Michael Baker (California)
Michael Baker is a member of the Twin Rivers Unified School District school board in California, representing Trustee Area 1. He assumed office in 2012. His current term ends on June 30, 2028.
Baker won re-election to the Twin Rivers Unified School District school board to represent Trustee Area 1 in California outright after the general election on March 5, 2024, was canceled.
Biography
Baker is a graduate of the Twin Rivers Unified School District. His professional experience includes working in emergency medical administration and as the general manager of an emergency medical authority in Sacramento County. He has coached football and basketball at Foothill High School.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Twin Rivers Unified School District, California, elections (2024)
General election
The general election was canceled. Michael Baker (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Baker in this election.
2020
See also: Twin Rivers Unified School District, California, elections (2020)
General election
The general election was canceled. Michael Baker (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.
2016
Four of the seven seats on the Twin Rivers Unified School District Board of Trustees were up for general election on June 7, 2016. The Trustee Area 1 election was canceled due to lack of opposition. Incumbent Michael Baker was unopposed in his bid for re-election, so he was automatically appointed to another term. In Trustee Area 3, incumbent Walter Garcia Kawamoto was defeated by challenger Ramona Landeros. Incumbent Sonja Cameron did not file to keep her Trustee Area 5 seat. Michelle Deleon and Basim Elkarra ran to fill that open seat. Elkarra, who unsuccessfully ran for the seat in a recall election in 2015, won the election. The Trustee Area 7 race featured incumbent Linda Fowler and challengers Francisco Garcia and Daniel Savala. Fowler won re-election.[2][3]
Results
The Trustee Area 1 election was canceled due to lack of opposition. Incumbent Michael Baker was unopposed in his bid for re-election, so he was automatically appointed to another term.[2]
Funding
The Sacramento County Department of Voter Registration and Elections does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports unless they are filed online. Baker filed his reports in the county office, so those reports were unavailable to Ballotpedia.
Endorsements
Baker received endorsements from the following organizations and elected officials:[4][5]
- Twin Rivers United Educators (TRUE)
- Sacramento Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO
- California State Assembly member Ken Cooley (D-8)
- California State Assembly member Jim Cooper (D-9)
- Sacramento County Board of Supervisors member Susan Peters
- Vice Mayor City of Sacramento Allen Warren
- Sacramento Mayor Pro Tem Angelique Ashby
Baker also received endorsements from educators, former elected officials, other school board members, and members of the Old Foothill Farms Task Force.[4] A full list of his supporters, can be found here.
2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Michael Baker |
58.2% | 9,871 | |
| Nonpartisan | Janis R. Green Incumbent | 41.4% | 7,018 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.3% | 59 | |
| Total Votes | 16,948 | |||
| Source: Sacramento County, "Primary Election - June 5, 2012," accessed May 26, 2014 | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Michael Baker did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Michael Baker did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Michael Baker participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on June 15, 2016:
| “ | [6][7] | ” |
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 m.baker97@yahoo.com. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Blank | |
| Blank | |
| “ | 5[7] | ” |
| —Michael Baker (June 15, 2016) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer nine 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.) |
|---|
| .. No |
| 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 defer to school board decisions in most cases. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| . No |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| . |
| 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. |
| 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? |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Parent involvement |
Candidate website
Baker highlighted the following statement on his campaign website:
| “ | It has been almost three years since you sent me to represent our community as your Trustee to the Twin Rivers Unified School District. In those three years together we have done a lot. We have enriched our students learning environment by adding 14 million dollars to our classrooms. We have also added 33 elementary teachers for smaller class sizes, we added 20 K-6 Visual Preforming arts teachers, ... as well as 13 Vice Principals and Counselling positions to our schools. The district added world languages to our middle schools, and we now offer AP at all of our high schools. With the additional 24 million dollars that we set aside for facilities, we painted all of our High Schools and Middle Schools, we have a new black top paving project to start at Pioneer this summer to match our new drinking fountains, paint, benches, tables and improvements to our multi purposes room. Foothill High School Students will welcome their new turf for their stadium next year. Foothill Ranch Middle School finally got the much needed paint job to match its school colors. We have ensured that our classroom temperatures are comfortable for learning by replacing and repairing our HVAC systems. Together we have cut our legal fees by 90%. We have hired a New Superintendent, Dr. Steve Martinez that understands how a K-12 district should work and who meets the culture needs of our district. We have hired a new Chief of Police who has transformed our Police Department into a student safety and student friendly focused direction. We now have one of the top School Chief Business Officers in the state leading our district to a secure finical future. We have placed a new Principal at Pioneer, Dr. KJ Rhodes, as well as Pioneer welcomed a new Vice Principal, a position that was newly added this year. In the short three years we have overcame negative publicity with a positive environment for all students. District wide test scores are up, teachers are excited to teach and students are excited learn. The past few years have been a very humbling experience for my family and I, and I have enjoyed serving our community, our district and our students. We have achieved great things but we have a lot more work to do. I would love the opportunity to continue the work that you asked me to do three years ago. I am officially announcing my candidacy for re-election of Twin Rivers Unified School District, Board of Trustees Area 1. The road is long, the mountain is high, and the river is wide, but together we can make a difference. I thank you for your support over the past three years and humbly ask for your support for another[7] | ” |
| —Michael Baker (2016)[8] | ||
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Twin Rivers Unified School District, "Meet the Board," accessed April 1, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sacramento County Department of Voter Registration and Elections, "Contest/Candidate Proof List: 2016 Presidential Primary Election," accessed March 14, 2016
- ↑ Sacramento County, "Unofficial Results: Primary Election - June 7, 2016," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Michael Baker, "Endorsements," accessed April 1, 2016
- ↑ California Labor Federation, "June 2016 Endorsements: Sacramento Central Labor Council," accessed May 31, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Michael Baker's responses," June 15, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Michael Baker, "Bio," accessed April 1, 2016
