San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District elections (2017)
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Three of the five seats on the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District board of trustees in California were up for nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. No incumbents filed to run in this race, which guaranteed three new members were elected to the board. Noelia Corzo, Alexander Haislip, Rebecca Hitchcock, Shiraz Zack Kanga, Thomas Morgan, Jacob Thiel, and Shara Watkins ran for the open seats. Corzo, Hitchcock, and Watkins won the election.[1][2][3]
Hitchcock, Morgan, and Watkins participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates. Click here to read their responses.
Having open seats on the ballot was not unusual for the district. One of two seats were open for newcomers in the district's 2015 election, and three seats were open for newcomers in the district's 2013 election. For information on election trends in the district, click here.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The San Mateo-Foster City board of trustees consists of five members elected to four-year terms. Elections are held at large on a staggered basis so that two or three seats are up for election every November of odd-numbered years.[4]
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.[5] To get on the ballot, board of trustees candidates had to file their nomination documents with the San Mateo County Election Office by August 11, 2017.[6]
To vote in this election, citizens of the school district had to register by October 23, 2017.[6] Photo identification was not required to vote in California.[7]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Shara Watkins |
25.35% | 7,201 |
| Noelia Corzo |
21.46% | 6,095 |
| Rebecca Hitchcock |
15.83% | 4,497 |
| Shiraz Zack Kanga | 12.12% | 3,441 |
| Thomas Morgan | 11.36% | 3,225 |
| Alexander Haislip | 6.96% | 1,977 |
| Jacob Thiel | 6.92% | 1,965 |
| Total Votes | 28,401 | |
| Source: San Mateo County Elections, "My Results: SAN MATEO-FOSTER CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT MEMBERS, GOVERNING BOARD," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
Candidates
Noelia Corzo 
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Alexander Haislip |  Rebecca Hitchcock
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| Shiraz Zack Kanga | Thomas Morgan
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| Jacob Thiel | Shara Watkins
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: California elections, 2017
The San Mateo-Foster City board of trustees election shared the ballot with elections for the San Mateo City Council.[1]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the November 2017 California school board elections.[8][9]
Endorsements
For a list of official endorsements made by political parties, education organizations, and elected officials in the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District elections, click here.
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
Candidates received a total of $54,464.24 and spent a total of $53,508.84 in the election, according to the San Mateo County Elections Office.[10]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noelia Corzo | $15,188.00 | $14,162.15 | $1,025.85 |
| Alexander Haislip | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Rebecca Hitchcock | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Shiraz Zack Kanga | $8,641.17 | $8,641.17 | $0.00 |
| Thomas Morgan | $8,086.07 | $8,019.38 | $66.69 |
| Jacob Thiel | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Shara Watkins | $22,549.00 | $22,686.14 | ($137.14) |
Reporting requirements
California school board candidates had to file two pre-election campaign finance reports. The first was due on September 28, 2017, and the second was due on October 26, 2017. In addition to those two reports, candidates had to file a semi-annual report on January 31, 2018, if they did not terminate their campaign committees by December 31, 2017.[9]
If candidates did not raise or spend more than $2,000 for their campaigns, they had to file Form 470 instead of the regular campaign finance report on September 28, 2017. They did not have to file any additional campaign finance reports as long as their campaign contributions and expenditures remained under $2,000.[9]
Past elections
To see results from past elections in the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District, click here.
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
Ballotpedia researches issues in school board elections across the United States, but information availability is a challenge for us in many school districts. Please contact us about the issues that impact your local school district. Note that not all submissions may meet Ballotpedia's coverage requirements for inclusion.
Candidate survey
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Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
Survey responses
Three candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from challengers Rebecca Hitchcock, Thomas Morgan, and Shara Watkins.
Hope to achieve
When asked what she hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Hitchcock did not respond to the question.[11]
When asked what he hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Morgan stated:
| “ | Being a CPA we need to get our budget improved and eliminate cost that are not productive or redundant. I would like to seek changes to prop 98 and funding which favor our district. We pay more taxes but do not benefit from what we pay. Most of our state income tax is redistributed to other district resulting in them being able to have more money and take our teachers. This will allow us to maintain our programs and pay teachers fairly.[12] | ” |
| —Thomas Morgan (October 13, 2017)[13] | ||
When asked what she hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Watkins stated:
| “ | I am a former teacher and education professional committed to: - Student focused decision making that ensures all students get the support they need: I will approach budgetary decisions with a lens for ensuring our choices will not inequitably impact students in the San Mateo-Foster City School District. I look forward to exploring creative ways to distribute the myriad of resources we have in our community amongst all students. I'm also invested in gathering detailed student data and ensuring that educators have the tools, resources, and support necessary to serve all students. - Increasing communication and transparency with our community: I am committed to bringing together all stakeholders in the San Mateo and Foster City communities to ensure that we are best meeting the needs of all students in our community. I am invested in transparently communicating with the community at large about the current budgetary needs of our school district and the ways that everyone can support our schools and our community. - Supporting our teachers and investing in teacher training: I am committed to working with the San Mateo-Foster City School District, our City Councils, and with SMETA to ensure that teachers are well supported, both financially and professionally.[12] | ” |
| —Shara Watkins (October 10, 2017)[14] | ||
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 | Hitchcock's ranking | Morgan's ranking | Watkins' ranking | |
| Expanding arts education | ||||
| Improving relations with teachers | ||||
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | ||||
| Improving post-secondary 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 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.
- Rebecca Hitchcock's survey responses
- Thomas Morgan's survey responses
- Shara Watkins' survey responses
Election trends
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
Newcomers were guaranteed to win all three seats up for election in the 2017 San Mateo-Foster City board of trustees election as no incumbents filed to run for re-election. This was not unusual for the district. In 2013, three newcomers were elected to the board after no incumbents filed to run in the election. They ran unopposed and were elected by default.
One of the two incumbents with seats on the ballot in the district's 2015 election ran to retain her seat. She won another term on the board, and a newcomer won the open seat on the ballot.
| School board election trends | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District | ||||||
| 2017 | 2.33 | 0.00% | 0.00% | Not applicable | 100.00% | |
| 2015 | 1.50 | 0.00% | 50.00% | 100.00% | 50.00% | |
| 2013 | 1.00 | 100.00% | 0.00% | Not applicable | 100.00% | |
| California | ||||||
| 2015 | 2.01 | 22.95% | 73.77% | 81.11% | 39.34% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
About the district
The San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District is located in San Mateo County in west-central California. The county seat is Redwood City. San Mateo County was home to an estimated 764,797 residents in 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[15] The district was the 139th-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 11,858 students.[16]
Demographics
San Mateo County outperformed California as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 45.6 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 31.4 percent of state residents. During the same time period, the median household income for San Mateo County was $93,623, compared to $61,818 for the entire state. The percentage of people in poverty in the county was 8.4 percent, while it was 15.3 percent statewide.[15]
| Racial Demographics, 2016[15] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race | San Mateo County (%) | California (%) | |
| White | 61.4 | 72.7 | |
| Black or African American | 2.8 | 6.5 | |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.8 | 1.7 | |
| Asian | 28.9 | 14.8 | |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 1.6 | 0.5 | |
| Two or more races | 4.6 | 3.8 | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 24.8 | 38.9 | |
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 San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District California election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District | California | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 San Mateo County Elections, "Candidates Roster," accessed August 17, 2017
- ↑ San Mateo County Elections, "November 7, 2017 Consolidated Municipal, School and Special District Election," accessed August 12, 2017
- ↑ San Mateo County Elections, "My Results: SAN MATEO-FOSTER CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT MEMBERS, GOVERNING BOARD," accessed November 8, 2017
- ↑ San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District, "Board of Trustees - Members," accessed August 3, 2017
- ↑ San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District, "BB 9220 Board Bylaws: Governing Board Elections," accessed August 3, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 San Mateo Election Office, "November 7, 2017 Consolidated Municipal, School and Special District Election," accessed August 3, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Where and How to Vote," accessed August 1, 2017
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "2017 County Administered Elections," accessed August 1, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 California Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 7, 2017," accessed September 18, 2017
- ↑ San Mateo County Elections, "Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed February 12, 2018
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Rebecca Hitchcock responses," October 26, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Thomas Morgan responses," October 13, 2017
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Shara Watkins responses," October 10, 2017
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: San Mateo County, California; California," accessed August 3, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data, file ccd_lea_052_1414_w_0216161a, 2014-2015," accessed November 16, 2016
| San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District elections in 2017 | |
| San Mateo County, California | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Noelia Corzo • Alexander Haislip • Rebecca Hitchcock • Shiraz Zack Kanga • Thomas Morgan • Jacob Thiel • Shara Watkins |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
