Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District elections (2015)
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Two seats on the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Board of Education were up for general election on November 3, 2015.[1][2] The seats held by incumbents Larry Vanden Bos and Linda Reid were on the ballot.[3]
Vanden Bos did not file for re-election, which left one seat open for a newcomer. Reid won re-election, and Suzanne Seymour was elected to the open seat. They defeated challengers Dawn Lenzie and Barry Rondinella.[4][5]
See how this race compared to past school board elections in both the district and the state in the "Election trends" section. Three of the four candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. To read the responses from incumbent Linda Reid and challengers Suzanne Seymour and Barry Rondinella, check out the "Ballotpedia survey responses" section.
About the district
Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District is located in Los Angeles County in southwestern California. The county seat is Los Angeles.[6] Los Angeles County was home to 10,116,705 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[7] During the 2012-2013 school year, Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District was the 138th-largest school district by enrollment in California and served 11,864 students.[8]
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.[7]
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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 Palos Verdes Peninsula 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 were up for election on November 5, 2013, and two seats were on the ballot on November 3, 2015.[1][3]
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.[10] 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.[11]
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.[11] Photo identification was not required to vote in California.
Elections
2015
Candidates
At-large
Linda Reid 
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Dawn Lenzie | ||
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| Barry Rondinella | Suzanne Seymour
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Elections results
| Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District, At-large, General Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Linda Reid Incumbent |
31.8% | 4,015 |
| Suzanne Seymour |
30.9% | 3,893 |
| Barry Rondinella | 23.3% | 2,934 |
| Dawn Lenzie | 14.1% | 1,775 |
| Total Votes | 12,617 | |
| Source: Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "NOVEMBER 03, 2015 - LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL CONSOLIDATED ELECTIONS: Final Official Election Returns," accessed November 24, 2015 | ||
Endorsements
Incumbent Linda Reid received endorsements from Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School Board members Anthony Collatos, Malcolm Sharp, Barbara Lucky and Larry Vanden Bos.[12] Sharp additionally endorsed challenger Dawn Lenzie.[13]
Lenzie also received endorsements from the Republican Party of Los Angeles County and the 66th Assembly District Republican Central Committee.[13] Challengers Barry Rondinella and Suzanne Seymour were endorsed by Craig Huey from Election Forum.[14]
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.[15][16][17]
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.[18]
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).[18]
If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2013Three seats on the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Board of Education were up for election on November 5, 2013. The school district canceled the scheduled election due to a lack of opposition for the candidates who filed, which left Anthony Collatos, Barbara Lucky and Malcolm S. Sharp as the default winners of the three at-large seats. 2011
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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 Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified Board of Education had the potential to change hands. One of the two incumbents filed to run for another term, guaranteeing at least one newcomer would join the board. The incumbent was re-elected, and a newcomer won the open seat. Two candidates ran for each seat in the race, which was slightly higher than the 2014 state average of 1.91 candidates per seat in California's largest school districts.
Only one candidate ran for each seat up for election in 2013. Three incumbents ran unopposed and won another term on the board. In 2014, just over a quarter of the school board seats up for election in California's largest school districts were left unopposed.
Ballotpedia survey responses
Three of the four candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from incumbent Linda Reid and challengers Suzanne Seymour and Barry Rondinella.
Top priorities
When asked what her top priority would be if elected, Reid stated:
| “ | Fiscal responsibility over the long term Putting one-time money to best use--facilities are a priority. |
” |
| —Linda Reid (2015)[20] | ||
When asked what her top priority would be if elected, Seymour stated:
| “ | Improving district communication with parents is my top priority. In addition, ensuring resources are directed to the classroom; safeguarding student privacy, and focusing on individual academic proficiency are very important.[19] | ” |
| —Suzanne Seymour (2015)[21] | ||
When asked what his top priority would be if elected, Rondinella stated:
| “ | Provide greater transparency of District proceedings and decisions
Provided much more administrative accountability a higher level of fiscal stewardship Provide[19] |
” |
| —Barry Rondinella (2015)[22] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidates were asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays their rankings:
| Issue importance ranking | |||
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| Issue | Reid's ranking | Seymour's ranking | Rondinella's ranking |
| Expanding arts education | |||
| Expanding career-technical education | |||
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |||
| Improving college readiness | |||
| Closing the achievement gap | |||
| Improving education for special needs students | |||
| Expanding school choice options | |||
Positions on the issues
The candidates were asked to answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to their responses can be found below.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District election in 2015:[11][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
The Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District election shared the ballot with an election for the Palos Verdes Library District Board of Trustees.[24]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District California. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Palos Verdes Peninsula 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
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District, "Board of Education," accessed January 28, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Candidate List: Local And Municipal Consolidated Elections - 11/3/2015," accessed August 11, 2015
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "PALOS VERDES PEN UNIF SCH GOVERNING BOARD MEMBER," accessed November 4, 2015
- ↑ Geology.com, "California County Map with County Seat Cities," accessed July 1, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 United States Census Bureau, "Los Angeles County, California," accessed August 7, 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
- ↑ Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District, "Policies & Regulations," accessed August 7, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Calendar of Events," accessed July 29, 2015
- ↑ Linda Reid, "Partial List of Endorsements," accessed October 29, 2015
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Smart Voter, "Additional Endorsements for Dawn Alayn (Bowman) Lenzie: Candidate for Governing Board Member; Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District," accessed October 29, 2015
- ↑ Election Forum, "November 3, 2015 Election Recommendations for L.A. County," October 21, 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
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 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
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Linda Reid responses," October 20, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Suzanne Seymour responses," September 17, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Barry Rondinella responses," September 30, 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 Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District Elections | |
| Los Angeles County, California | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Linda Reid • Dawn Lenzie • Barry Rondinella • Suzanne Seymour |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
