As Fresno-area students return to class, school board politics heat up for fall election

Julianna Morano
Bee file photos

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Hello! It’s Monday, Aug. 15 and my wonderful Education Lab colleague Lasherica has passed the newsletter baton to me, Julianna, for this week. It’s a pleasure to write to you!

It feels like there have already been so many elections this year, but we’re definitely not out of the woods yet. As thousands of Fresno Unified students return to school today, the upcoming Nov. 8 election is just 85 days away.

While I’m sure many of you have your eye on key races like the one for the governor’s office, we, as education news nerds, would like to note that 102 education-related seats will be up for election across Fresno County and surrounding areas.

Below you can find a list of all the candidates who have filed as of Monday morning in major races in Central Unified, Clovis Unified, Fresno Unified, Sanger Unified and more.

Some key dates you should also be aware of as we approach Election Day include:

  • The last day to declare candidacy: Aug. 12 (Note: already passed Friday)

  • The deadline to declare if the incumbent didn’t file on time: Aug. 17 (Wednesday)

  • The first day of early voting (at County Clerk’s Office): Oct. 10

  • Election Day: Nov. 8

Fresno County Clerk James Kus noted in an email to the Ed Lab that the list of candidates as of Friday isn’t quite final, however, because of (a) the extended deadline for declaring candidacy in races where the incumbent does not file, but also (b) that some races where, for example, one candidate and no challengers file, the candidate will be appointed rather than elected.

“This process can save jurisdictions (especially smaller jurisdictions) a lot of money,” he said.

More information can be found on the county clerk’s website at this link.

Do you know of any races we’re missing here? What should we be grilling school board candidates about this cycle? Tell us by taking this survey!

Candidates for major education races in Fresno County

Candidates in each district are listed in alphabetical order by last name. An asterisk (*) denotes an incumbent.

Central Unified

Trustee Area 1

  • Joshua Sellers

  • Michelle Sweeney

Trustee Area 2

  • Kevin L. Ashford

  • Yesenia Carrillo*

  • Erik “Danny” Salas

Trustee Area 4

  • Shawn M Brooks*

  • Nabil Kherfan

Trustee Area 7

  • Naindeep Singh Chann*

Note: Incumbent Jason R. Paul does not appear to have filed by the Aug. 12 deadline for Central Unified’s Trustee Area 1.

Clovis Unified

Trustee Area 1

  • Samantha Bauer

  • Joanne Burton

  • Chuck Der Manouel

  • Clint Oliver

Trustee Area 3

  • Tiffany Stoker Madsen*

Trustee Area 6

  • Deena Combs-Flores

Note: Clovis Unified’s Trustee Area 1 seat is currently vacant. Incumbent Betsy Sandoval does not appear to have filed by the Aug. 12 deadline for Clovis Unified’s Trustee Area 6.

Fresno Unified

Trustee Area 1

  • Wayne Horton

  • Keshia Thomas*

Trustee Area 3

  • Valerie F. Davis*

  • Karl C. Diaz

  • Tammy McMahon-Gorans

  • Michael B. Osmer

Trustee Area 4

  • Veva Islas*

  • Michelle Denise Scire

  • Karen A. Steed

Trustee Area 7

  • James R. Barr

  • Michael W. Haynes

  • Terry Slatic*

  • Susan Wittrup

Sanger Unified

Trustee Area 2

  • Peter R. Filippi*

Trustee Area 6

  • Jesse Solorio*

Trustee Area 7

  • Jesse J. Vasquez*

Note: The clerk’s office’s candidate list indicates these three candidates, all of whom are incumbents, won’t appear on the November ballot because no challengers emerged.

State Center Community College District

Trustee Area 1

  • Robert “Bobby” Kahn*

  • Alfredo Miranda

  • Destiny A. Rodriguez

Trustee Area 4

  • Magdalena Gomez*

Trustee Area 5

  • Gilbert R. Felix

  • Rob Fuentes

Note: The clerk’s office’s candidate list indicates the race for Trustee Area 4’s seat, in which only the incumbent Gomez has filed, is not on the ballot. The incumbent for Trustee Area 5, Annalisa Perea, did not file after following her election to Fresno City Council in June.

West Park Elementary

  • Fernando Alvarez

  • Anna Benavidez*

  • Maria Rosa Duarte

  • Araceli Lopez*

  • Ezekiel Andre Rodriguez

  • Kimberly Vivenzi*

Note: This election is at large, meaning all the candidates will compete in a single pool for three seats on West Park’s school board.

Here’s the latest from The Fresno Bee’s Education Lab.

OUR LATEST STORIES

Bullard High School in Fresno will be a ‘cellphone free environment.’ When will ban start?

Here’s what students and parents should know about cellphones on the first day of school.

Teachers from Fresno to Merced County ask for help as first day of school approaches

Teachers from around California’s central San Joaquin Valley are requesting online donations to raise money to purchase school supplies for class.

Bullard High football coach suing Fresno Unified trustee who says he used racial slur

The lawsuit says the allegations have damaged his reputation and subjected him to “contempt, ridicule, and/or shame.”

First-of-its-kind partnership in California helps Fresno’s Black students succeed in college

Fresno Unified has launched a first-of-its-kind partnership in California with Benedict College, a HBCU in South Carolina, that is geared toward Black students.

Students, parents sound off on cell phone ban at Bullard High. ‘Taking away our voices’

Some parents have praised Bullard High School’s new cell phone policy. Students are questioning its ties to a racist photo taken in the schools’ weight room in May.

HERE’S WHAT ELSE WAS IN OUR EDUCATION DIGEST THIS WEEK

Hope, frustration and hard lessons as youth try to lower voting age for school board

Measures to lower the voting age to 16 for some elections in Oakland and Berkeley passed years ago but have yet to be implemented. | EdSource

An evolving role for colleges: Training people recovering from substance abuse disorders to be part of treatment teams

“If I’m in a treatment facility and I’m a patient, you’re not really my peer. You don’t know what it’s like to have this voice in your head that’s telling you you have to use.” | Hechinger Report

What Time Should School Start? We Asked Teachers

“Teachers weigh in on school start times.” | Education Week

Florida Is Placing Limits on Social Studies Textbooks. Here’s What Has to Go

“Do culturally responsive teaching and social-emotional learning belong in social studies textbooks? Florida is telling publishers “no.” Read more about the specifications for the state’s upcoming textbook review.” | Education Week

How a journalism class in Compton boosts students’ English skills

“The journalism class for English learners is a creative approach Compton Unified School District in Los Angeles County is taking to help students become proficient in English faster.” | EdSource

If more students become pregnant post-Roe, are we prepared to support them?

Schools often discriminate against parenting students, and services for them have dwindled. New abortion restrictions could force more young people to drop out. | Hechinger Report

How this California program is making it easier for those leaving prison to earn degrees

Project Rebound supports formerly incarcerated people at 15 campuses in the California State University system, including Fresno State. | PBS NewsHour

California will soon start giving kids free money for college. Here’s what families need to know

California is opening college savings accounts for every child born in the state on or after July 1, 2022, as well as all low-income children who were enrolled in a California public school in grades 1 through 12 last year or this year. | San Francisco Chronicle

That’s it for the Ed Lab newsletter. Have a great week!

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