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Montebello Unified School District elections (2015)
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Two seats on the Montebello Unified School District Board of Education were up for general election on November 3, 2015.[1][2] Incumbents Edgar Cisneros and David Vela were up for re-election.
Cisneros won re-election, while Joanna Flores joined the board. They defeated Vela and challenger Nancy Hernandez.[3][4] Hernandez unofficially withdrew from the race in October 2015 due to her pregnancy. Her name did still appear on the ballot.[5][6]
See how this race compared to past school board elections in both the district and the state in the "Election trends" section.
About the district
Montebello Unified School District is located in Los Angeles County in southwestern California. The county seat is Los Angeles.[7] Los Angeles County was home to 10,116,705 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[8] During the 2012-2013 school year, Montebello Unified School District was the 35th-largest school district by enrollment in California and served 29,978 students.[9]
Demographics
Los Angeles County underperformed compared to the rest of California in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 29.7 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 30.7 percent for California as a whole. The median household income for Los Angeles County was $55,909, compared to $61,094 for the entire state. The percentage of people below poverty level was 17.8 percent, compared to 15.9 percent statewide.[8]
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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.
Voter and candidate information
The Montebello Unified Board of Education consists of five members elected at-large to four-year terms. Board members are elected on a staggered basis every November of odd-numbered years. There are no primary elections. Three seats for four-year terms and one seat for a two-year term were up for election on November 5, 2013. Two seats were on the ballot on November 3, 2015.[1][11]
School board candidates had to be at least 18 years old, residents of the school district and qualified voters. They could not be employees of the school district while in office.[12] To get on the ballot, candidates had to file their declaration of candidacy with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk by August 7, 2015.[13]
To vote in this election, residents of the district had to register by October 19, 2015. Voters could cast vote-by-mail ballots from October 24, 2015, through Election Day.[13] Photo identification was not required to vote in California.
Elections
2015
Candidates
At-large
Edgar Cisneros 
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David Vela | ||
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| Joanna Flores
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Nancy Hernandez | ||
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Election results
| Montebello Unified School District, At-large, General Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Edgar Cisneros Incumbent |
33.7% | 4,176 |
| Joanna Flores |
30.9% | 3,828 |
| David Vela Incumbent | 26.7% | 3,317 |
| Nancy Hernandez | 8.7% | 1,083 |
| Total Votes | 12,404 | |
| Source: Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "NOVEMBER 03, 2015 - LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL CONSOLIDATED ELECTIONS: Final Official Election Returns," accessed November 24, 2015 | ||
Campaign finance
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.[14][15][16]
Campaign finance reporting requirements in California vary depending on how much money candidates spend or raise. For candidates planning to raise or spend less than $1,000, an Officeholder and Candidate Campaign Statement Short Form (Form 470) must be filed with their county or city elections office. If candidates plan to spend up to $1,000, including their own funds, they must also file a Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501). "If a candidate does not raise any money and personal funds are used only to pay filing or ballot statement fees, the candidate is not required to file the Form 501," according to the Fair Political Practices Commission. If candidates raise money outside of their own funds, a separate campaign bank account must be established.[17]
Candidates raising or spending more than $1,000, including their personal funds, must file a Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501), file a Statement of Organization (Form 410) and establish a separate bank account for campaign funds. They must then file Recipient Committee Campaign Statements (Form 460) to disclose their contributions and expenditures throughout their campaigns. If they receive more than $1,000 from a single source within 90 days of the election, they must file a 24-hour Contribution Report (Form 497).[17]
If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Endorsements
Incumbents Edgar Cisneros and David Vela received endorsements from the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.[18][19] Vela was additionally endorsed by the community organization Evolve.[20]
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2013
2011The district canceled elections scheduled for November 8, 2011, as only two candidates filed for election for two available seats.[21] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What was at stake?
2015
Election trends
- See also: 2013 school board elections
With two seats on the ballot on November 3, 2015, nearly half of the Montebello Unified Board of Education had the potential to change hands. Both incumbents ran to retain their seats, and they faced two challengers. One incumbent won re-election, and a newcomer was elected to the other seat.
The 2013 school board election in Montebello Unified had four seats up for election. Three were regular elections for four-year terms, and one was a special election for a two-year term. All four incumbents ran to retain their seats, but only two won another term. An average of 2.25 candidates ran per seat in that election.
Both the 2013 and 2015 school board elections in the Montebello Unified School District had a higher number of candidates run per seat than the 2014 state average of 1.91 candidates per seat up for election in California's largest school districts. That year, just over 25 percent of board seats in those districts were unopposed, and 37.65 percent of seats went to newcomers.
Issues in the district
District names one permanent superintendent
In July 2015, Susanna Contreras Smith was appointed superintendent of the Montebello Unified School District. She had been serving as co-superintendent since February 2013, but the board switched to a single superintendency. Cleve Pell served as the other co-superintendent with Smith and was appointed the district’s new chief financial and operations officer when Smith was appointed superintendent.
The district had been led by two superintendents for a number of years. Pell had been appointed co-superintendent with Robert “Bo” Henke in August 2011. Smith was later appointed in February 2013. The organizational shift occurred to better reflect the district's administrative model, according to Deputy Superintendent Arthur Revueltas. “These appointments more accurately illustrate the experience, strength and specified duties of each -- allowing Susanna to continue to focus on rigorous instruction that ensures student academic achievement and collaborative school site management, while Cleve continues to proactively handle top budget priorities and important future fiscal planning,” Revueltas explained in a statement.
In a news release, Pell congratulated Smith. “With more than 40 years of experience – both in the classroom and as an administrator – I cannot think of anyone more capable and well suited for this position,” he said.
After her appointment was announced, Smith said, “I will continue to work collaboratively with parents, teachers, staff and our community partners to ensure all students have access to a stellar 21st century education."[22]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Montebello Unified School District election in 2015:[13][23]
| Deadline | Event |
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| June 8, 2015 - August 7, 2015 | Candidate filing period |
| July 31, 2015 | Semi-annual campaign finance report due |
| August 5, 2015 - November 2, 2015 | 24-hour campaign contribution reporting period |
| September 7, 2015 - October 20, 2015 | Write-in candidate filing period |
| September 24, 2015 | Pre-election campaign finance report due |
| October 19, 2015 | Voter registration deadline |
| October 22, 2015 | Pre-election campaign finance report due |
| October 24, 2015 | First day voters can cast vote-by-mail ballots |
| November 3, 2015 | Election Day |
| February 1, 2016 | Semi-annual campaign finance report due |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: California elections, 2015
No elections shared the ballot with the Montebello Unified School District. A number of other school districts in Los Angeles County, however, also held school board elections on November 3, 2015.[24]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Montebello Unified School District California. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Montebello Unified School District | California | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, “2015 Scheduled Elections,” accessed January 27, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, “Running for Office,” accessed January 27, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Candidate List: Local And Municipal Consolidated Elections - 11/3/2015," accessed August 11, 2015
- ↑ Whittier Daily News, "Challenger defeats incumbent in Montebello school board race," November 4, 2015
- ↑ Whittier Daily News, "4 seek 2 seats on Montebello Unified School District Board of Education," October 1, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Local And Municipal Consolidated Elections: Final List Of Qualified Candidates To Appear On The Ballot," accessed October 29, 2015
- ↑ Geology.com, "California County Map with County Seat Cities," accessed July 1, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 United States Census Bureau, "Los Angeles County, California," accessed September 23, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 29, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Past Election Results," accessed July 1, 2014
- ↑ Montebello Unified School District, "Board of Education," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ Montebello Unified School District, "Board Policies - Series 9000: Board Bylaws," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Calendar of Events," accessed July 29, 2015
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Fair Political Practices Commission, "Local Candidates, Superior Court Judges, Their Controlled Committees, and Primarily Formed Committees for Local Candidates: Campaign Disclosure Manual 2," accessed August 5, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Democratic Party, "Endorsements," accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, "Endorsements," accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ Evolve, "2015 Endorsements: November 03, 2015 Election," accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "November 8, 2011 Local And Municipal Cancelled Elections," August 29, 2011
- ↑ Whittier Daily News, "Susanna Contreras Smith becomes sole superintendent for Montebello Unified School District," July 2, 2015
- ↑ Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 3, 2015," accessed August 5, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Local And Municipal Consolidated Elections - 11/3/2015," accessed July 29, 2015
| 2015 Montebello Unified School District Elections | |
| Los Angeles County, California | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Edgar Cisneros • Incumbent, David Vela • Joanna Flores • Nancy Hernandez |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
