Margaret Benton
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Margaret Benton represents the Trustee Area 6 seat on the Los Banos Unified School District school board in California. Benton won the seat in the by-district general election on November 8, 2016.
Two weeks after the candidate filing period closed for this election, incumbent Tommy Jones was arrested on bribery charges. Though residents of Trustee Area 2 and the president of the Los Banos Teachers Association called for his resignation, Jones maintained his innocence and refused to step down.
After a special meeting was called to censure Jones in September 2016, the school board race was split into two camps: those supported by the teachers union and those supported by the Community Advocacy Coalition (CAC), a local advocacy group. Members of the CAC said the audience at the special meeting, which included some teachers, had expressed "hatred and racism" after not enough members attended to provide a quorum. The teachers union president said the anger expressed at the meeting had not had racial undertones and had only been directed at the board members' absence. In reaction to the accusations of racism, CAC-backed candidates Jones, Gary Munoz, and Carole Duffy refused to attend a candidate forum in October 2016. Two candidates backed by the teachers union—Benton and Megan Goin-Soares—won election to the board. CAC-supported Munoz won election to the Trustee Area 4 seat.[1]
Jones was not the only board member to get arrested in 2016. Falasco was arrested for drug possession in April 2016 and charged with two misdemeanors. He said he would fight the charges against him.
Outside of the arrests of two board members, a civil lawsuit was filed against the district, seeking to change the district's training and monitoring of teachers after a student was allegedly molested by two teachers. The district was also admonished in July 2016 when a civil grand jury found it had not followed protocol when it built the new Creekside Junior High School.
Biography
Benton has lived in Los Banos for over 20 years. She works as a realtor for Century 21 M&M and Associates and previously worked for Prudential and Berkshire Hathaway. Benton serves as president of the Los Banos Rotary Club. She has two children and two grandchildren.[2]
Elections
2016
Three of the seven seats on the Los Banos Unified School District Board of Education were up for by-district general election on November 8, 2016. In his bid for re-election to the Trustee Area 2 seat, incumbent and former mayor Tommy Jones, who was arrested on bribery charges at the end of August 2016, was defeated by challenger Megan Goin-Soares. Trustee Area 4 incumbent and attorney Dominic Falasco was also arrested in 2016 and charged with two counts of misdemeanor drug possession. He said he would fight the charges against him. Falasco was defeated by challenger Gary Munoz in the election. The Trustee Area 6 race featured incumbent Carole Duffy and challenger Margaret Benton. Benton defeated Duffy to take the seat.[3][1]
Results
| Los Banos Unified School District, Trustee Area 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Margaret Benton |
63.65% | 984 |
| Carole Duffy Incumbent | 36.09% | 558 |
| Write-in votes | 0.26% | 4 |
| Total Votes | 1,546 | |
| Source: Merced County, "November 8, 2016 General Election Results," accessed December 12, 2016 | ||
Funding
Benton reported no contributions or expenditures to the Merced County Elections Office in the election.[4]
Endorsements
Benton was endorsed by the Los Banos Teachers Association and Los Banos Unified Board of Education member Dennis A. Areias.[5][6]
Campaign themes
2016
Interview with Merced Sun-Star
Benton interviewed with the Merced Sun-Star about her campaign for a seat on the school board. The questions from the Merced Sun-Star are bolded, and Benton's answers follow below.
| “ | Q: Why did you decide to run?
A: Benton said she started attending school board meetings three years ago and didn’t like how it was going. “As a Rotarian I was taught service above self,” Benton said. “If I can help resolve some of these issues and bring some integrity and decorum back (to the school board), I need to step up and do that.” Q: What makes you the best candidate? A: In addition to her experience with the Rotary, Benton said her experience as a Realtor and businesswoman has given her the ability to get a feel for people and listen to what they need. Benton also has volunteered for leadership positions of a parent-teacher association, Cub Scout and Girl Scout groups, and to help out schools with yard or lunch duty. Q: Name three issues important to you. A: Benton said the most important issue for her is supporting teachers and giving them the tools they need to connect with students. She also said a greater emphasis needs to be placed on increasing students’ computer literacy. The third issue important to Benton is to introduce more courses for students who may not go to college, such as the culinary and FFA programs. “We need to do the best we can to serve our students, whether they’re college-bound or not,” she said. Q: What is the first thing you want to do? A: Among the first items Benton wants to tackle as a trustee is hiring a permanent superintendent to handle the load of addressing the increased residential development in Los Banos that will rapidly increase the student population. Q: How will you address future anticipated growth? A: Future growth is a major concern for Benton. She said her “wish list” includes construction of a new wing to Pacheco High School, a new elementary school near where the old junior high school was off East B Street and other projects that contribute to smaller class sizes. Q: How will you approach low student test scores? A: “Test scores are not as bad as what some are saying,” Benton said. “For children, being more comfortable using computers would help a great deal.” Benton said while test scores were important to improve, they aren’t the only factor in teaching well-rounded students. Some teachers she has talked with say that some good students get nervous taking tests on computer-based applications that they aren’t used to, leading to lower test scores. Q: What can you say about your opponent? A: Benton said she believes her opponent is doing her best as a trustee. “I have nothing negative to say about Carole,” Benton said. “I’ll say that I think I’m fair-minded. I’m not just going to vote just because somebody else is going to vote one way. … I’m one to listen to both sides, investigate on my own, go to the district office.”[7] |
” |
| —Margaret Benton (October 25, 2016)[2] | ||
Letter to the editor
Benton published the following letter to the editor in the Los Banos Enterprise.
| “ | Bring integrity back to Los Banos school board
The recent scandal involving a school board member has caused disappointment, shock and loss of faith in the school board leadership. Now, more than ever, we need to bring decorum and respectability back to our board. Board trustees must set an example for our children. They should be people that our community can point to with pride. Our community deserves a school board whose only agenda is creating an outstanding educational experience for our students. My name is Margaret Benton, and I’m asking you to help me bring integrity back to our school board. I listen to all sides and weigh the information before I make a decision on issues. I refuse to blindly follow anyone’s agenda. I form my own opinions, and will put the children’s needs above everything. I believe in treating others with respect. I hope you all will support my candidacy for school board representative in Area 6. Let’s work together to create a cohesive, transparent school board. Together, we can create a better school for a better tomorrow.[7] |
” |
| —Margaret Benton (September 23, 2016)[8] | ||
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Merced County, "November 8, 2016 General Election Unofficial Results," accessed December 12, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Merced Sun-Star, "Candidate profiles for Los Banos school board Area 6," October 25, 2016
- ↑ Merced County Registrar of Voters, "2016 Presidential General- November 8: Qualified School District Candidates," accessed August 15, 2016
- ↑ Merced County Elections Office, "Campaign Docs Retrieval: Search By Election," accessed February 24, 2017
- ↑ Los Banos Teachers Association, "2016 November Elections-LBTA Endorsed Candidates," accessed September 28, 2016
- ↑ Los Banos Enterprise, "Letters to the Editor (09/16/2016): A call for a special meeting to vote on censure of Jones," September 14, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Los Banos Enterprise, "Letters to the Editor (09/23/2016)," September 22, 2016
| 2016 Los Banos Unified School District Elections | |
| Merced County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | Trustee Area 2: • Incumbent, Tommy Jones • Megan Goin-Soares Trustee Area 4: • Incumbent, Dominic Falasco • Gary Munoz Trustee Area 6: • Incumbent, Carole Duffy • Margaret Benton |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
