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Downey Unified School District, California, elections

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Downey Unified School District
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District details
School board members: 7
Students: 22,359 (2022-2023)
Schools: 22 (2022-2023)
Website: Link

Downey Unified School District is a school district in California (Los Angeles County). During the 2023 school year, 22,359 students attended one of the district's 22 schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

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Elections School board Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools

Elections

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Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 3

General election

General election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 3

Incumbent Giggy Perez-Saab and Juan Manuel Martinez ran in the general election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 3 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
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Giggy Perez-Saab (Nonpartisan)
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Juan Manuel Martinez (Nonpartisan)

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Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 1

General election

General election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 1

Incumbent Martha E. Sodetani won election in the general election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 1 on November 7, 2017.

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Martha E. Sodetani (Nonpartisan)

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Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 5

General election

General election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 5

Incumbent Nancy Swenson won election in the general election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 5 on November 7, 2017.

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Nancy Swenson (Nonpartisan)

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Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 7

General election

General election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 7

Incumbent Barbara Rae Samperi won election in the general election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 7 on November 7, 2017.

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Barbara Rae Samperi (Nonpartisan)

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Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 2

General election

General election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 2

Incumbent Tod Corrin won election in the general election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 2 on November 3, 2015.

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Tod Corrin (Nonpartisan)

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Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 3

General election

General election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 3

Incumbent Willie Gutierrez won election in the general election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 3 on November 3, 2015.

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Willie Gutierrez (Nonpartisan)

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Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 4

General election

General election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 4

Incumbent Donald La Plante won election in the general election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 4 on November 3, 2015.

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Donald La Plante (Nonpartisan)

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Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 6

General election

General election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 6

Incumbent D. Mark Morris won election in the general election for Downey Unified School District school board Trustee Area 6 on November 3, 2015.

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D. Mark Morris (Nonpartisan)

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About the district

School board

The Downey Unified School District consists of seven members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameSeatYear assumed officeYear term ends
Jose RodriguezArea 22028
Linda SaldañaArea 420202028
Giovanna Perez-SaabArea 320182028
D. Mark MorrisArea 619822028
Tyrone CondeArea 120222026
Nancy SwensonArea 520052026
Barbara Rae SamperiArea 719932026

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District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Downey Unified School District
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
California State Assembly District 64Blanca PachecoDemocratic Party 88% 21%
California State Assembly District 62Jose SolacheDemocratic Party 12% 4%

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2020-2021
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $49,068,000 $2,209 12%
Local: $88,793,000 $3,997 21%
State: $283,187,000 $12,747 67%
Total: $421,048,000 $18,952
Expenditures, 2020-2021
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $432,960,000 $19,488
Total Current Expenditures: $318,545,000 $14,338
Instructional Expenditures: $213,712,000 $9,619 49%
Student and Staff Support: $30,227,000 $1,360 7%
Administration: $39,128,000 $1,761 9%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $35,478,000 $1,596 8%
Total Capital Outlay: $73,126,000 $3,291
Construction: $71,231,000 $3,206
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $9,262,000 $416
Interest on Debt: $7,784,000 $350

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 PS PS
2018-2019 41 68 28 40 <50 55-59 51
2017-2018 38 66 25 37 21-39 50-54 48
2016-2017 37 68 23 36 <50 45-49 45
2015-2016 36 65 22 35 21-39 60-69 39
2014-2015 31 61 21 30 <=20 40-49 37
2013-2014 63 80-89 45-49 63 PS PS 70-74
2012-2013 60 84 51 59 50-59 50-59 65
2011-2012 57 84 46 56 30-39 40-59 64
2010-2011 56 85 43 55 40-49 60-79 64

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 PS PS
2018-2019 53 76 45 52 <50 65-69 59
2017-2018 52 74 39 51 21-39 60-64 60
2016-2017 52 78 47 51 <50 65-69 58
2015-2016 51 74 41 51 40-59 60-69 56
2014-2015 46 72 36 45 40-59 50-59 54
2013-2014 60 70-79 45-49 60 PS PS 65-69
2012-2013 58 78 49 56 50-59 40-49 67
2011-2012 57 80 52 56 40-49 40-59 66
2010-2011 55 80 47 54 40-49 60-79 64

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 95 >=90 90-94 95 PS >=50 90-94
2018-2019 96 >=95 90-94 96 >=50 >=50 >=95
2017-2018 95 90-94 >=95 95 PS PS 90-94
2016-2017 95 >=95 85-89 96 >=50 >=50 90-94
2015-2016 95 >=90 >=95 95 PS PS >=95
2014-2015 96 >=95 >=95 96 >=50 PS 90-94
2013-2014 94 >=95 85-89 94 >=50 PS 90-94
2012-2013 93 90-94 >=90 92 >=50 PS >=95
2011-2012 91 90-94 80-84 91 >=50 PS 90-94
2010-2011 92 90-94 85-89 92 >=50 PS 90-94

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2022-2023 22,359 0.4
2021-2022 22,261 0.2
2020-2021 22,216 0.5
2019-2020 22,101 0.2
2018-2019 22,064 0.5
2017-2018 21,962 -1.6
2016-2017 22,303 -1.6
2015-2016 22,649 -0.2
2014-2015 22,698 -0.8
2013-2014 22,878 0.1
2012-2013 22,848 0.3
2011-2012 22,782 -0.3
2010-2011 22,844 0.6
2009-2010 22,702 1.0
2008-2009 22,464 0.5
2007-2008 22,358 -0.4
2006-2007 22,456 -0.6
2005-2006 22,584 -1.0
2004-2005 22,800 1.2
2003-2004 22,523 1.0
2002-2003 22,298 1.8
2001-2002 21,887 1.9
2000-2001 21,474 1.8
1999-2000 21,081 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2022-2023
RACE Downey Unified School District (%) California K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.1 0.0
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 2.5 0.0
Black 2.9 0.0
Hispanic 88.7 0.0
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.2 0.0
Two or More Races 0.7 0.0
White 4.8 0.0

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.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2022-2023 school year, Downey Unified School District had 935.03 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 23.91.

Teachers, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 0.00
Kindergarten: 79.86
Elementary: 501.45
Secondary: 353.72
Total: 935.03

Downey Unified School District employed 15.00 district administrators and 50.00 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.

Administrators, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 15.00
District Administrative Support: 61.00
School Administrators: 50.00
School Administrative Support: 88.00
Other staff, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 410.38
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 24.00
Total Guidance Counselors: 33.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 12.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 19.90
Librarians/Media Specialists: 5.00
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 76.10
Other Support Services: 372.56

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

The Downey Unified School District operates 22 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Alameda Elementary757KG-5
Carpenter (C. C.) Elementary522KG-3
Columbus (Christopher) High49210-12
Doty (Wendy Lopour) Middle1,3276-8
Downey High4,0639-12
Downey Unified Virtual Acad At Lynn L. Pace Ed Center331KG-12
Gallatin Elementary768KG-5
Gauldin (A.L.) Elementary577KG-5
Griffiths (Gordon) Middle1,2966-8
Imperial Elementary585KG-3
Lewis (Ed C.) Elementary847KG-5
Old River Elementary6574-5
Price (Maude) Elementary779KG-5
Rio Hondo Elementary812KG-5
Rio San Gabriel Elementary756KG-5
Stauffer (Mary R.) Middle1,3326-8
Sussman (Edward A.) Middle1,1226-8
Unsworth (Edith) Elementary645KG-5
Ward (E. W.) Elementary576KG-5
Warren (Earl) High3,4379-12
Williams (Spencer V.) Elementary630KG-3
Woodruff Academy177-12

About school boards

Education legislation in California

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics California
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External links

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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
    2. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
    3. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
    4. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
    5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
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