Antioch Unified School District elections (2016)
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Three of the five seats on the Antioch Unified School District board of trustees were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. In their bids for re-election, incumbents Diane Gibson-Gray, Fernando Navarro, and Alonzo Terry faced newcomers Mike Burkholder and Crystal Sawyer-White. They also faced former Antioch Unified trustees Gary Hack and Joy Motts. Gibson-Gray won another term, Sawyer-White was elected as a new member, and Hack returned to the board after two years away.[1][2]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Antioch Unified board of trustees consists of five members elected to four-year terms. Elections are held at large on a staggered basis every November of even-numbered years. Two seats were up for election on November 4, 2014, and three seats were up for election on November 8, 2016. There was no primary election.[3]
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 disqualified by the constitution or laws of the state from holding a civil office," according to the bylaws of the Antioch Unified board of trustees. Once they took office, school board members could not be employed by the school district.[4][5]
To vote in this election, residents of the school district had to register by October 24, 2016.[6] Photo identification was not required to vote in this election.[7]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| Antioch Unified School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Crystal Sawyer-White |
20.47% | 13,834 |
| Diane Gibson-Gray Incumbent |
17.87% | 12,080 |
| Gary Hack |
16.50% | 11,151 |
| Joy Motts | 15.21% | 10,281 |
| Fernando Navarro Incumbent | 12.58% | 8,501 |
| Mike Burkholder | 9.75% | 6,588 |
| Alonzo Terry Incumbent | 7.30% | 4,935 |
| Write-in votes | 0.32% | 216 |
| Total Votes | 67,586 | |
| Source: Contra Costa County , "Presidential General Election Official Results - Final," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Diane Gibson-Gray |
Fernando Navarro | Alonzo Terry | |||
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| Mike Burkholder | Gary Hack | ||
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| Joy Motts | Crystal Sawyer-White | ||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: California elections, 2016
The district's school board election shared the ballot with a number of statewide ballot measures as well as elections for the following offices:[8]
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Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for California school board elections in 2016:[9][10]
| 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 Democratic Party of Contra Costa County endorsed challengers Mike Burkholder and Joy Motts.[11] The Antioch Education Association and the California School Employees Association endorsed Motts, incumbent Diane Gibson-Gray, and challenger Gary Hack. The Antioch Management Executive Board also endorsed Burkholder, Motts, Gibson-Gray, and Hack.[12] CCSA Advocates endorsed incumbents Fernando Navarro and Alonzo Terry and challenger Crystal Sawyer-White.[13]
The community organization Evolve endorsed Motts and Sawyer-White.[14] Motts was further endorsed by the Contra Costa Building and Construction Trades Council.[15]
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at elections@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
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.[10]
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.[10]
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.[10]
Reports
Candidates received a total of $22,060.16 and spent a total of $22,016.96 in the election, according to the Contra Costa County Elections Division.[16]
| Candidate | Existing balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diane Gibson-Gray | $0.00 | $2,868.39 | $2,868.39 | $0.00 |
| Fernando Navarro | $0.00 | $3,450.00 | $3,420.76 | $29.24 |
| Alonzo Terry | $0.00 | $3,700.00 | $3,673.07 | $26.93 |
| Mike Burkholder | $0.00 | $3,984.00 | $3,687.57 | $296.43 |
| Gary Hack | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Joy Motts | $1,522.30 | $8,057.77 | $8,367.17 | $1,212.90 |
| Crystal Sawyer-White | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2016
Issues in the district
Recall effort
Antioch Unified School District board of trustees member Debra Vinson was targeted for recall in October 2016. Supporters of the recall started the effort after Vinson allegedly berated a district employee.[17][18]
The incident with the district employee started when Vinson told the employee she had poor customer service skills, according to Nicole Cedano, another district employee who overheard the incident. Vinson proceeded to question whether the employee had received the district's offered training in cultural tolerance and fostering empathy, according to the employee's written statement about the incident. The employee said Vinson had implied she was a bigot.[18]
Board President Diane Gibson-Gray said the board consulted with an attorney and investigated the matter after the employee made a formal complaint about the incident. The investigation led Vinson to send the employee an apology by email.[18]
Board member Fernando Navarro, who lost his re-election bid on November 8, 2016, spoke in support of Vinson after the recall papers were served. He said any residents with questions about the incident should contact Vinson directly. He also questioned the timing of the recall starting so close to the regularly-scheduled school board election. “I question the timing of this recall, considering the election,” Navarro said. “She is not up for reelection and we have four candidates running for three seats.”[18]
Court rules test scores not required in teacher evaluations
Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Barry Goode ruled in September 2016 that the Antioch Unified School District, along with 12 other school districts, could not be required to use student test scores in teacher evaluations. Goode's ruling went against a lawsuit filed by the group Students Matter, which sought to mandate the use of student standardized test scores in teacher evaluations. Students Matter argued that the districts' teacher contracts violated California's 1971 Stull Act, which requires school districts to evaluate teachers in a manner related to student performance. Goode concluded that all of the school districts in question were meeting their legal obligations.[19]
“The Legislature endorses many uses of those tests, including evaluating pupils, entire schools and local educational agencies,” Goode wrote in his opinion. “But it does not say the results should be used to evaluate individual teachers.”[19]
Marcellus McRae, who represented the plaintiffs, said he was surprised by the ruling. “If you really think about it, this is such a basic concept that the goal of teaching is for students to learn,” McRae said. “It is, to me, axiomatic that teacher evaluations have to be based at least in part over whether students have learned.”[19]
Students Matter won a similar case in 2012. That lawsuit had been filed against the Los Angeles Unified School District, and the school district was ultimately required to include test scores in its teacher evaluations. In the 2016 case, however, Goode ruled that school districts were allowed to decide how to use test results. “There are serious questions about whether, and the extent to which, a pupil’s standardized test score is ‘reasonably related’ and ‘applicable’ to the performance of a given teacher,” Goode said.[19]
Teachers unions supported Goode's ruling. They argued that standardized test scores overlooked external factors that inhibited student learning, such as poverty.[19]
“Every day teachers across California use a variety of benchmarks, including in-class quizzes, tests, projects, and personal observation to fine-tune their approaches with their students,” said California Federation of Teachers President Joshua Pechthalt. “There is no single method for assessing progress that is ideal or that should be used to the exclusion of all others.”[19]
Candidate survey
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About the district
The Antioch Unified School District is located in Contra Costa County in central California. The county seat is Martinez. Contra Costa County was home to 1,126,745 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[20] The district was the 87th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 18,523 students.[21]
Demographics
Contra Costa County outperformed California as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2010 and 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 39.4 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 Contra Costa County was $79,799, compared to $61,489 for the entire state. The percentage of people in poverty in the county was 10.5 percent, compared to 16.4 percent statewide.[20]
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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.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Antioch Unified School District' 'California'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Antioch Unified School District | California | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Contra Costa County, California, "Contest/Candidate Proof List Presidential General Election," accessed August 15, 2016
- ↑ Contra Costa County, "Unofficial Results - Election Night Final," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ Antioch Unified School District, "board of trustees," accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ Antioch Unified School District, "Board Member Qualifications & Method of Election," accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ Contra Costa County Elections Division, "Contra Costa County Candidate Guide," accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Voter Registration," accessed June 13, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "California Online Voter Registration," accessed June 13, 2016
- ↑ Contra Costa County Elections Division, "Contest/Candidate Proof List: Presidential General Election," accessed September 23, 2016
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "November 8, 2016, General Election Calendar," accessed July 27, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 California Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 8, 2016," accessed July 27, 2016
- ↑ Democratic Party of Contra Costa County, "2016 General Election Final Endorsements," October 10, 2016
- ↑ Antioch Herald, "Letter Writer Announces Antioch School Board Endorsements by District Staff," October 10, 2016
- ↑ CCSA Advocates, "Our Endorsements: November 2016 Elections," accessed October 27, 2016
- ↑ Evolve, "Endorsements: November 8, 2016 General Election," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ Contra Costa Building and Construction Trades Council, "Contra Costa Building and Construction Trades Council 2016 Endorsements," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ Contra Costa County Elections Division, "Contra Costa County Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed February 7, 2017
- ↑ Antioch Herald, "Antioch Schools Trustee Vinson Served With Recall Papers At Meeting, Wednesday Night," October 26, 2016
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 East Bay Times, "Antioch: School district trustee accused of racially divisive remarks faces recall," October 27, 2016
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 Los Angeles Times, "Court refuses to mandate use of test scores in teacher evaluations," September 22, 2016
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 United States Census Bureau, "Contra Costa County, California," accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Contra Costa County Registrar of Voters, "Past Election Results," accessed July 11, 2014
| 2016 Antioch Unified School District Elections | |
| Contra Costa County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Diane Gibson-Gray • Incumbent, Fernando Navarro • Incumbent, Alonzo Terry • Mike Burkholder • Gary Hack • Joy Motts • Crystal Sawyer-White |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
