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Maria Carmenita Mendez
Maria Carmenita Mendez was a candidate for at-large representative on the Whittier Union High School District school board in California. Mendez was defeated in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Mendez participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Elections
2017
Three of the five seats on the Whittier Union High School District board of trustees in California were up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. In their bids for re-election, incumbents Leighton Anderson, Jeff Baird, and Russell A. Castañeda-Calleros defeated challengers Maria Carmenita Mendez and Jennifer Portillo.[1][2]
Results
| Whittier Union High School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Leighton Anderson Incumbent |
26.03% | 5,806 |
| Russell A. Castañeda-Calleros Incumbent |
23.24% | 5,183 |
| Jeff Baird Incumbent |
21.52% | 4,801 |
| Maria Carmenita Mendez | 18.16% | 4,051 |
| Jennifer Portillo | 11.05% | 2,464 |
| Total Votes | 22,305 | |
| Source: Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Local and Municipal Consolidated Elections November 7, 2017," accessed November 21, 2017 | ||
Funding
At the time of this election, the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk did not publish school board candidate campaign finance reports online. Ballotpedia staffers requested this information, but the only free method of viewing the files was at their office.
The Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk targeted the end of 2018 to make school board candidate campaign finance reports available online for free. From that point forward, Ballotpedia began including campaign finance data for Los Angeles County school board candidates.[3][4][5]
Endorsements
Mendez was endorsed by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and the community organization Evolve.[6][7]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
MARIA CARMENITA MENDEZ participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[8] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on September 25, 2017:
| “ | I hope to implement a district-wide discipline system based on restorative practices and an emphasis on Social/Emotional learning. I hope to strengthen our advisement periods to work on character development - building resiliency and coping skills, goal setting and a growth mindset. I want to strengthen community partnerships that support students with mental health issues. I hope to expand the programming of our Adult School by working in conjunction with local colleges and universities, and trade unions. I will fight for more school funding at the state level.[9][10] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in California. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| “ | Although we have made great gains in our graduation rates, we must improve post-secondary readiness. We want out students to be successful after High School.[10] | ” |
| —MARIA CARMENITA MENDEZ (September 25, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| Yes. I support our neighborhood public schools and I believe that they must be fully staffed and fully funded. However, Charter schools have a right to exist if the community deems them necessary. Charter schools must be held accountable to the same standards as every other school. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion should be a last resort and should be recommended only for serious offenses. Students should not be expelled without due process. I believe in prevention. Social, emotional, and mental health support for students may decrease the need for expulsion and suspension and I would strongly advocate for it. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers. |
Candidate website
Mendez highlighted the following issues on her campaign website:
| “ | My top priorities are:
|
” |
| —Maria Carmenita Mendez (2017)[11] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Maria Carmenita Mendez Whittier Union High School District school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Whittier Union High School District, California
- Whittier Union High School District elections (2017)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Candidate List: Local And Municipal Consolidated Elections 11/7/2017," accessed August 12, 2017
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Local and Municipal Consolidated Elections," accessed November 8, 2017
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed July 2, 2014
- ↑ Daniel Anderson, “Email communication with Brenda Duran, Los Angeles County Public Information Officer," October 7, 2016
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Brenda Duran, Los Angeles County Public Information Officer," January 2, 2018
- ↑ Los Angeles County Democratic Party, "Endorsements," accessed September 18, 2017
- ↑ Evolve, "Endorsements: November 7, 2017 General Election," accessed October 4, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "MARIA CARMENITA MENDEZ's responses," September 25, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Maria Mendez for School Board, "Issues," accessed October 26, 2017
