John Baker (California)
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John Baker is an at-large representative on the South San Francisco Unified board of trustees in California. Baker won re-election in the general election on November 8, 2016.[1]
Before getting appointed, Baker unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the board. He was defeated in the general election on November 4, 2014.
Baker participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Biography[edit]
Baker is a longtime South San Francisco resident.[2] He earned a B.A. in journalism from Humboldt State University in 1998, a B.A. in history from San Francisco State University in 2003 and a Master's of Public Administration from San Francisco State University in 2012.[3]
Professionally, Baker is employed by the State of California as a grant analyst. Previously, he held employment as a reporter for various California newspapers and a 911 dispatcher for multiple agencies in San Mateo County. Additionally, he served in analytical internships with the City of Brisbane and the Santa Clara Fire Department.[4]
His community service includes four years on the South San Francisco Library Board, nine years on the SamTrans Citizen's Advisory Committee and a year coaching in the South San Francisco Youth Baseball League. Baker served as chairman of the South San Francisco Public Housing Authority and as a member of the San Mateo County Transportation Authority's Citizen's Advisory Committee.[5]
Elections[edit]
2016[edit]
Three of the five seats on the South San Francisco Unified School District board of trustees were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. Two seats were up for election to four-year terms, and one seat was up for election to a two-year term.[6] Incumbent Daina Lujan and newcomer Patricia "Pat" Murray ran unopposed and won four-year terms on the board. The race for the two-year term featured incumbent John Baker and Scott Grindy. Baker won re-election to the board.[1][7]
Results[edit]
| South San Francisco Unified School District, At-large General Election, 2-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 John Baker Incumbent |
60.47% | 13,697 |
| Scott Grindy | 39.53% | 8,955 |
| Total Votes | 22,652 | |
| Source: San Mateo County Elections, "November 8, 2016 Presidential General Election Official Results," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Funding[edit]
Baker filed an exemption form detailing he would not spend or receive more than $2,000 for this campaign. Because of this, he did not have to file additional campaign finance reports.[8][9]
Endorsements[edit]
Baker was endorsed by the San Mateo County Democratic Party and The San Mateo Daily Journal.[10][11]
2014[edit]
The election in South San Francisco Unified featured three at-large seats up for general election on November 4, 2014. There was no primary election.
Two incumbents, Philip Weise and Patrick Lucy, were up for re-election. The third seat up for election was due to a vacancy on the board. Lucy and challengers Rick Ochsenhirt and Rosa Acosta won the seats by defeating Weise and challengers Patricia "Pat" Murray, Sue A. Olinger and John Baker.
Monica Peregrina Boyd was a candidate but withdrew from the race on September 9, 2014. Her name still appeared on the ballot.
Results[edit]
| South San Francisco Unified School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2014 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Rick Ochsenhirt |
15.3% | 4,336 | |
| Nonpartisan | Rosa Acosta |
15.1% | 4,299 | |
| Nonpartisan | Patrick Lucy Incumbent |
14.3% | 4,063 | |
| Nonpartisan | Sue A. Olinger | 13.5% | 3,833 | |
| Nonpartisan | Philip Weise Incumbent | 12.6% | 3,590 | |
| Nonpartisan | Patricia "Pat" Murray | 12.8% | 3,631 | |
| Nonpartisan | John Baker | 9.9% | 2,801 | |
| Nonpartisan | Monica Peregrina Boyd | 6.5% | 1,851 | |
| Total Votes | 28,404 | |||
| Source: San Mateo County Elections, "2014 General Election Results," accessed January 2, 2015 | ||||
Endorsements[edit]
Baker was endorsed by the San Mateo Daily Journal and the San Mateo County Democratic Party.[12][13]
Campaign themes[edit]
2016[edit]
Ballotpedia survey responses[edit]
John Baker participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on September 22, 2016:
| “ | With more time on the board, I wish to work on those issues that mean a lot to me. These include improving the experiences of children with special needs, such as my own son. I also wish to continue to improve academic standards, with the ultimate goal being that our local tech and biotech companies first look locally in hiring. I want to find ways to improve infrastructure at our east side schools, which -- in a case of stunning inequity -- seem to have not reaped the benefits of Measure J.[14][15] | ” |
Ranking the issues[edit]
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in California. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | N/A[15] | ” |
| —John Baker (September 22, 2016) | ||
Positions on the issues[edit]
The candidate was asked to answer nine questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| No. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. No, because curriculums get tailored to the test rather than real-world success. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| The goal of getting students to use deductive reasoning is admirable, but the program us useless without professional development for teachers. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Offer additional training options. Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. Bonuses for outcomes. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| As a last resort for violent offenses. Diversion should be first. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers |
About the district[edit]
The South San Francisco Unified School District is located in San Mateo County in west-central California. The county seat is Redwood City. San Mateo County was home to 765,135 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[16] The district was the 183rd-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 9,263 students.[17]
Demographics[edit]
San Mateo County outperformed California as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 45 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 San Mateo County was $91,421, compared to $61,489 for the entire state. The percentage of people in poverty in the county was 7.5 percent, compared to 16.4 percent statewide.[16]
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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[edit]
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'John Baker' 'South San Francisco Unified School District'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also[edit]
- South San Francisco Unified School District, California
- South San Francisco Unified School District elections (2016)
- South San Francisco Unified School District elections (2014)
External links[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 San Mateo County Elections, "Qualified Candidate List," August 22, 2016
- ↑ John Baker for SSFUSD, "Home," accessed August 25, 2014
- ↑ John Baker for SSFUSD, "Education," accessed August 25, 2014
- ↑ John Baker for SSFUSD, "Work experience," accessed August 25, 2014
- ↑ John Baker for SSFUSD, "Community service," accessed August 25, 2014
- ↑ South San Francisco Unified School District, "School Board," accessed July 6, 2016
- ↑ San Mateo County, "November 8, 2016 Presidential General Election Semi-Official Results," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ San Mateo County Elections, "San Mateo County Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed October 3, 2016
- ↑ California Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 8, 2016," accessed September 30, 2016
- ↑ San Mateo Democrats, "Endorsements for Nov 8 General Election," September 16, 2016
- ↑ The San Mateo Daily Journal, "Editorial: John Baker for South City school board," September 14, 2016
- ↑ San Mateo County Democrats, "Endorsements for November 2014 Election," September 11, 2014
- ↑ San Mateo Daily Journal, "Daily Journal endorsements," October 15, 2014
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "John Baker's responses," September 22, 2016
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 United States Census Bureau, "San Mateo County, California," accessed August 11, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ San Mateo County Elections, "Election Results Archive," accessed August 6, 2014
| 2016 South San Francisco Unified School District Elections | |
| San Mateo County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large (4-year terms): • Incumbent, Daina Lujan • Patricia "Pat" Murray At-large (2-year term): • Incumbent, John Baker • Scott Grindy |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
| 2014 South San Francisco Unified School District Elections | |
| San Mateo County, California | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Philip Weise • Incumbent, Patrick Lucy • Rick Ochsenhirt • Patricia "Pat" Murray • Rosa Acosta • Monica Peregrina Boyd • Sue A. Olinger • John Baker |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
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