Poway Unified School District elections (2016)

• Related content:
• California
  • Poway Unified School District, California
  • California school board elections, 2016
  • California elections, 2016
  • Public policy in California
  • Endorsers in California
  • Fact checks in California
• Local elections
  • City governments
  • Local courts
  • School boards
  • Local ballot measures
  • Recalls
• State elections
  • State executives
  • State legislatures
  • State courts
  • State ballot measures
• Federal elections
  • U.S. President
  • U.S. Senate
  • U.S. House of Representatives
• Education policy
  • Funding battles
  • School district power struggles
  • Shaping public school curriculum

2018 → ← 2014
Poway Unified School District Elections
General election date:
November 8, 2016
Enrollment (13–14):
35,498 students

Two of the five seats on the Poway Unified School District Board of Education were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. In her bid for re-election, incumbent Kimberley Beatty ran against challengers Nick Anastasopoulos, Debra Cooper, Jimmy Karam, John Moriarty, Terry Norwood, Darshana Patel, Stanley Rodkin, and Carol Ware. Beatty won re-election, and Patel won the other seat on the ballot.

Cooper, Moriarty, Patel, and Rodkin participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. Click here to read their responses.

Elections

Voter and candidate information

The Poway Unified Board of Education consists of five members elected to four-year terms. Elections are held at large on a staggered basis every November of even-numbered years. Three seats were up for election on November 4, 2014, and two seats were up for election on November 8, 2016. There was no primary election.

To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to register with the county elections office by August 12, 2016. If incumbents did not file by that deadline, the filing deadline was extended for non-incumbent candidates until August 17, 2016. In order to qualify as candidates, they had to be at least 18 years old, citizens of California, residents of the school district, registered voters, and "not legally disqualified from holding civil office," according to the bylaws of the Poway Unified Board of Education. Once they took office, school board members could not be employed by the school district.

To vote in this election, residents of the school district had to register by October 24, 2016. Photo identification was not required to vote in this election.

At-large

Results

Poway Unified School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Darshana Patel	20.79%	26,713
Kimberley Beatty Incumbent	19.21%	24,681
Debra Cooper	16.68%	21,436
Carol Ware	10.66%	13,694
Jimmy Karam	9.73%	12,504
John Moriarty	6.03%	7,747
Terry Norwood	5.67%	7,289
Nick Anastasopoulos	5.63%	7,235
Stanley Rodkin	5.61%	7,213
Total Votes		128,512
Source: San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "Presidential General Election - Tuesday, November 8, 2016," accessed December 9, 2016

Candidates

Kimberley Beatty		Nick Anastasopoulos		Debra Cooper
	Incumbent Member from 2012-2016				School foundation volunteer
Jimmy Karam		John Moriarty		Terry Norwood
			Graduate, Ohio University, California State University at Fullerton, and the University of San Diego Educator Veteran, U.S. Navy		Education and military advocate
Darshana Patel		Stanley Rodkin		Carol Ware
	Scientist		Retired mechanical engineer		Community volunteer

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: California elections, 2016

The district's school board election shared the ballot with a bond measure for the city of Poway, two bond measures for San Diego County, a number of statewide ballot measures, and with elections for the following offices:

• President and Vice President
• U.S. Senate
• U.S. House of Representatives
• California State Senate

• California State Assembly
• San Diego County Board of Education
• Poway City Council

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for California school board elections in 2016:

Deadline	Event
August 1, 2016	Semi-annual campaign finance report due
August 10, 2016 - November 8, 2016	24-hour campaign contribution reporting period
August 12, 2016	Candidate filing deadline
August 17, 2016	Extended filing deadline for non-incumbent candidates for open seats
September 29, 2016	First pre-election campaign finance report due
October 24, 2016	Voter registration deadline
October 27, 2016	Second pre-election campaign finance report due
November 8, 2016	Election Day
January 31, 2017	Semi-annual campaign finance report due

Endorsements

The Coalition for Effective School Board Leadership and the Poway Federation of Teachers endorsed challengers Debra Cooper and Darshana Patel.

The Republican Party of San Diego County endorsed Cooper and challenger Carol Ware, and the San Diego County Democratic Party endorsed Patel and incumbent Kimberley Beatty. The DeMaio Report on NewsRadio 600 endorsed Cooper, Ware, and Nick Anastasopoulos. Patel and Beatty were also endorsed by the community organization Evolve.

Patel was further endorsed by the Poway School Employees Association, the Westview High School Democratic Club, and the San Diego Young Muslim Democrats.

Cooper was additionally endorsed by CCSA Advocates, the Coalition for Effective School Board Leadership, Mayor Kevin Faulconer, City Councilman Mark Kersey, and Poway Unified School District Board of Education member T.J. Zane.

Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign finance

See also: List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2016

Candidates in this race were required to file two pre-election reports. The first was due on September 29, 2016, and the second was due on October 27, 2016. If candidates received more than $1,000 from a single source between August 10, 2016, and November 8, 2016, they had to file a campaign finance report within 24 hours of receiving the contribution.

Candidates who did not raise or spend more than $2,000 on their campaigns had to file an exemption form by September 29, 2016. They did not have to file additional campaign finance reports.

Candidates who had a remaining balance from previous campaigns or who had raised or spent money on their campaigns prior to the candidate filing deadline had to file a semi-annual campaign finance report by August 1, 2016. The next semi-annual campaign finance report was due January 31, 2017.

Reports

Candidates received a total of $44,253.16 and spent a total of $25,737.86 as of November 4, 2016, according to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Kimberley Beatty	$11,599.99	$8,326.09	$3,273.90
Nick Anastasopoulos	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Debra Cooper	$10,856.37	$5,153.13	$5,703.24
Jimmy Karam	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
John Moriarty	$4,321.80	$2,196.15	$2,125.65
Terry Norwood	$3,979.00	$2,527.94	$1,451.07
Darshana Patel	$9,461.00	$6,786.43	$2,674.57
Stanley Rodkin	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Carol Ware	$4,035.00	$748.12	$3,286.88

Past elections

Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right.

2014 See also: Poway Unified School District elections (2014) Poway Unified School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2014 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Michelle O'Connor-Ratcliff 16.9% 19,921      Nonpartisan Charles Sellers 14.4% 16,921      Nonpartisan T.J. Zane 14.4% 16,958      Nonpartisan John P. Riley 12.5% 14,680      Nonpartisan Todd Gutschow Incumbent 12.1% 14,294      Nonpartisan Marc Davis Incumbent 11.5% 13,511      Nonpartisan Katie Newbanks 9.2% 10,837      Nonpartisan Jeannie Foulkrod 9.1% 10,663 Total Votes 117,785 Source: San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "Gubernatorial General Election," accessed December 23, 2014 2012 Poway Unified School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Kimberley Beatty 39.2% 38,201      Nonpartisan Andy Patapow Incumbent 31.9% 31,077      Nonpartisan Linda Vanderveen Incumbent 28.9% 28,178 Total Votes 97,456 Source: San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "Presidential General Election November 6, 2012, Official Results," accessed August 1, 2014 2010 Poway Unified School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Marc Davis 18.6% 23,915      Nonpartisan Penny Ranftle Incumbent 17% 21,772      Nonpartisan Todd Gutschow Incumbent 15.6% 19,989      Nonpartisan Kimberley Beatty 14.3% 18,353      Nonpartisan Tom Giles 12.8% 16,458      Nonpartisan Stan Rodkin 8.3% 10,683      Nonpartisan John Gunderson 7.1% 9,097      Nonpartisan Frederick W. Pierce 6.3% 8,105 Total Votes 128,372 Source: San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "Gubernatorial General Election November 2, 2010 Official Results," accessed September 29, 2014

What was at stake?

2016

Issues in the district

Recall effort

Andy Patapow

See also: Andy Patapow recall, Poway Unified School District, California (2016)

An effort to recall Andy Patapow from his seat on the Poway Unified Board of Education was dropped in March 2016. The recall effort was started in October 2015 and was led by Keith Wilson, the father-in-law of Chris Garnier, a parent in the district who was given a three-year restraining order during the 2014-2015 school year that banned him from the district's Painted Rock Elementary School. Other district parents, along with Painted Rock's principal, said Garnier threatened and bullied them. Garnier said he was discriminated against because of his race as an African American and because he was critical of district leadership and policies.

Patapow first joined the board in 1996. His term was up for election in November 2016, but in response to the recall election, he announced he would not run to retain his seat. Wilson said he dropped the recall effort in part because of Patapow's promise not to run again. He also said it would have cost the district too much money to hold a special recall election.

Board fires superintendent

The Poway Unified Board of Education fired Superintendent John Collins in July 2016 after an audit revealed that he allegedly received $345,000 in unauthorized pay. The board also said that Collins was let go for interfering with the investigation into the unauthorized funds and for filing litigation without the board's approval. The school district followed the board's firing of Collins by suing him to recoup the loss of funds.

Collins was placed on leave on April 25, 2016, while the financial audit was conducted. His contract was supposed to end on June 30, 2017, but the board used the findings of the audit to fire him with cause. “The severity of the findings justified terminating the superintendent’s contract for cause,” said Board President Michelle O'Connor-Ratcliff.

Collins was appointed superintendent of the district in 2010. By the time he was fired from the position, he was the second-highest paid school administrator in California.

The board appointed Edward Velasquez as interim superintendent after Collins was put on leave. Velasquez took the position on August 1, 2016, but served for a short time as he was asked to step in as interim superintendent of San Diego County. Mel Robertson took over as interim superintendent after Velasquez left.

The board hired a firm to help the district find a permanent superintendent in September 2016. The board planned to hire its next leader by December 12, 2016. Instead, the board appointed a new interim superintendent in November 2016. Tony Apostle was appointed to replace Robertson.

Candidate survey

Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey.
Click here to view or fill out the survey.

Survey responses

Four candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from Debra Cooper, John Moriarty, Darshana Patel, and Stanley Rodkin.

Hope to achieve

Debra Cooper

Cooper said she hoped to achieve the following if elected to the school board:

“	As a Trustee, I hope to advance Poway Unified as a model of thoughtful, collaborative, and effective decision-making that puts student learning first. We have tough issues to address over the next several years, including creating a clear vision for how PUSD will deliver a 21st Century education, leveraging the district's growing diversity, managing our resources more prudently, closing the achievement gap, and working to balance our budget. I believe that my professional and volunteer leadership experiences make me uniquely qualified to achieve these results for Poway Unified, and I look forward to earning your vote.	”
—Debra Cooper (October 12, 2016)

John Moriarty

Moriarty did not provide a response when asked what he hoped to achieve if elected to the school board.

Darshana Patel

When asked what she hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Patel stated:

“	I am a civic-minded scientist, parent and community leader dedicated to educational excellence in PUSD. Since my three young daughters attend PUSD schools, I am fully invested in high-quality education for many years to come. • Excellence – Prioritize education, staff and finance: Our district has historically performed well based on mutual respect for all aspects of the education system. PUSD not only provides high quality education for our children but also is a responsible employer to several thousand residents. We need to work cooperatively to maintain this successful model of education. • Resources – Balance STEM, arts and whole child: Due to our current financial landscape, we must more effectively use our available resources to balance the education needs of our students. I will use a sensible approach in addressing education resource issues under board purview. • Advocacy – Seek funding, participation and collaboration: As a member of the board, I will explore funding options, keep open lines of communication and work with community groups. My years of community and school volunteerism have given me the right experience to focus on putting education first. Now is the time to elect a board member who is qualified, objective, collaborative and ethical to ensure the greatest success for our children. Read more at www.patel4pusd.wordpress.com	”
—Darshana Patel (July 31, 2016)

Rodkin said he hoped to achieve the following if elected to the school board:

“	I want to end the corruption and mismanagement that has been highlighted so often in the local papers and return the focus to students and education	”
—Stanley Rodkin (September 21, 2016)

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
Issue	Cooper's ranking	Moriarty's ranking	Patel's ranking	Rodkin's ranking
Expanding arts education	5	3	3	6
Improving relations with teachers	6	6	6	4
Balancing or maintaining the district's budget	1	1	2	1
Improving post-secondary readiness	7	5	5	3
Closing the achievement gap	2	2	1	5
Improving education for special needs students	4	4	4	2
Expanding school choice options	3	7	7	7

Positions on the issues

The candidates were asked to answer nine 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.

• Debra Cooper's survey responses
• John Moriarty's survey responses
• Darshana Patel survey's responses
• Stanley Rodkin survey's responses

About the district

See also: Poway Unified School District, California

The Poway Unified School District is located in San Diego County, California.

The Poway Unified School District is located in San Diego County in southern California. The county seat is San Diego. San Diego County was home to 3,299,521 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau. The district was the 21st-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 35,498 students.

Demographics

San Diego County outperformed California as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2010 and 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 35.1 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 31 percent of state residents. The median household income for San Diego County was $63,996, compared to $61,489 for the entire state. The percentage of people in poverty in the county was 14.7 percent, while it was 16.4 percent statewide.

Racial Demographics, 2015
Race	San Diego County (%)	California (%)
White	76.1	72.9
Black or African American	5.6	6.5
American Indian and Alaska Native	1.3	1.7
Asian	12.1	14.7
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	0.6	0.5
Two or more races	4.3	3.8
Hispanic or Latino	33.4	38.8

Presidential Voting Pattern, San Diego County
Year	Democratic Vote	Republican Vote
2012	626,957	536,726
2008	666,581	541,032
2004	526,437	596,033
2000	437,666	475,736

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.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Poway Unified School District' 'California'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Poway Unified School District elections (2016) - Google News

See also

Poway Unified School District	California	School Boards
Poway Unified School District elections (2014) List of school districts in California	California school board elections, 2016 Public education in California Local ballot measures, California	School board elections, 2016 School board elections, 2015 School board election data analysis, 2016 School board election data analysis, 2015

External links

Suggest a link

• Poway Unified School District
• San Diego County Registrar of Voters