Fresno Unified School District elections (2016)
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Three of the seven seats on the Fresno Unified School District Board of Education were up for by-district general election on November 8, 2016. Trustee Area 2 incumbent Luis Arthur Chavez and Trustee Area 6 incumbent Janet Ryan did not file to run for re-election, guaranteeing two newcomers joined the board. Elizabeth "Rosas" Jonasson and Yuritzy Villasenor vied for the open Trustee Area 2 seat, and Claudia Cazares and Jack Jarvis ran to replace Ryan in Trustee Area 6. Jonasson and Cazares won election to those seats. In her bid for re-election to Trustee Area 5, incumbent Carol Mills ran unopposed and won re-election by default.[1][2] On top of choosing candidates for the board of education, citizens of the school district also voted on a $225 million bond measure in this election.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Fresno 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. Four seats were up for election on November 4, 2014, and three 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 Fresno 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
Trustee Area 2
Results
| Fresno Unified School District, Trustee Area 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Elizabeth Jonasson |
62.60% | 4,474 |
| Yuritzy Villasenor | 36.92% | 2,639 |
| Write-in votes | 0.48% | 34 |
| Total Votes | 7,147 | |
| Source: Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "Fresno County Official Final Results," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Elizabeth "Rosas" Jonasson 
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Yuritzy Villasenor | ||
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Trustee Area 5
Results
This race was canceled due to lack of opposition. Incumbent Carol Mills won re-election by default.[1]
Candidates
| Carol Mills
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Trustee Area 6
Results
| Fresno Unified School District, Trustee Area 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Claudia Cazares |
55.11% | 7,779 |
| Jack Jarvis | 44.49% | 6,280 |
| Write-in votes | 0.4% | 56 |
| Total Votes | 14,115 | |
| Source: Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "Fresno County Official Final Results," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Claudia Cazares
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Jack Jarvis | ||
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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 bond measure for the school district, a bond measure for the city of Fresno, two bond measures for Fresno County, and a number of statewide ballot measures. It also shared the ballot with elections for the following offices:[8][9]
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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 Fresno County Democratic Party endorsed Trustee Area 2 candidate Yuritzy Villasenor.[12] The community organization Evolve also endorsed Villasenor as well as Trustee Area 6 candidate Jack Jarvis.[13] CCSA Advocates endorsed Trustee Area 2 candidate Elizabeth Jonasson, Trustee Area 5 incumbent Carol Mills, and Trustee Area 6 candidate Claudia Cazares.[14]
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 $21,882.42 and spent a total of $27,880.57 in the election, according to the Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters.[15]
Trustee Area 2
| Candidate | Existing balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Jonasson | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Yuritzy Villasenor | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Trustee Area 6
| Candidate | Existing balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claudia Cazares | $9,903.75 | $21,882.42 | $27,880.57 | $3,905.60 |
| Jack Jarvis | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Past elections
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2014Trustee Area 1
Trustee Area 3
Trustee Area 4This election did not appear on the ballot due to lack of opposition. Incumbent Christopher de la Cerda won re-election by default.[16] Trustee Area 7
2012
2010Trustee Area 1
Trustee Area 3
Trustee Area 4This election was canceled due to lack of opposition. Incumbent Tony Vang won re-election by default.[17] Trustee Area 7This election was canceled due to lack of opposition. Incumbent Michelle Arax Asadoorian won re-election by default.[18] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What was at stake?
2016
Issues in the election
Measure X
In addition to choosing three candidates for the Fresno Unified School District Board of Education, citizens of the district voted on Measure X on November 8, 2016. The measure asked for $225 million in general obligation bonds for construction and maintenance for the district's facilities and required a 55 percent majority to pass.[19] It was approved with over 63 percent of the vote.[20] The question appeared on the ballot as follows:
| “ | To attract / retain quality teachers and repair / upgrade schools by:
Shall Fresno Unified School District issue $225 million in bonds, at legal rates, requiring audits, citizens' oversight, no money for administrators' salaries, all funds spent locally?[21] |
” |
| —Fresno Unified School District (2016)[22] | ||
Issues in the district
District one of 100 to pursue socioeconomic integration
The Fresno 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.[23][24]
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.[25]
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.[25]
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.[23]
Candidate survey
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About the district
The Fresno 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 fourth-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 73,353 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 level in the county 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 'Fresno Unified School District' 'California'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Fresno Unified School District | California | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fresno County, California, "Contest/Candidate Proof List Presidential General Election," accessed August 15, 2016
- ↑ Fresno County, "Fresno County Unofficial Final Results," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ Fresno Unified School District, "Board Members," accessed July 19, 2016
- ↑ Fresno Unified School District, "BB 9220 Board Bylaws: Governing Board Elections," accessed July 19, 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
- ↑ Fresco County Democratic Party, "Press Release: Local Democrats Announce Official Endorsements," September 21, 2016
- ↑ Evolve, "Endorsements: November 8, 2016 General Election," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ CCSA Advocates, "Our Endorsements: November 2016 Elections," accessed October 27, 2016
- ↑ Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, "CampaignDocs eRetrieval: Search by Candidate's Last Name," accessed February 17, 2017
- ↑ Fresno County Registrar of Voters, "Contest/Candidate Proof List Statewide General Election," accessed August 19, 2014
- ↑ Smart Voter, "Trustee; Fresno Unified School District; Trustee Area 4 Voter Information," accessed September 30, 2014
- ↑ Smart Voter, "Trustee; Fresno Unified School District; Trustee Area 7 Voter Information," accessed September 30, 2014
- ↑ Fresno County Registrar of Voters, "Local Measures Appearing on the November 8, 2016 Ballot," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ ABC 30, "Election Results," November 14, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Fresno County, "Appendix A Ballot Measure Full Text," August 11, 2016
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 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
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 The Washington Post, "On the anniversary of Brown v. Board, new evidence that U.S. schools are resegregating," May 17, 2016
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 United States Census Bureau, "Fresno County, California," accessed July 19, 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 Fresno Unified School District Elections | |
| Fresno County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | Trustee Area 2: • Elizabeth "Rosas" Jonasson • Yuritzy Villasenor Trustee Area 5: • Incumbent, Carol Mills Trustee Area 6: • Claudia Cazares • Jack Jarvis |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
