UPDATE: 5:28 a.m. June 8, 2016
Although LaShae Collins bested appointed Trustee Sharon Whitehurst-Payne in Tuesday's primary election for a seat on the San Diego Unified School District Board of Education, both will advance to a city- wide runoff in November to decide the winner.
Only residents in sub-district E voted for their respective representative on the school board Tuesday, but because the top two vote- getters advance to a runoff, voters across San Diego will decide whether Collins, the district director for Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, or Whitehurst-Payne, a longtime educator and school volunteer, will be elected.
Whitehurst-Payne was appointed to fill the remainder of Marne Foster's term earlier this year, after Foster resigned and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of violating the Political Reform Act by accepting an excessive donation from a single donor. She represents southeast San Diego neighborhoods in the Lincoln High, Morse High and portions of the Crawford High areas.
Incumbent board member John Lee Evans, a psychologist and former teacher, defeated Stephan Groce, but both will also advance to a runoff.
Trustee Richard Barrera, a labor union leader, was unopposed for a third term to represent south and central San Diego.
UPDATE: 12:01 a.m. June 8, 2016
With 54 percent of the votes counted, LaShae Collins, the district director for Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, led with 57.2 percent of the vote. Whitehurst-Payne, a longtime educator and school volunteer, had 42.8 percent.
Whitehurst-Payne was appointed to fill the remainder of Marne Foster's term earlier this year, after Foster resigned and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of violating the Political Reform Act by accepting an excessive donation from a single donor. She represents District E, which includes southeast San Diego neighborhoods in the Lincoln High, Morse High and portions of the Crawford High areas.
Incumbent board member John Lee Evans, a psychologist and former teacher, was leading in his try for a third term, leading Stephan Groce, 71.57 percent to 28.43 percent.
Trustee Richard Barrera, a labor union leader, was unopposed for a third term to represent District D covering south and central San Diego.
UPDATE: 8:45 p.m. June 7, 2016
John Lee Evans was dominating the race in District A with 72 percent of the votes in early results. In District E, Lashae Collins has received 54 percent of the votes while her opponent Sharon Whitehurst-Payne has 45 percent. Richard A. Barrera in District D is running unopposed.
Original post:
Three contests for the San Diego Unified School District board are on Tuesday's ballot.
The top two candidates in each race will advance to the general election in November, regardless of whether one candidate has an overwhelming victory Tuesday. That's because the candidates compete within their districts in June, but in November they compete citywide.
San Diego Unified is the second largest school district in the state, serving 130,000 students at more than 225 campuses.
The issues
The biggest issues facing the school board include the achievement gap, a looming teacher shortage, high school graduation requirements, early childhood school readiness and student discipline.
Who's running?
Incumbent John Lee Evans are competing Stephen “Steph” Groce in District A; Sharon Whitehurst-Payne and LaShae Collins in District E; and incumbent Richard Barrera is running uncontested in District D.
District A
Evans, 62, is seeking his third, four-year term in District A, which includes Clairemont, University City and Mira Mesa.
He was elected to the school board in 2008, the year the Great Recession began, and the school district was hit with significant budget cuts, teacher layoffs and larger class sizes. Evans said the financial crisis inspired him and his fellow trustees to create a long-term plan, Vision 2020, to develop quality schools in every neighborhood. His list of other accomplishments include helping to transform the district’s high schools to offer college preparation and career technical courses, and leading efforts to get more training for principals and teachers to make them better leaders, while increasing classroom technology.
Groce, 42, is a financial asset manager for Sports Chalet, though the company is going out of business. Groce said he’s also active with several community groups, including the San Diego Police Department Advisory Board and a city of San Diego neighborhood coalition.
He said he's vying for a seat on the school board to bring transparency and trust. If elected, Groce said he would work to provide an open dialogue between the school board and the public, and redistribute the school budget so that teachers would not have to pay for resources out of their own pocket, and students would be provided with essential supplies, such as pencils and paper.
District E
The candidate who wins the District E seat will represent the neighborhoods in southeastern San Diego, where 45 of the district's schools are. The area's former trustee, Marne Foster, resigned in February after pleading guilty to receiving financial gifts over the legal limit.
Whitehurst-Payne, 65, was appointed by the school board to finish Foster’s term, which ends in December.
In her 31-year teaching career in the district, Whitehurst-Payne taught math at Roosevelt Middle School and O’Farrell and Mission Bay high schools. She also was a college administrator at California State University San Marcos for 10 years. She holds a doctorate in education leadership from UCLA.
During her first three months as interim trustee, Whitehurst-Payne said she has visited every campus in her district. She’s passionate about closing the achievement gap by drastically increasing resources and programs to those who are struggling. She also wants to see more people volunteering in their neighborhood schools.
Collins, 35, is an adjunct professor at San Diego State University and district director for state Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego. She was raised in southeastern San Diego and graduated from Lincoln High School. Collins’ two children are students in District E schools, where she has served on the Parent Teacher Association. She holds a master’s degree from San Diego State University.
Collins said the school system is at a major major crossroad, and parents and community members are having a hard time navigating the system. She said the focus of the board has shifted from the needs of students to the ones of adults.
District D
Richard Barrera is running unopposed for re-election to represent the schools in downtown, Barrio Logan and neighborhoods surrounding Balboa Park. Barrera, a labor movement organizer, was elected to the school board in 2008.
After graduating from El Cajon Valley High School, Barrera received his bachelor’s degree in American history from UC San Diego and his master's degree in public policy from Harvard University.
Barrera has worked in community and union organizing during his eight-year tenure on the board, including with the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council.
