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Conejo Valley Unified School District Elections
General election date:
November 8, 2016
Enrollment (13–14):
20,142 students

Two of the five seats on the Conejo Valley Unified School District Board of Education were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. In their bids for re-election incumbents Peggy Buckles and Betsy Connolly faced challengers Sandee Everett, Julie Freedman, Angie Simpson, and Marlon Delano Williams. Connolly won re-election to the board, and Everett won the other seat on the ballot.^[1]^[2]

Connolly and Simpson participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. Click here to read their responses.

Elections

Voter and candidate information

The Conejo Valley 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. In order to qualify as candidates, they had to be at least 18 years old, citizens of California, residents of the school district, registered voters, and "not legally disqualified from holding civil office," according to the bylaws of the Conejo Valley Unified Board of Education. Once they took office, school board members could not be employed by the school district.^[4]^[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

At-large

Results

Conejo Valley Unified School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Sandee Everett	25.84%	24,666
Betsy Connolly Incumbent	18.47%	17,633
Angie Simpson	18.29%	17,458
Peggy Buckles Incumbent	16.76%	15,997
Marlon Delano Williams	10.82%	10,325
Julie Freedman	9.69%	9,246
Write-in votes	0.13%	125
Total Votes		95,450
Source: Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "Official Final Results," accessed December 5, 2016

Candidates

Peggy Buckles		Betsy Connolly		Sandee Everett
	Incumbent Member from 2008-2016		Incumbent Member from 2008-2016 Bachelor's degree, University of Denver Doctorate, Colorado State University College instructor		School counselor
Julie Freedman		Angie Simpson		Marlon Delano Williams
			Healthcare executive

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: California elections, 2016

The district's school board election shared the ballot with three ballot measures for Ventura County, a number of statewide ballot measures, and elections for the following offices:^[8]^[9]

California State Assembly
Ventura County Board of Education
Conejo Recreation & Park 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 Ventura County Republican Party endorsed challenger Sandee Everett, and the Ventura County Democratic Party endorsed incumbents Peggy Buckles and Betsy Connolly.^[12]^[13] The Unified Association of Conejo Teachers also endorsed Buckles and Connolly.^[14] The community organization Evolve endorsed Connolly as well as challenger Julie Freedman.^[15]

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

See also: List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2016

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 $69,346.34 and spent a total of $63,701.00 in the election, according to the Ventura County Registrar of Voters.^[16]

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Peggy Buckles	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Betsy Connolly	$15,111.00	$12,402.60	$2,708.40
Sandee Everett	$26,727.70	$26,727.70	$0.00
Julie Freedman	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Angie Simpson	$27,507.64	$24,570.70	$2,936.94
Marlon Delano Williams	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Past elections

Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right.

2014

See also: Conejo Valley Unified School District elections (2014)

Conejo Valley Unified School District,
At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Patricia H. Phelps Incumbent	18.6%	16,284
	Nonpartisan	Mike Dunn Incumbent	18.3%	16,078
	Nonpartisan	John Andersen	14.9%	13,064
	Nonpartisan	David Fox	13.4%	11,727
	Nonpartisan	Bill A. Gorback	13.2%	11,566
	Nonpartisan	Brian T. Sullivan	11.9%	10,441
	Nonpartisan	Tony Dolz	9.5%	8,327
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.3%	270
Total Votes				87,757
Source: Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "Gubernatorial General Election, November 4, 2014, Official Results," accessed December 22, 2014

2012

Conejo Valley Unified School District,
At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Betsy Connolly Incumbent	37.9%	30,108
	Nonpartisan	Peggy Buckles Incumbent	32.8%	26,053
	Nonpartisan	Tony Dolz	29.1%	23,151
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.2%	186
Total Votes				79,498
Source: Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "Official Final Results: Conejo Valley Governing Board Member Unified School District," accessed July 16, 2014

2010

Conejo Valley Unified School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Patricia H. Phelps Incumbent	24.5%	22,250
	Nonpartisan	Mike Dunn Incumbent	22.7%	20,644
	Nonpartisan	Timothy G. Stephens Incumbent	21.5%	19,540
	Nonpartisan	Pete Peterson	17.4%	15,827
	Nonpartisan	Marlon Delano Williams	13.3%	12,052
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.5%	447
Total Votes				90,760
Source: Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "Election Results for 11/2/2010," accessed September 9, 2014

2008

Conejo Valley Unified School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Betsy Connolly	21.8%	20,705
	Nonpartisan	Peggy Buckles	18.4%	17,441
	Nonpartisan	John Andersen	15.5%	14,696
	Nonpartisan	Dennis Hatland	14.8%	14,038
	Nonpartisan	Julie Svitenko	12.2%	11,605
	Nonpartisan	Scott Lamp	9.2%	8,766
	Nonpartisan	Douglas V. Nickles	6.2%	5,837
	Nonpartisan	Marlon Delano Williams	1.8%	1,753
Total Votes				94,841
Source: Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "2008 November Statement of Votes," accessed September 9, 2014

What was at stake?

Report a story for this election

Ballotpedia researches issues in school board elections across the United States, but information availability is a challenge for us in many school districts. Please contact us about the issues that impact your local school district. Note that not all submissions may meet Ballotpedia's coverage requirements for inclusion.

Candidate survey

Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey.
Click here to view or fill out the survey.

Survey responses

Two candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from Betsy Connolly and Angie Simpson.

Hope to achieve

Betsy Connolly

When asked what she hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Connolly stated:

“	Preserve rigorous academics and a wide array of activities and athletics in safe and welcoming schools. Continue to develop new programs that meet the needs of our diverse student population including students receiving support designed for Gifted and Talented, College Prep, Special Education, English Language Learner and Career Tech focused students. Support an AP, Honors and College Placement History and English curriculum that is rigorous and relevant. Maintain Science classes that are fact-based and provide comprehensive preparation for college and career. Insure that thought provoking and challenging readings continue to be included in our High School classes.^[17]	”
—Betsy Connolly (September 22, 2016)^[18]

Angie Simpson

When asked what she hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Simpson stated:

“	I will be responsive and respectful of the entire community. I believe educational programs should work to develop not only whole selves, but also whole families and a strong community. I listen. I will represent the community, collaborate and innovate ideas to ensure the best for our children. If elected, I will: OPPOSE closure of elementary schools. Closures disrupt the learning and community environment. I will do all in my power to explore alternatives and save unique schools. SUPPORT keeping the parenting program and preschool at the Horizon Hills location. The involvement of parents in the education of their children is paramount in keeping our community healthy. ENCOURAGE innovation, public and private partnerships, and more educational approaches for STUDENTS who learn differently. SUPPORT a common-sense approach to finances- a balanced budget with priority on classroom education. I OPPOSE additional financial resources going to administrators until teachers have the tools they need, and employee healthcare benefits are reinstated.^[17]	”
—Angie Simpson (September 22, 2016)^[19]

Ranking the issues

The candidates were asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays their rankings:

Issue importance ranking
Issue	Connolly's ranking	Simpson's ranking
Expanding arts education	5	7
Improving relations with teachers	6	6
Balancing or maintaining the district's budget	2	1
Improving post-secondary readiness	1	3
Closing the achievement gap	4	2
Improving education for special needs students	7	4
Expanding school choice options	3	5

Positions on the issues

The candidates were asked to answer nine multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to their responses can be found below.

About the district

See also: Conejo Valley Unified School District, California

The Conejo Valley Unified School District is located in Ventura County, California.

The Conejo Valley Unified School District is located in Ventura County in southern California. The county seat is Ventura. Ventura County was home to 850,536 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.^[20] The district was the 73rd-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 20,142 students.^[21]

Demographics

Ventura County outperformed California as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 31.6 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 Ventura County was $77,335, compared to $61,489 for the entire state. The percentage of people in poverty in the county was 11.5 percent, while it was 16.4 percent statewide.^[20]

Racial Demographics, 2015^[20]
Race	Ventura County (%)	California (%)
White	84.6	72.9
Black or African American	2.3	6.5
American Indian and Alaska Native	1.9	1.7
Asian	7.6	14.7
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	0.3	0.5
Two or more races	3.3	3.8
Hispanic or Latino	42.3	38.8

Presidential Voting Pattern, Ventura County^[22]
Year	Democratic Vote	Republican Vote
2012	170,929	147,958
2008	110,008	78,731
2004	148,859	160,314
2000	133,258	136,173

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 'Conejo Valley Unified School District' 'California'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Conejo Valley Unified School District elections (2016) - Google News

External links

Suggest a link

Footnotes

[candidates-1] Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "Qualified Candidate List," accessed September 2, 2016

[2] Ventura County, "Semi-Official Final Results," accessed November 9, 2016

[board-3] Conejo Valley Unified School District, "Board Members," accessed July 6, 2016

[4] Conejo Valley Unified School District, "Board Bylaws BB 9220: Governing Board Elections," accessed July 6, 2016

[5] California Elections Code, “Part 5, Section 10600-10604: School District And Community College District Governing Board Elections,” accessed June 15, 2016

[6] California Secretary of State, "Voter Registration," accessed June 13, 2016

[7] California Secretary of State, "California Online Voter Registration," accessed June 13, 2016

[8] Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "Local Measures: November 8, 2016 Presidential General Election," accessed September 26, 2016

[9] Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "Qualified Candidate List: 2016 General Election," accessed September 26, 2016

[10] California Secretary of State, "November 8, 2016, General Election Calendar," accessed July 27, 2016

[financedeadlines-11] 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

[12] Ventura County Republican Party, "Voter Guide," accessed October 16, 2016

[13] Ventura County Democrats, "Democratic Party Endorsements - 2016," accessed October 16, 2016

[14] Unified Association of Conejo Teachers, "The Unified Association of Conejo Teachers Votes to Recommend CVUSD Incumbents," accessed October 21, 2016

[15] Evolve, "Endorsements: November 8, 2016 General Election," accessed October 13, 2016

[16] Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "County of Ventura Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed February 8, 2017

[quotedisclaimer-17] 17.0 ^17.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

[18] Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Betsy Connolly responses," September 22, 2016

[19] Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Angie Simpson responses," September 22, 2016

[census-20] 20.0 ^20.1 ^20.2 United States Census Bureau, "Ventura County, California," accessed July 6, 2016

[NCES-21] National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015

[22] Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "Historical Election Results & Statement of Votes," accessed July 16, 2014

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Conejo Valley Unified School District	California	School Boards

Conejo Valley Unified School District elections (2014) List of school districts in California	California school board elections, 2016 Public education in California Local ballot measures, California	School board elections, 2016 School board elections, 2015 School board election data analysis, 2016 School board election data analysis, 2015

2016 Conejo Valley Unified School District Elections
Ventura County, California
Election date:	November 8, 2016
Candidates:	At-large: • Incumbent, Peggy Buckles • Incumbent, Betsy Connolly • Sandee Everett • Julie Freedman • Angie Simpson • Marlon Delano Williams
Important information:	What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines

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Conejo Valley Unified School District elections (2016)