Monterey Peninsula Unified School District elections (2015)
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Three seats on the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District Board of Education were up for general election on November 3, 2015.[1][2] Trustee Area 1 incumbent Diane Creasey, Trustee Area 2 incumbent Debra Gramespacher and Trustee Area 3 incumbent Jon Hill were up for re-election.[3]
Creasey did not file to run for re-election in Trustee Area 1. Wendy Root Askew ran unopposed and won that seat by default. In Trustee Area 2, Gramespacher also ran unopposed and won the seat by default. Hill defeated challenger Darrick Jory in the Trustee Area 3 race.[4][5]
See how this race compared to past school board elections in both the district and the state in the "Election trends" section. Challenger Wendy Root Askew participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. To read her responses, check out the "Ballotpedia survey responses" section.
About the district
Monterey Peninsula Unified School District is located in Monterey County in west-central California. The county seat of Monterey County is Salinas. Monterey County was home to 428,826 residents in 2013, according to the United States Census Bureau.[6] During the 2011-2012 school year, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District was the 147th-largest school district by enrollment in California and served 10,956 students.[7]
Demographics
Monterey County underperformed compared to the rest of California in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 23.0 percent of Monterey 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 Monterey County was $59,168, compared to $61,094 for the entire state. The poverty rate for Monterey County was 17.0 percent, compared to 15.9 percent statewide.[6]
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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 Monterey Peninsula Unified Board of Education consists of seven members elected geographically by district to three trustee areas. Board members are elected to four-year terms on a staggered basis every November of odd-numbered years. There are no primary elections. Four seats, two from Trustee Area 1 and one each from Trustee Areas 2 and 3, were up for election on November 5, 2013, and three seats, one from each trustee area, 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.[3] To get on the ballot, candidates had to file their declaration of candidacy with the Monterey County Elections by August 7, 2015.[1]
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.[9] Photo identification was not required to vote in California.
Elections
2015
Candidates
Trustee Area 1
Election results
Incumbent Wendy Root Askew ran unopposed and won the Trustee Area 1 seat by default.
Candidates
| Wendy Root Askew | |
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Trustee Area 2
Election results
Incumbent Debra Gramespacher ran unopposed and won the Trustee Area 2 seat by default.
Candidates
| Debra Gramespacher | |
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Trustee Area 3
Election results
| Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, Trustee Area 3, General Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Jon Hill Incumbent |
81.5% | 2,219 |
| Darrick Jory | 18.5% | 503 |
| Total Votes | 2,722 | |
| Source: Monterey County, "Final Official Report," accessed November 17, 2015 | ||
Candidates
| Jon Hill |
Darrick Jory | ||
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Endorsements
Trustee Area 1 challenger Wendy Root Askew and Trustee Area 3 incumbent Jon Hill were endorsed by the community organization Evolve.[10]
Campaign finance
No contributions or expenditures were reported during the election, according to the Monterey County Elections Office.[11]
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.[12]
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).[12]
District 1
| Candidate | Existing balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wendy Root Askew | $876.13 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $876.13 |
District 2
| Candidate | Existing balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debra Gramespacher | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
District 3
| Candidate | Existing balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Hill | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Darrick Jory | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2013Trustee Area 1Elections for the two seats in Trustee Area 1 were unopposed, leaving the candidates to win unopposed. Trustee Area 2The election for one seat in Trustee Area 2 was unopposed, leaving the candidate to win unopposed. Trustee Area 3
2011
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What was at stake?
2015
Election trends
- See also: 2013 school board elections
With three seats up for election on November 3, 2015, nearly half of the Monterey Peninsula Unified Board of Education had the potential to change hands. Two of the three incumbents ran for re-election, guaranteeing at least one newcomer would join the board. Both incumbents won re-election, and a newcomer was elected to the open seat. Two seats were unopposed in this election, and there was an average of 1.33 candidates per seat.
Monterey Peninsula Unified's 2013 school board election had three unopposed seats and one open seat that went to a newcomer. An average of 1.5 candidates ran per seat in that race.
Both the 2013 and 2015 school board elections in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District had fewer candidates run per seat than the 2014 state average of 1.91 candidates per seat up for election in California's largest school districts. That year, just over 25 percent of board seats in those districts were unopposed, and 37.65 percent of seats went to newcomers.
Ballotpedia survey responses
One out 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 challenger Wendy Root Askew.
Top priorities
When asked what her top priorities would be if elected, Askew stated:
| “ | "1) SET AND MAINTAIN HIGH STANDARDS FOR STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND THE COMMUNITY. When we expect great things from our students, they rise to meet those standards. Just as important as setting high standards is ensuring that our programs engage students in the learning process and inspire them to a lifetime of learning. 2) MAKE FINANCIAL DECISIONS THAT HAVE THE HIGHEST RETURN ON INVESTMENTS. 3) ENSURE EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF LIMITED RESOURCES. |
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| —Wendy Root Askew (2015)[14] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate 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. Askew, however, did not provide rankings to the issues.
| Education policy |
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Click here to learn more about education policy in California. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
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| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| 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
Askew 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 her responses can be found below.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District election in 2015:[1][2][15][16]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| 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 Monterey Peninsula Unified School District election shared the ballot with municipal elections for three seats on the Monterey County Board of Education and four seats representing the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District. An election for three seats representing the Monterey Peninsula Community College District were also on the ballot.[17]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Monterey Peninsula Unified School District California. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Monterey Peninsula Unified School District | California | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Monterey County Elections, “November 3, 2015 Cities, Schools and Special Districts Election,” accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2013 California Code, “CA Elec Code § 8403 (2013),” accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, "MPUSD Governance Team," accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ Monterey County Elections, "Candidate List," accessed August 11, 2015
- ↑ Monterey County, "Semi-Final Official Report," accessed November 4, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 United States Census Bureau, “Monterey County, California,” accessed September 23, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Report of Registration as of February 10, 2015 - Registration by County," accessed September 28, 2015
- ↑ Monterey County Elections, “Voter Services: General Information,” accessed August 10, 2015
- ↑ Evolve, "2015 Endorsements: November 03, 2015 Election," accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ Monterey County Elections Office, "Welcome to the Monterey County Elections Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed October 23, 2015
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 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
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Wendy Root Askew responses," September 29, 2015
- ↑ California Election Code, "Section 8600-8606," accessed February 20, 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
- ↑ Monterey County Elections, "Notice of Election," accessed August 5, 2015
| 2015 Monterey Peninsula Unified School District Elections | |
| Monterey County, California | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | Trustee Area 1: • Wendy Root Askew Trustee Area 2: • Incumbent, Debra Gramespacher Trustee Area 3: • Incumbent, Jon Hill • Darrick Jory |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
