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Palo Alto Unified School District, California, elections

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Palo Alto Unified School District
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District details
School board members: 5
Students: 10,318 (2022-2023)
Schools: 19 (2022-2023)
Website: Link

Palo Alto Unified School District is a school district in California (Santa Clara County). During the 2023 school year, 10,318 students attended one of the district's 19 schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Jump to a section:
Elections School board Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools

Elections

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Palo Alto Unified School District school board At-large

General election

General election for Palo Alto Unified School District school board At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Palo Alto Unified School District school board At-large on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
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Rowena Chiu (Nonpartisan)
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Nicole Chiu-Wang (Nonpartisan)
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Chris Colohan (Nonpartisan)
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Mazhar Hussain (Nonpartisan)
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Alison Kamhi (Nonpartisan)
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Josh Salcman (Nonpartisan)

There are no incumbents in this race.

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Palo Alto Unified School District school board At-large

General election

General election for Palo Alto Unified School District school board At-large (3 seats)

Incumbent Melissa Baten Caswell, incumbent Todd Collins, and incumbent Jennifer DiBrienza won election in the general election for Palo Alto Unified School District school board At-large on November 8, 2016.

Candidate
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Melissa Baten Caswell (Nonpartisan)
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Todd Collins (Nonpartisan)
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Jennifer DiBrienza (Nonpartisan)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

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Palo Alto Unified School District school board At-large

General election

General election for Palo Alto Unified School District school board At-large

Incumbent Ken Dauber and incumbent Terry Godfrey won election in the general election for Palo Alto Unified School District school board At-large on November 4, 2014.

Candidate
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Ken Dauber (Nonpartisan)
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Image of Terry Godfrey
Terry Godfrey (Nonpartisan)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

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Recall elections

 
See also: States that allow school board recalls

Recall procedures

State Specific grounds required? Signature requirement Petition circulation time When recalls can start
California No 10% to 30% of registered voters (depending on population of jurisdiction) 40 to 160 days (depending on population of jurisdiction) Recalls cannot start until an official has been in office for 90 days, and they cannot start in the last six months of an officer's term


Recall efforts

2025
See also: Shounak Dharap recall, Palo Alto Unified School District, California (2025)

An effort to recall Shounak Dharap from his position on the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education in California did not go to a vote in 2025. Recall supporters filed recall paperwork two times, but the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters rejected both efforts. The county rejected a recall petition filed in February 2025 after recall supporters did not collect enough signatures on the notice of intent to recall, and the county rejected a recall petition filed in March 2025 after Dharap was served a different notice of intention than was filed with the county.[1][2]

The recall effort started after the board voted 3-2 on January 21, 2025, to eliminate honors biology for freshman students and on January 23, 2025, to require an ethnic studies class be taken as a graduation requirement. Dharap voted in favor of both resolutions.[3][4]

Dharap was serving as vice president of the five-member board at the time the recall effort started.[5]


About the district

School board

The Palo Alto Unified School District consists of five members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Rowena Chiu20242028
Alison Kamhi20242028
Josh Salcman20242028
Shounak Dharap2026
Shana Segal2026

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District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Palo Alto Unified School District
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
California State Assembly District 23Marc BermanDemocratic Party 100% 4%

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[6]

Revenue, 2020-2021
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $9,415,000 $875 3%
Local: $246,215,000 $22,895 85%
State: $33,355,000 $3,102 12%
Total: $288,985,000 $26,872
Expenditures, 2020-2021
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $308,854,000 $28,719
Total Current Expenditures: $267,954,000 $24,916
Instructional Expenditures: $181,455,000 $16,873 59%
Student and Staff Support: $25,718,000 $2,391 8%
Administration: $33,157,000 $3,083 11%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $27,624,000 $2,568 9%
Total Capital Outlay: $25,366,000 $2,358
Construction: $25,350,000 $2,357
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $2,534,000 $235
Interest on Debt: $13,000,000 $1,208

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[7]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 79 91 40-44 43 PS 84 79
2018-2019 81 91 35-39 48 >=50 87 83
2017-2018 83 93 45-49 51 >=50 88 84
2016-2017 81 92 30-34 45 >=50 88 83
2015-2016 84 93 40-44 51 40-59 90 85
2014-2015 83 93 40-44 49 60-79 88 84
2013-2014 90 98 40-59 50-54 PS 80-89 94
2012-2013 87 95 50-54 60 40-59 88 89
2011-2012 86 94 45-49 56 40-59 89 88
2010-2011 87 95 45-49 54 60-79 >=50 89

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 80 89 45-49 51 PS 86 83
2018-2019 81 89 30-34 52 >=50 86 84
2017-2018 82 90 45-49 53 >=50 87 84
2016-2017 81 90 40-44 52 >=50 85 84
2015-2016 83 90 50-54 54 40-59 90 85
2014-2015 82 90 50-54 50 60-79 87 85
2013-2014 88 92 50-59 55-59 PS 80-89 94
2012-2013 87 92 60-64 62 60-79 88 91
2011-2012 88 93 60-64 61 60-79 90 92
2010-2011 87 92 50-54 57 60-79 >=50 92

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 94 97 >=80 90-94 PS >=95 93
2018-2019 95 98 >=80 80-84 PS 90-94 97
2017-2018 95 98 >=50 85-89 PS 90-94 95
2016-2017 96 >=99 >=80 85-89 PS >=90 96
2015-2016 95 97 80-89 85-89 PS 80-89 96
2014-2015 95 96 >=80 >=95 PS >=90 95
2013-2014 96 95 >=50 >=95 >=90 96
2012-2013 94 94 >=80 85-89 85-89 95
2011-2012 95 >=95 80-89 90-94 90-94 95
2010-2011 95 >=95 60-79 90-94 >=90 94

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[8]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2022-2023 10,318 -1.9
2021-2022 10,509 -2.3
2020-2021 10,754 -9.2
2019-2020 11,745 -2.1
2018-2019 11,992 -2.1
2017-2018 12,249 -0.3
2016-2017 12,287 -1.6
2015-2016 12,485 -0.3
2014-2015 12,527 0.5
2013-2014 12,466 0.9
2012-2013 12,357 1.2
2011-2012 12,205 1.8
2010-2011 11,991 2.4
2009-2010 11,704 2.3
2008-2009 11,430 2.0
2007-2008 11,204 2.4
2006-2007 10,931 1.6
2005-2006 10,756 1.9
2004-2005 10,553 1.9
2003-2004 10,354 2.2
2002-2003 10,129 2.0
2001-2002 9,926 -1.0
2000-2001 10,026 0.3
1999-2000 9,997 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2022-2023
RACE Palo Alto Unified School District (%) California K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.1 0.0
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 40.2 0.0
Black 1.8 0.0
Hispanic 15.3 0.0
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.9 0.0
Two or More Races 11.5 0.0
White 30.1 0.0

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.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[9]

As of the 2022-2023 school year, Palo Alto Unified School District had 602.65 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 17.12.

Teachers, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 0.00
Kindergarten: 39.34
Elementary: 337.85
Secondary: 225.46
Total: 602.65

Palo Alto Unified School District employed 7.00 district administrators and 32.00 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.

Administrators, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 7.00
District Administrative Support: 54.78
School Administrators: 32.00
School Administrative Support: 61.04
Other staff, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 262.75
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 9.39
Total Guidance Counselors: 21.95
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 7.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 14.95
Librarians/Media Specialists: 14.90
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 39.80
Other Support Services: 246.72

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[10]

The Palo Alto Unified School District operates 19 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Addison Elementary331KG-5
Barron Park Elementary211KG-5
Duveneck Elementary346KG-5
El Carmelo Elementary317KG-5
Ellen Fletcher Middle5156-8
Escondido Elementary447KG-5
Fairmeadow Elementary403KG-5
Frank S. Greene Jr. Middle7556-8
Greendell34KG-12
Henry M. Gunn High1,7879-12
Herbert Hoover Elementary386KG-5
Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle9966-8
Juana Briones Elementary258KG-5
Lucille M. Nixon Elementary358KG-5
Ohlone Elementary463KG-5
Packard Children'S Hospital/Stanford10KG-12
Palo Alto High1,9929-12
Palo Verde Elementary382KG-5
Walter Hays Elementary294KG-5

About school boards

Education legislation in California

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics California
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External links

  • Office website
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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑ Palo Alto Online, "County denies recall petition against Palo Alto Board of Education member," February 21, 2025
    2. ↑ Palo Alto Online, "Another attempt to recall Palo Alto school board member fails," April 15, 2025
    3. ↑ Palo Alto Online, "Embroiled in conflict, Palo Alto board of education member faces potential recall," February 19, 2025
    4. ↑ Palo Alto Daily Post, "Parents look to recall school board member," February 19, 2025
    5. ↑ Palo Alto Unified School District, "Board of Education," accessed February 20, 2025
    6. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
    7. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
    8. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
    9. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
    10. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
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