Pasadena Unified School District elections (2015)

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2015 Pasadena Unified School District Elections
Primary Election date:
March 10, 2015
General Election date:
April 21, 2015
Table of Contents
About the district Method of election Elections What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links
See also
California Pasadena Unified School District Los Angeles County, California ballot measures Local ballot measures, California

Three seats on the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education were up for primary election on March 10, 2015. A general election would have been held on April 21, 2015, but three candidates were elected to the board in the primary election by receiving the majority of the vote for their district.

Incumbents Renatta Cooper, Mikala Rahn and Tom Selinske from Districts 2, 4 and 6, respectively, were up for re-election, but none of them filed to run. Three candidates, Roy Boulghourjian, Evan Dagger and Marcela Rojas, filed to run for District 2. The District 4 primary election featured candidates Patrick Cahalan and Sheryl Turner. Candidates Sandra J. Siraganian and Lawrence Torres ran for the District 6 seat.

Boulghourjian, Cahalan and Torres won election to the District 2, 4 and 6 seats, respectively, in the primary election. They each received a majority of the votes in their district race.

This election was the first time the seats from Districts 2, 4 and 6 were elected by district. Prior to 2012, board members represented a specific seat but were elected at-large. The seats from Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 switched to by-district elections in 2013.

One of the seven candidates in this election participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 school board candidate survey. Check out the "Ballotpedia survey responses" section to see his answers.

Before the primary election, a forum was held for candidates on January 26, 2015. Boulghourjian, Cahalan and Torres attended and participated in the event.

See also: Issues in the election

About the district

See also: Pasadena Unified School District, California

Pasadena Unified School District is located in Los Angeles County, Calif.

Pasadena Unified School District is located in Los Angeles County in southwestern California. The county seat of Los Angeles County is Los Angeles. Los Angeles County was home to 10,017,068 residents in 2013, according to the United States Census Bureau. During the 2011-2012 school year, Pasadena Unified School District was the 77th-largest school district by enrollment in California and served 19,802 students.

Demographics

Los Angeles County underperformed in comparison to the rest of California in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 29.7 percent of Los Angeles 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 for Los Angeles County was 17.8 percent, compared to 15.9 percent statewide.

Racial Demographics, 2013
Race	Los Angeles County (%)	California (%)
White	71.5	73.5
Black or African American	9.2	6.6
American Indian and Alaska Native	1.5	1.7
Asian	14.6	14.1
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	0.4	0.5
Two or more races	2.9	3.7
Hispanic or Latino	48.3	38.4

Presidential Voting Pattern, Los Angeles County
Year	Democratic Vote	Republican Vote
2012	2,216,903	885,333
2008	2,295,853	956,425
2004	1,907,736	1,076,225
2000	1,710,505	871,930

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 Pasadena Unified Board of Education consists of seven members elected to four-year terms by specific geographic district. The primary election was held on March 10, 2014, and a general election would have been held on April 21, 2014, if no candidate had received a majority of the vote in the primary. The seats from Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 were up for election in 2013, and the seats from Districts 2, 4 and 6 were up for election in 2015.

School board candidates must be registered voters and must reside in the school district they wish to represent. To get on the ballot, candidates had to file nomination petitions signed by 25 registered voters and pay a $25 filing fee with the Office of the City Clerk of Pasadena during the candidate filing period. The filing period began November 17, 2014, and ended December 12, 2014. Because no incumbents filed within the districts they represented, the candidate filing deadline was extended until December 17, 2014. Those wishing to run as write-in candidates had to file between January 12, 2015 and February 24, 2015.

Voters could request vote-by-mail ballots beginning February 9, 2015, and ending March 3, 2015. In-person early voting began February 24, 2015, and ended March 7, 2015. The last day to register to vote in this election was February 23, 2015.

District 2

• Roy Boulghourjian
  • Graduate, American University of Beirut and National University
  • Professor, Mt. Sierra College
• Evan Dagger
  • Teacher, Temple City Unified School District
• Marcela Rojas
  • Graduate, Fine Arts School of Puerto Rico at San Juan, California State University at Los Angeles and the University of California at Irvine
  • Professor, Azusa Pacific University

District 4

• Patrick Cahalan
  • Graduate, Loyola Marymount University and Claremont Graduate University
  • Manager of technical operations, California Institute of Technology
• Sheryl Turner
  • Founder and president, Piercy Charitable Foundation
  • Director, Pasadena YouthBuild

District 6

• Sandra J. Siraganian
  • Realtor, Sotheby’s International Realty
• Lawrence Torres
  • Graduate, Harvard University and the University of California at Los Angeles
  • Teacher, Los Angeles Unified School District

Election results

Pasadena Unified School District, District 2 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Roy Boulghourjian	68.7%	1,814
	Nonpartisan	Evan Dagger	15.7%	414
	Nonpartisan	Marcela Rojas	15.6%	413
Total Votes				2,641
Source: Pasadena City Clerk, "Election Results: PUSD," accessed March 20, 2015

Pasadena Unified School District, District 4 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Patrick Cahalan	56%	968
	Nonpartisan	Sheryl Turner	44%	760
Total Votes				1,728
Source: Pasadena City Clerk, "Election Results: PUSD," accessed March 20, 2015

Pasadena Unified School District, District 6 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Lawrence Torres	57.8%	1,770
	Nonpartisan	Sandra J. Siraganian	42.2%	1,294
Total Votes				3,064
Source: Pasadena City Clerk, "Election Results: PUSD," accessed March 20, 2015

Endorsements

The Los Angeles County Democratic Party endorsed District 2 candidate Roy Boulghourjian and District 6 candidate Lawrence Torres, while the Los Angeles County Republican Party endorsed District 6 candidate Sandra J. Siraganian.

The California Teachers Association and the United Teachers of Pasadena also endorsed Boulghourjian and Torres. The United Teachers of Pasadena also endorsed District 4 candidate Patrick Cahalan. The Pasadena Chapter of the Armenian National Committee of America also chose to endorse Boulghourjian, Cahalan and Torres.

Boulghourjian, Cahalan and Torres were further endorsed by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Mayor Bill Bogaard also endorsed Torres. District 2 candidate Evan Dagger informally stopped campaigning and gave his support to Boulghourjian.

Cahalan was further endorsed by outgoing Pasadena Unified Board of Education members Mikala Rahn and Tom Selinske. Cahalan's opponent in District 4, candidate Sheryl Turner, was endorsed by the National Women’s Political Caucus.

District 2 candidates Evan Dagger and Marcela Rojas did not receive any official endorsements for this election.

Additional endorsements:

• A list of Boulghourjian's additional endorsements can be found here.
• A list of Cahalan's additional endorsements can be found here.

Campaign finance

Candidates received a total of $69,365.00 and spent a total of $42,556.82 as of March 6, 2015, according to the Pasadena City Clerk's Office.

District 2

The District 2 candidates received a total of $22,130.00 and spent a total of $16,401.08 as of March 6, 2015, according to the Pasadena City Clerk's Office.

Rojas filed Form 470 with the Pasadena City Clerk's Office, indicating she did not intend to raise or spend more than $1,000 for her 2015 campaign. Because of this, Rojas did not have to file any additional campaign finance reports.

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Roy Boulghourjian	$22,130.00	$16,401.08	$5,728.92
Evan Dagger	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Marcela Rojas	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

District 4

The District 4 candidates received a total of $12,337.00 and spent a total of $5,949.20 as of March 6, 2015, according to the Pasadena City Clerk's Office.

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Patrick Cahalan	$10,357.00	$5,949.20	$4,407.80
Sheryl Turner	$1,980.00	$0.00	$1,980.00

District 6

The District 6 candidates received a total of $34,898.00 and spent a total of $20,206.54 as of March 5, 2015, according to the Pasadena City Clerk's Office.

Candidate	Existing balance	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Sandra J. Siraganian	$4,561.10	$10,250.00	$11,721.54	$3,089.46
Lawrence Torres	$0.00	$24,648.00	$8,485.00	$16,163.00

Past elections

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

2013 General election Pasadena Unified School District, District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Tyron Hampton 61.3% 993      Nonpartisan Ruben Hueso 38.7% 626 Total Votes 1,619 Source: City of Pasadena Election Department, "Election Information: Past Canvass Results - Pasadena Unified School District," accessed December 16, 2014 Primary election Pasadena Unified School District, District 1 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Kimberly Kenne Incumbent 71.8% 1,110      Nonpartisan Dean Cooper 28.2% 435 Total Votes 1,545 Source: City of Pasadena Election Department, "Election Information: Past Canvass Results - Pasadena Unified School District," accessed December 16, 2014 Pasadena Unified School District, District 3 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Ruben Hueso 48.8% 846      Nonpartisan Tyron Hampton 38.2% 662      Nonpartisan Deirdra Duncan 7.7% 134      Nonpartisan Guillermo Arce 5.4% 93 Total Votes 1,735 Source: City of Pasadena Election Department, "Election Information: Past Canvass Results - Pasadena Unified School District," accessed December 16, 2014 Pasadena Unified School District, District 5 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Elizabeth Pomeroy Incumbent 68.8% 1,155      Nonpartisan Stella Murga 31.2% 524 Total Votes 1,679 Source: City of Pasadena Election Department, "Election Information: Past Canvass Results - Pasadena Unified School District," accessed December 16, 2014 Pasadena Unified School District, District 7 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Scott Phelps Incumbent 60.9% 2,100      Nonpartisan Luis Carlos Ayala 39.1% 1,346 Total Votes 3,446 Source: City of Pasadena Election Department, "Election Information: Past Canvass Results - Pasadena Unified School District," accessed December 16, 2014 2011 General election Pasadena Unified School District, District 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Tom Selinske Incumbent 61.7% 8,372      Nonpartisan Sean Baggett 38.3% 5,198 Total Votes 13,570 Source: City of Pasadena Election Department, "Election Information: Past Canvass Results - Pasadena Unified School District," accessed December 16, 2014 Primary election Pasadena Unified School District, District 2 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Renatta Cooper Incumbent 94.3% 12,713      Nonpartisan Cushon Bell (qualified write-in) 5.7% 771 Total Votes 13,484 Source: City of Pasadena Election Department, "Election Information: Past Canvass Results - Pasadena Unified School District," accessed December 16, 2014 Pasadena Unified School District, District 4 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Kimberly Kenne 55.1% 8,458      Nonpartisan Gene Stevenson 44.9% 6,886 Total Votes 15,344 Source: City of Pasadena Election Department, "Election Information: Past Canvass Results - Pasadena Unified School District," accessed December 16, 2014 Pasadena Unified School District, District 6 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Tom Selinske Incumbent 47.5% 7,570      Nonpartisan Sean Baggett 34.8% 5,554      Nonpartisan Gaylaird Christopher 17.7% 2,821 Total Votes 15,945 Source: City of Pasadena Election Department, "Election Information: Past Canvass Results - Pasadena Unified School District," accessed December 16, 2014

What was at stake?

2015

Issues in the election

Three candidates show up to forum

One candidate from each district up for election to the Pasadena Unified Board of Education attended a candidate forum on January 26, 2015. The forum was hosted by the Pasadena Education Network, the PTA Council of Pasadena Unified School District and the Pasadena Educational Foundation. The forum was moderated by the League of Women Voters and held at McKinley Library. The full forum can be watched here.

District 2 challenger Roy Boulghourjian

District 2 candidate Roy Boulghourjian, District 4 candidate Patrick Cahalan and District 6 candidate Lawrence Torres were given three prepared questions at the beginning of the forum and then answered questions from the audience. The candidates were first asked why they wanted to be on the board.

"I see needs that I think need to be filled," Cahalan said. As a parent of two district students, he thought there should be more members on the board with children going to school in the district to keep in mind the families that will be affected by board decisions. He also said he would like to see a member on the board with budget and construction experience. Because he fills all three of these criteria, he felt he should run.

As a teacher and a parent, Torres said he felt he could bring insight to the board. He said he would also like the board to look more closely at reading levels, especially in third grade, to make sure students do not get left behind, and that he feels he is well-qualified to do that.

Boulghourjian told a story to explain why he wanted to be on the board. He said he previously believed the negative rumors about the Pasadena Unified School District, that there were gangs and that the quality of education was not high in its schools. He then spent a day volunteering in the "Principal for a Day" program and was amazed by what he saw. He said the students were respectful, the lessons were very high quality and there was a sense of collaboration. He said he felt guilty for being so ignorant and considers himself a "convert."

The candidates were next asked what the district's greatest opportunities and challenges were. Torres said the district's greatest opportunity and strength was its people. He said he was impressed with the high quality of instruction his two daughters received when they attended school in the district. The challenges, he said, were putting everyone on the same page. He said there needs to be more stability in the board and the superintendent going forward.

Boulghourjian felt the district's greatest asset was the city of Pasadena. He said it has great wealth, people, organizations and community businesses, and that the district should work to continue and expand relationships with the city and its resources. The challenge for the district, he said, was to market the idea that a community's values are reflected in its public schools in order to get more community members involved in helping the schools to develop further.

District 4 challenger Patrick Cahalan

Cahalan agreed with both Torres and Boulghourjian on the district's greatest opportunities. He said the district's greatest challenge was underfunding.

"The district has had to do more with less," Cahalan said. He said the district should work on creating and maintaining collaborative relationships with outside funding sources to bring in more money for the schools.

When asked how he would balance the responsibilities of a board member with the concerns of individuals, Boulghourjian said he believes in research and getting information from all sides in order to make an informed and wise decision.

"We talk about critical thinking for our students. I think we should do that ourselves," he added.

Cahalan said board members should pay attention to their constituents. That way, when a vocal minority brings up an argument, board members can go back to the constituents they know will not agree with that minority and ask them for input, allowing members to hear multiple perspectives of an issue.

Torres told the audience that his philosophy as a teacher was to keep the child at the center and to make decisions on what is best for that child. He said he believes that philosophy will translate well to his role as a board member.

Ballotpedia survey responses

One of the seven 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 District 4 candidate Patrick Cahalan.

Top priorities

When asked what his top priorities would be if elected, Cahalan stated:

“	In each of the following three areas, I have a top priority: (1) Facilities and Operations There is misalignment between outcomes and resources at the moment. Partially this is due to a lack of a dedicated Facilities Manager in the last few years. We are avoiding capital equipment purchases and it is costing us in labor outcomes (for example, we have a paint truck that has been out of service for nearly a fifth of the working days last year, which prevents the painter from getting on site to do the jobs that need to get done). We need a bottom-to-top analysis in the facilities department to ensure we're not wasting money by trying to avoid spending it. (2) Community Outreach Outreach, as described in the previous answer. (3) Communications The district web site, and the Measure TT web site, are both unacceptably out of date. This makes it difficult for the parent community to find accurate information about the district, often being referred to the *old* district web site for new information. This needs to be a priority for the IT department to fix.	”
—Patrick Cahalan (2015)

Ranking the issues

Cahalan was 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 the his rankings:

Education policy
Click here to learn more about education policy in California.
Education on the ballot

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	Closing the achievement gap
2	Improving college readiness
3	Improving education for special needs students
4	Expanding arts education
5	Expanding career-technical education
6	Balancing or maintaining the district's budget
7	Expanding school choice options
Note: Cahalan included a note in response to this question, which reads: "I am not fond of the ranking of the issues in fourth question, since it presents the appearance that some of these goals can only be advanced at the expense of others. For example, "Expanding School Choice options" can be part and parcel of a strategy to improve college readiness, or vocational training. I believe many of these goals can be tackled simultaneously, without placing a priority of one over the other."

Positions on the issues

Cahalan was asked to answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to the responses can be found below.

• Patrick Cahalan survey responses

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Pasadena Unified School District election in 2015:

Deadline	Event
November 17, 2014	First day of nomination period
December 12, 2014	Last day of nomination period
December 17, 2014	Last day of extended nomination period if no incumbents filed
January 12, 2015	First day to file as a write-in candidate
January 29, 2015	Last day to file first pre-election campaign statement
February 2, 2015	Last day to file semi-annual campaign statement
February 9, 2015	First day to request vote-by-mail ballots
February 23, 2015	Last day to register to vote
February 24, 2015	Last day to file as a write-in candidate
	First day of early voting
February 26, 2015	Last day to file second pre-election campaign statement
March 3, 2015	Last day to request vote-by-mail ballots
March 7, 2015	Last day of early voting
March 10, 2015	Primary election day
April 21, 2015	General election day (if applicable)

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: California elections, 2015

The Pasadena Unified Board of Education elections follow the same schedule as the Pasadena municipal elections for mayor and city council. They both held a primary election on March 10, 2015, and a general election was held on April 21, 2015, for those districts in which a candidate did not receive a majority of the vote in the primary.

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Pasadena + Unified + School + District + California"

Pasadena Unified School District News Feed

See also

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

External links

Suggest a link

• Pasadena Unified School District
• Pasadena City Clerk's Office