With millions of ballots still to be counted in California, Chino Valley Unified school board President Sonja Shaw has a clear lead in the state superintendent of public instruction primary with 24.9% of the vote, followed by San Diego Unified school board President Richard Barrera with 18.9% of the vote.
None of the other candidates have more than 10% of the vote at this point.
Although all the polling places have reported, it’s not over yet. The top two candidates moving on to the Nov. 3 general election won’t be decided until all the mail-in ballots and provisional ballots are counted. In a state with 23 million registered voters, the process could take up to 30 days, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
The late votes are likely to lean Democrat, as they have historically made up the majority of the mail-in voters in the state. This year, that might be even more true, as many Democrats held on to their ballots until a clear Democratic leader emerged in the governor’s race.
The two candidates at the front of the pack for the state superintendent of public instruction position agree that student test scores are too low and that the proposed restructuring of the California Department of Education is a bad idea, but they disagree about almost everything else.
Shaw, who notoriously had state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond ejected from a Chino Valley Unified school board meeting, wants to end California policies prohibiting school staff from disclosing a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity. She also wants to prohibit transgender students from participating in girls’ sports.
Barrera, a senior policy adviser at the state Department of Education, disagreed with Shaw’s position during an April EdSource forum, saying the laws protect LGBTQ+ students. Barrera also would like more public funding for student support and to help districts recruit and retain teachers.
There wasn’t much excitement around the superintendent’s race until late April when outside organizations began spending to support their preferred candidates.
A voter survey released in early April found that none of the 10 candidates for superintendent of public instruction had more than 10% of support among likely voters. About a third of the voters surveyed said they didn’t know who they would vote for in the race.
When education unions began to spend in the race, they did not coalesce behind one candidate.
The California Teachers Association’s independent expenditure committee spent $5 million on the Barrera campaign. The California Federation of Teachers committee spent $200,000, and a political action committee for the California School Employees Association spent $175,000 on the Al Muratsuchi campaign. A political action committee for the Service Employees International Union spent $250,000 on the Anthony Rendon campaign.
Stances on education for leaders in governor’s race
Although education has not been a central issue in the gubernatorial race, the next governor will face major decisions about school funding and may have to execute a plan to move oversight of the California Department of Education from the state superintendent of public instruction to a new education commission, if the plan is approved by the Legislature.
Republican Steve Hilton, a political commentator, and Democrat Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, are leading the primary election for governor with 27.8% and 25.4% of the votes, respectively.
The front-runners are followed by Democrat Tom Steyer, a billionaire investor, with 19.6% of the vote, and Republican Chad Bianco, Riverside County sheriff, with 11.3% of the vote.
The four top vote-getters emerged from a crowded field of 61 candidates all vying to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will be termed out after eight years.
Hilton has said he would change state policies that prohibit parental notification when students indicate they may be transgender and that allow transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports. He also said he will hold teachers accountable for student performance by rewarding the best and firing the worst.
During the campaign, Becerra highlighted his efforts to expand early childhood education when he was U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. He has also said he would ensure all California communities have good schools and that college is more affordable.
Steyer has proposed investing more money in public schools and increasing teacher pay to help recruit and retain them. He would like free education from universal preschool at age 3 to community college. He proposes paying for it by raising taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals.
Bianco would like to expand career technical education and high-performing charter schools. His other ideas include increasing the focus on reading, writing, math and science, increasing funding for teacher training and recruitment, promoting mental health support and ensuring all schools have an assigned law enforcement officer.
