair Political Practices Commission, "Local Candidates, Superior Court Judges, Their Controlled Committees, and Primarily Formed Committees for Local Candidates: Campaign Disclosure Manual 2," accessed August 5, 2015
- ↑ California Election Code, "Section 8600-8606," accessed February 20, 2015
- ↑ Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 3, 2015," accessed August 5, 2015
- ↑ City of Ceres, "City Council, Clerk & Treasurer," accessed August 4, 2015
| 2015 Ceres Unified School District Elections | |
| Stanislaus County, California | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | Trustee Area 1: • Incumbent, Jim Kinard Trustee Area 4: • Incumbent, Faye Lane |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
