Pittsburg Unified School District elections (2016)
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Two of the five seats on the Pittsburg Unified School District board of trustees were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. In their bids for re-election, incumbents Laura Canciamilla and George Miller defeated challenger Nettie Asiasi.[1][2] On top of choosing members for the board of trustees, citizens of the district also voted on a parcel tax measure.
Elections[edit]
Voter and candidate information[edit]
The Pittsburg 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. Three seats were up for election on November 4, 2014, and two 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 legally disqualified from holding civil office," according to the bylaws of the Pittsburg 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[edit]
At-large[edit]
Results[edit]
| Pittsburg Unified School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Laura Canciamilla Incumbent |
48.26% | 10,220 |
| George Miller Incumbent |
37.68% | 7,981 |
| Nettie Asiasi | 13.60% | 2,881 |
| Write-in votes | 0.46% | 97 |
| Total Votes | 21,179 | |
| Source: Contra Costa County , "Presidential General Election Official Results - Final," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Candidates[edit]
Laura Canciamilla 
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George Miller
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Nettie Asiasi | |||
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Additional elections on the ballot[edit]
- See also: California elections, 2016
The district's school board election shared the ballot with a bond measure for the school district, a bond measure for the city of Pittsburg, and a number of statewide ballot measures. It also shared the ballot with elections for the following offices:[8]
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Key deadlines[edit]
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[edit]
The Contra Costa Building and Construction Trades Council endorsed incumbents Laura Canciamilla and George Miller.[11]
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[edit]
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[edit]
Candidates received a total of $15,055.00 and spent a total of $8,659.04 as of November 1, 2016, according to the Contra Costa County Elections Division.[12]
| Candidate | Existing balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laura Canciamilla | $3,365.04 | $15,055.00 | $8,659.04 | $9,761.00 |
| George Miller | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Nettie Asiasi | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Past elections[edit]
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2014This election was canceled due to lack of opposition. Incumbents Duane Smith and Joe Arenivar and newcomer De'Shawn Woolridge won election by default.[13] 2012Three seats were up for election in 2012, two four-year terms and one two-year term. Due to lack of opposition, the election for two members to serve four-year terms was canceled. Incumbents Laura Canciamilla and George Miller were re-elected to their seats by default.[14] The table below details the results for the two-year term election.
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What was at stake?[edit]
2016[edit]
Issues in the election[edit]
Measure S[edit]
In addition to choosing two candidates for the Pittsburg Unified School District board of trustees on November 8, 2016, citizens of the district passed Parcel Tax Measure S. A two-thirds majority was required for the measure to pass, and it passed with 67.72 percent of the vote.[2] The question appeared on the ballot as follows:
| “ | To provide a stable, local funding source for art, music and athletic essential program equipment and materials, to attract and retain highly qualified teachers and staff, to enhance and expand access to art, music and athletic programs, shall Pittsburg Unified School District levy an annual tax of $91 per taxable parcel (approximately $1,200,000) for seven years, beginning 7/1/2017 with an annual inflation adjustment of $6, with citizen oversight and senior citizen, SSI and SSDI exemptions?[15] | ” |
| —Pittsburg Unified School District (2016)[16] | ||
Issues in the district[edit]
Court rules test scores not required in teacher evaluations[edit]
Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Barry Goode ruled in September 2016 that the Pittsburg 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.[17]
“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.”[17]
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.”[17]
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.[17]
Teachers unions supported Goode's ruling. They argued that standardized test scores overlooked external factors that inhibited student learning, such as poverty.[17]
“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.”[17]
Candidate survey[edit]
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About the district[edit]
The Pittsburg 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.[18] The district was the 150th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 10,769 students.[19]
Demographics[edit]
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.[18]
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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 'Pittsburg Unified School District' 'California'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also[edit]
| Pittsburg Unified School District | California | School Boards |
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External links[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ Contra Costa County, California, "Contest/Candidate Proof List Presidential General Election," accessed August 29, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Contra Costa County , "Presidential General Election Official Results - Final," accessed December 7, 2016
- ↑ Pittsburg Unified School District, "board of trustees," accessed August 3, 2016
- ↑ Pittsburg Unified School District, "BB 9220 Board Bylaws: Governing Board Elections," accessed August 3, 2016
- ↑ California Elections Code, “Part 5, Section 10600-10604: School District And Community College District Governing Board Elections,” 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
- ↑ 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 November 1, 2016
- ↑ California Election Code, "Section 10229," accessed October 13, 2014
- ↑ Smart Voter, "Board Member; Pittsburg Unified School District; 4 Year Term Voter Information," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Contra Costa County Elections Division, "November 8, 2016 General Election Local Measures," accessed October 26, 2016
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 Los Angeles Times, "Court refuses to mandate use of test scores in teacher evaluations," September 22, 2016
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 United States Census Bureau, "Contra Costa County, California," accessed July 26, 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 Pittsburg Unified School District Elections | |
| Contra Costa County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Laura Canciamilla • Incumbent, George Miller • Nettie Asiasi |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
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