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Santa Clara Unified School District elections (2014)
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Four seats on the Santa Clara Unified School District Board of Education were up for general election on November 4, 2014. One incumbent from Trustee Area 1, two from Trustee Area 2 and one from Trustee Area 3 were up for re-election.[1][2]
Trustee Area 1 incumbent Jim Canova ran unopposed and won re-election. In the Trustee Area 2 race, incumbents Christine Koltermann and Ina K. Bendis ran against challengers Ashish Mangla, Noelani Sallings, Jodi Muirhead and Steve Kelly. Incumbent Andrew Ratermann faced challenger Michael Helms in Trustee Area 3.[3] Although challengers Jodi Muirhead and Noelani Sallings defeated both incumbents for the Trustee Area 2 seats, Trustee Area 3 board member Andrew Ratermann retained his seat against challenger Michael Helms.
About the district
Santa Clara Unified School District is located in Santa Clara County, California. The county seat is San Jose. Santa Clara County is home to 1,862,041 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau.[4] In the 2011-2012 school year, Santa Clara Unified School District was the 106th-largest school district by enrollment in California and served 15,289 students.[5]
Demographics
Santa Clara County outperformed the rest of California in terms of higher education achievement in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 46 percent of Santa Clara County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 30.5 percent for California as a whole. The median household income for Santa Clara County was $90,747 compared to $61,400 for the entire state. The percentage of people below poverty level for Santa Clara County was 9.7 percent while it was 15.3 percent statewide.[4]
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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 Santa Clara Unified School District Board of Education consists of seven members elected to four-year terms by specific geographic areas. There was no primary election, and the general election was held on November 4, 2014. One seat from Trustee Area 1, two seats from Trustee Area 2 and one seat from Trustee Area 3 were up for election in 2014. Two seats from Trustee Area 2 and one seat from Trustee Area 3 will be up for election in 2016.[1][2]
School board candidates had to file with their county elections department during the candidate filing period. The filing period began July 14, 2014, and ended August 8, 2014. To vote in the 2014 general election, voters had to register by October 20, 2014. Voters could request vote-by-mail ballots from October 6, 2014, through October 28, 2014.[7]
Elections
2014
Candidates
Trustee Area 1
- Jim Canova
- Incumbent
- Businessman
Trustee Area 2
- Christine Koltermann
- Incumbent
- Ina K. Bendis
- Incumbent
- Ashish Mangla
- Engineer
- Noelani Sallings
- Non-profit director
- Jodi Muirhead
- Educator
- Steve Kelly
- Small business owner
Trustee Area 3
- Andrew Ratermann
- Incumbent
- Michael Helms
- Professor
- Engineer
Election results
Trustee Area 1
This election was canceled due to a lack of opposition. Incumbent Jim Canova won re-election by default.[8]
Trustee Area 2
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Jodi Muirhead |
32.3% | 13,336 | |
| Nonpartisan | Noelani Sallings |
26.3% | 10,885 | |
| Nonpartisan | Christine Koltermann Incumbent | 14.9% | 6,143 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ina K. Bendis Incumbent | 11.5% | 4,735 | |
| Nonpartisan | Steve Kelly | 8.1% | 3,349 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ashish Mangla | 6.9% | 2,864 | |
| Total Votes | 41,312 | |||
| Source: Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Official Final Results," accessed January 2, 2014 | ||||
Trustee Area 3
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Andrew Ratermann Incumbent |
58.8% | 13,178 | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael Helms | 41.2% | 9,218 | |
| Total Votes | 22,396 | |||
| Source: Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Official Final Results," accessed January 2, 2014 | ||||
Endorsements
The Santa Clara County Democratic Party and the South Bay Labor Council endorsed Jodi Muirhead and Noelani Sallings for Trustee Area 2.[9][10]
The Santa Clara Chamber PAC endorsed Jodi Muirhead for Trustee Area 2 and Andrew Ratermann for Trustee Area 3.[11]
Campaign finance
Candidates had to file contribution reports within 24 hours of receiving an aggregate total of $1,000 or more from a single source. The first scheduled pre-election report filing deadline was October 6, 2014. If candidates raised or spent less than $1,000 during the 2013 and 2014 calendar years, they had to file Form 470 at that time. If candidates raised or spent more during that time, they had to file Form 460 by the pre-election report filing deadline.[12]
Candidates required to file Form 460 also had to file a second pre-election report on October 23, 2014, and they had to file termination reports by December 31, 2014. If a termination report was not filed, candidates had to file a semi-annual report by February 2, 2015.[12]
Reports
According to the second pre-election reports submitted to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, Jim Canova, the only candidate for Trustee Area 1, reported a total of $750.00 in contributions and $1,332.03 in expenditures as of October 18, 2014.[13]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Canova | $750.00 | $1,332.03 | $0.00 |
According to the second pre-election reports submitted to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, candidates for Trustee Area 2 reported a total of $94,243.64 in contributions and $79,692.83 in expenditures as of October 18, 2014. Two candidates, Steve Kelly and Ashish Mangla filed Form 470 to indicate they would not be spending or receiving more than $1,000 in this election. Because of that, they did not have to file any additional campaign finance reports.[14][15][16][17][18][19]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christine Koltermann | $6,278.00 | $5,701.41 | $576.59 |
| Ina K. Bendis | $10,487.47 | $8,159.15 | $7,576.64 |
| Ashish Mangla | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Noelani Sallings | $23,377.19 | $20,305.10 | $3,072.09 |
| Jodi Muirhead | $54,100.98 | $45,527.17 | $8,574.93 |
| Steve Kelly | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
According to the first pre-election reports submitted to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, candidates for Trustee Area 3 reported a total of $7,759.00 in contributions and $3,229.78 in expenditures as of September 30, 2014.[20][21]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Helms | $430.00 | $696.19 | $370.00 |
| Andrew Ratermann | $7,329.00 | $2,533.59 | $7,249.42 |
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2014
Issues in the election
Ballot statement challenged
Ina K. Bendis, the Trustee Area 2 incumbent in the 2014 election, charged that the ballot statement of her challenger, Jodi Muirhead, was "misleading and otherwise illegal" and served her with a lawsuit and a summons to appear in court. The Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge had Muirhead change one sentence of her ballot statement, but otherwise let it stand. The parties agreed on the change in a private conference and also agreed not to sue each other for legal fees.[22]
The change in the ballot statement revolved around Muirhead's involvement in the district's science fair. In her original statement, Muirhead said she had "resurrected" the science fair after it had been "closed it down" for budgetary reasons. Bendis believed that the statement was misleading, as the science fair had never closed down but continued uninterrupted due to the volunteer work of many individuals, not just Muirhead. Muirhead's revised statement read: "I also revived and was the volunteer chair of the District Science Fair after budgetary issues suspended it.”[22]
Bendis said she was gratified by the result of her lawsuit, but Muirhead said the outcome proved it had been frivolous. Bendis represented herself, but Muirhead paid $9,000 in legal fees to combat the lawsuit.[22] Muirhead went on to defeat Bendis in the general election on November 4, 2014.
Issues in the district
'No confidence' in board or administration
At the end of the 2013-2014 school year, the United Teachers of Santa Clara held a public rally to declare a vote of "no confidence" in the Santa Clara Unified Board of Education and in Superintendent Stan Rose III. They also demanded the resignation of Ina K. Bendis, a member of the board who ran unsuccessfully for re-election on November 4, 2014. The rally addressed specific complaints regarding what teachers called "antagonistic" contract negotiations, soaring class sizes, getting cut out of educational program decisions, inappropriate micromanagement from the board and a perceived lack of respect from both the board and the administration. Bendis was cited by name in complaints about micromanaging and lack of respect.[23] She went on to lose her seat in the general election on November 4, 2014, as did her fellow former incumbent Christine Koltermann.
Complaints about the district's administration had been circulating for some time before the rally. After the 2012-2013 school year, parents submitted a petition with over 1,500 signatures that addressed similar concerns, and the superintendent, two assistant superintendents, 15 principals and over 30 teachers left the district. At the time, critics blamed the large departure on the board's over involvement in operations and alleged harassment of teachers and parents around the district.[23][24]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Santa Clara Unified School District election in 2014:[12][25]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| July 14, 2014 | First day for candidates to file nomination documents |
| August 8, 2014 | Last day for candidates to file nomination documents |
| October 6, 2014 | First day to request vote-by-mail ballot |
| October 6, 2014 | First pre-election report due |
| October 20, 2014 | Last day to register to vote |
| October 23, 2014 | Second pre-election report due |
| October 28, 2014 | Last day to request vote-by-mail ballot |
| November 4, 2014 | Election Day |
| December 31, 2014 | Termination report due |
| February 2, 2015 | Semi-annual report due |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: California elections, 2014
This election shared the ballot with general elections for a number of state executive offices, four seats in the U.S. House, one state Senate seat, six state Assembly seats and several judicial and municipal elections.[26] A $419 million bond measure for Santa Clara Unified School District was also on the ballot.[27]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Santa + Clara + Unified + School + District + California"
See also
- California
- Santa Clara Unified School District, California
- California school board elections, 2014
- List of school board elections in 2014
- School board elections, 2014
- Santa Clara County, California ballot measures
- California ballot measures
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Santa Clara Unified School District, "About," accessed August 6, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Contest/Candidate Proof List Gubernatorial General Election," accessed August 6, 2014
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Contest/Candidate Proof List Gubernatorial General Election," accessed August 15, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 United States Census Bureau, "Santa Clara County, California," accessed July 3, 2013
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Past Election Results," accessed July 3, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Summary of November 4, 2014, General Election Calendar," accessed July 14, 2014
- ↑ California Election Code, "Section 10229," accessed October 13, 2014
- ↑ Santa Clara County Democratic Party, "Endorsements," accessed October 16, 2014
- ↑ South Bay Labor Council, "Endorsements," accessed October 16, 2014
- ↑ Santa Clara Chamber PAC, "Endorsed candidates," accessed October 16, 2014
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 4, 2014," accessed August 19, 2014
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Jim Canova for School Board 2014-FPPC 460," October 23, 2014
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Bendis for School Board 2014-FPPC 460," October 10, 2014
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Filing activity for Steve Peter Kelly," accessed October 30, 2014
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Koltermann for School Board 2014-FPPC 460," October 23, 2014
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Filing activity for Ashish Mangla-FPPC 460," accessed October 30, 2014
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Muirhead for School Board 2014-FPPC 460," October 23, 2014
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Sallings for Santa Clara School Board 2014-FPPC 460," October 23, 2014
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Ratermann for School Board 2014-FPPC 460," October 1, 2014
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Michael Helms SCUSD Board of Trustees 2014-FPPC 460," October 27, 2014
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 The Santa Clara Weekly, "SCUSD Incumbent’s Lawsuit Against Opponent’s Ballot Statement Fizzles," September 4, 2014
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Santa Clara Weekly, "Teachers Declare “No Confidence” in SCUSD Administration and Board, and Demand Bendis Resign," May 28, 2014
- ↑ Mercury News, "Santa Clara Unified: Administrators, principals flee turbulent school district," June 6, 2013
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Abbreviated Gubernatorial General Election Calendar," accessed July 3, 2014
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "June 3, 2014 Primary Election Official Final Results," accessed July 3, 2014
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "List of Local Measures," accessed September 4, 2014
