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Clovis Unified School District elections (2016)
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Four of the seven seats on the Clovis Unified School District Board of Education were up for by-district general election on November 8, 2016. In her bid for re-election to the Trustee Area 2 seat, incumbent Ginny Hovsepian defeated challengers Isabel Machado and Sandy Torosian. In Trustee Area 4, incumbent Brian Heryford also won re-election, defeating challenger Jacob Belemjian. Trustee Area 5 incumbent Richard Lake did not file for re-election, guaranteeing a newcomer won a seat on the board. Candidates Steven Fogg and Scott Troescher vied for the open seat, and Fogg won. In Trustee Area 7, Chris Casado won another term by defeating challengers Matt Castiglione and Mike Pack.[1][2]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Clovis Unified Board of Education consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. Elections are held by district on a staggered basis every November of even-numbered years. Three seats were up for election on November 4, 2014, and four seats were up for election on November 8, 2016. There was no primary election.[3][4]
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.[5]
To vote in this election, residents of the school district had to register by October 24, 2016.[6] Photo identification was not required to vote in this election.[7]
Candidates and results
Trustee Area 2
Results
| Clovis Unified School District, Trustee Area 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Ginny Hovsepian Incumbent |
50.87% | 38,023 |
| Sandy Torosian | 31.71% | 23,704 |
| Isabel Machado | 17.16% | 12,825 |
| Write-in votes | 0.26% | 194 |
| Total Votes | 74,746 | |
| Source: Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "Fresno County Official Final Results," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Ginny Hovsepian 
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Isabel Machado | Sandy Torosian | |||
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Trustee Area 4
Results
| Clovis Unified School District, Trustee Area 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Brian Heryford Incumbent |
59.98% | 42,002 |
| Jacob Belemjian | 39.69% | 27,792 |
| Write-in votes | 0.33% | 231 |
| Total Votes | 70,025 | |
| Source: Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "Fresno County Official Final Results," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Brian Heryford
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Jacob Belemjian | ||
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Trustee Area 5
Results
| Clovis Unified School District, Trustee Area 5 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Steven Fogg |
70.82% | 50,049 |
| Scott Troescher | 28.87% | 20,400 |
| Write-in votes | 0.31% | 221 |
| Total Votes | 70,670 | |
| Source: Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "Fresno County Official Final Results," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Steven Fogg
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Scott Troescher | ||
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Trustee Area 7
Results
| Clovis Unified School District, Trustee Area 7 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Chris Casado Incumbent |
43.12% | 30,745 |
| Mike Pack | 31.47% | 22,441 |
| Matt Castiglione | 25.16% | 17,938 |
| Write-in votes | 0.24% | 174 |
| Total Votes | 71,298 | |
| Source: Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "Fresno County Official Final Results," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Chris Casado
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Matt Castiglione | Mike Pack | |||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: California elections, 2016
The district's school board election shared the ballot with two bond measures for Fresno County, a number of statewide ballot measures, and elections for the following offices:[8][9]
- President and Vice President
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. House of Representatives
- California State Assembly
- Fresno County Board of Education
- Clovis Veterans Memorial District
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for California school board elections in 2016:[10][11]
| 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 group Stop the Madness endorsed Trustee Area 2 challenger Sandy Torosian, Trustee Area 4 challenger Jacob Belemjian, Trustee Area 5 candidate Steven Fogg, and Trustee Area 7 challenger Matt Castiglione, and the group Citizens United for Excellence in Education endorsed Trustee Area 2 incumbent Ginny Hovsepian, Trustee Area 4 incumbent Brian Heryford, Trustee Area 5 candidate Scott Troescher, and Trustee Area 7 incumbent Chris Casado.[12] The community organization Evolve endorsed Heryford and Trustee Area 2 candidate Isabel Machado.[13]
Troescher was also endorsed by the Fresno County Democratic Party, Clovis City Council members Lynne Ashbeck, Harry Armstrong, and José Flores, and Clovis Unified Board of Education members Jim Van Volkinburg and Betsy Sandoval.[14][15]
Fogg was further endorsed by the Fresno County Republican Party and state Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-23).[16][17]
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.[11]
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.[11]
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.[11]
Reports
Candidates received a total of $18,263.00 and spent a total of $23,916.79 in the election, according to the Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters.[18]
Trustee Area 2
| Candidate | Existing balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ginny Hovsepian | $7,938.76 | $18,263.00 | $23,916.79 | $2,284.97 |
| Isabel Machado | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Sandy Torosian | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Trustee Area 4
| Candidate | Existing balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Heryford | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Jacob Belemjian | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Trustee Area 5
| Candidate | Existing balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steven Fogg | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Scott Troescher | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Trustee Area 7
| Candidate | Existing balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Casado | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Matt Castiglione | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Mike Pack | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2014This election was canceled due to lack of opposition. Incumbents Sandra A. Bengel, Jim Van Volkinburg and Betsy Sandoval from Trustee Areas 1, 3, and 6, respectively, won re-election to their seats by default.[19] 2012Due to lack of opposition, elections for Trustee Areas 2 and 4 were canceled. Incumbents Brian Heryford and Ginny Hovsepian were re-elected to their seats by default.[20]
2010This election was canceled due to lack of opposition. Incumbents Sandra A. Bengel, Jim Van Volkinburg and Betsy Sandoval from Trustee Areas 1, 3, and 6, respectively, won re-election by default.[21][22][23] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What was at stake?
2016
Issues in the district
Board adopts new dress code policy
In April 2016, the Clovis Unified Board of Education approved an update to the district's dress policy, which had been in place for decades. The policy did not allow boys to wear earrings and required them to have short hair. It also stated that only girls were allowed to wear skirts and dresses. Those requirements were against a law the California State Legislature enacted in 2011 that made "discrimination based on failure to conform to narrow gender stereotypes" illegal, according to The Fresno Bee. The district's new policy eliminated the gender-specific restrictions for hair and jewelry.[24][25]
The approval for the new dress policy came nearly three months after the board voted 4-3 against similar changes in January 2016. Board members Sandra A. Bengel, Betsy Sandoval, Ginny Hovsepian, and Richard Lake voted against the policy change, and a number of district parents voiced their approval of keeping the old policy.[24]
“Just because it’s a law doesn’t mean we need to put up with it. This community is being assaulted from afar with what I believe is an overreaching law regarding gender equity. I believe it’s un-American to run from a fight for a good cause,” said Hovsepian after she voted against changes to the dress policy in January 2016. Those who were in favor of keeping the old policy said there was a link between good grooming and high academic achievement.[24]
Board member Chris Casado, who voted to change the dress policy, said he supported the other board members' opinions. “I think we have potentially left for ourselves some unfriendly future issues that might develop, and I think that our obligation is protecting this district from unnecessary litigation and to follow the law,” Casado said. “If you’re talking about what you believe in your heart and your mind, I agree with everybody up there that voted ‘no’ 100 percent. But that’s not what we were elected to do.”[24]
One person spoke in favor of changing the dress policy at the board's January meeting: school board candidate Isabel Machado. “Honestly, I’m just shocked,” she said. “I heard when I moved out here that this was ‘Clovis,’ and I sometimes still hear that I live in ‘Clovis,’ but guess what Clovis? It’s 2016.”[24]
Abré Conner, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said she was shocked by the board's vote to keep the old dress policy. “When schools require a certain hair length only for boys, or say that girls can wear earrings but boys cannot wear earrings, they discriminate and prevent students from learning in an inclusive school climate,” said Conner.[24]
Conner said the ACLU would evaluate their next steps, which could have included a lawsuit. The board's vote to change the policy in April 2016, however, brought it in line with the law.[24][25]
Candidate survey
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About the district
The Clovis Unified School District is located in Fresno County in central California. The county seat is Fresno. Fresno County was home to 974,861 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[26] The district was the 17th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 40,783 students.[27]
Demographics
Fresno County underperformed compared to California as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 19.5 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 Fresno County was $45,201, compared to $61,489 for the entire state. The percentage of people in poverty was 27.5 percent, while it was 16.4 percent statewide.[26]
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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 'Clovis Unified School District' 'California'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Clovis Unified School District | California | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Fresno County, California, "Contest/Candidate Proof List Presidential General Election," accessed August 29, 2016
- ↑ Fresno County, "Fresno County Unofficial Final Results," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ Clovis Unified School District, "Board Members," accessed July 5, 2016
- ↑ Clovis Unified School District, "1101 - Board Bylaws - Board Policy," accessed July 5, 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
- ↑ Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "Local Measures Appearing on the November 8, 2016 Ballot," accessed September 23, 2016
- ↑ Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "Contest/Candidate Proof List: Presidential General Election," accessed September 23, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "November 8, 2016, General Election Calendar," accessed July 27, 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 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
- ↑ The Fresno Bee, "After controversial year, Clovis Unified school board to see rare competition in election," September 28, 2016
- ↑ Evolve, "Endorsements: November 8, 2016 General Election," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ Fresco County Democratic Party, "Press Release: Local Democrats Announce Official Endorsements," September 21, 2016
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with [1]," October 13, 2016
- ↑ Fresno County Republican Party, "November 8, 2016 General Election Fresno County Republican Party Endorsements," accessed October 26, 2016
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Steven Fogg," October 25, 2016
- ↑ Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "CampaignDocs eRetrieval: Search by Candidate's Last Name," accessed February 8, 2017
- ↑ Fresno County Registrar of Voters, "Contest/Candidate Proof List Statewide General Election," accessed August 19, 2014
- ↑ Clovis Unified School District, "Governing Board Meeting December 12, 2012," accessed July 16, 2014
- ↑ Smart Voter, "Board Member; Clovis Unified School District; Trustee Area 1 Voter Information," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ Smart Voter, "Board Member; Clovis Unified School District; Trustee Area 3 Voter Information," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ Smart Voter, "Board Member; Clovis Unified School District; Trustee Area 6 Voter Information," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 24.5 24.6 The Fresno Bee, "Clovis Unified ready for legal fight over dress code," January 27, 2016
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 ABC 30, "Clovis Unified Enacts New Dress Codes Changes," April 7, 2016
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 United States Census Bureau, "Fresno County, California," accessed June 29, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Fresno County Registrar of Voters, "Election Results," accessed July 15, 2014
| 2016 Clovis Unified School District Elections | |
| Fresno County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | Trustee Area 2: • Incumbent, Ginny Hovsepian • Isabel Machado • Sandy Torosian Trustee Area 4: • Incumbent, Brian Heryford • Jacob Belemjian Trustee Area 5: • Steven Fogg • Scott Troescher Trustee Area 7: • Incumbent, Chris Casado • Matt Castiglione • Mike Pack |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
