Benicia school district special election in the books – Daily Republic

The Solano County registrar of voters on Tuesday certified the results of the April 11 special election for the Benicia Unified School District.

That officially makes Amy C. Hirsh, a local attorney and parent, the newest member of the school district’s board of trustees.

Hirsch will represent Trustee Area 5. She could not be reached for comment Wednesday.Hirsch received 652 votes, representing 57.96% of the 1,128 ballots cast.

Source: Benicia school district special election in the books

Final ballot count – except 2 – completed for Benicia school election – Daily Republic

It was clear after the first ballot count on April 11 that Amy C. Hirsh was going to be the next Benicia Unified School District trustee.

The last count, completed Tuesday, confirmed that.

Hirsh, a local attorney and parent, collected 652 votes, or 57.96% of the 1,125 ballots counted to win the special election for the District 5 seat on the school board, the county Registrar of Voters Office reported.

Source: Final ballot count – except 2 – completed for Benicia school election

Local attorney holds big lead in Benicia Unified special election – Daily Republic

Attorney Amy C. Hirsh appears to be on her way to winning the Trustee Area 5 seat on the Benicia Unified School District board.

Hirsch, following Tuesday night’s special election count, had banked 592 votes – 58.61% of all ballots counted. As of Wednesday, those numbers were reported at 630 votes (57.59%), the unofficial results from the Solano County Registrar of Voters states.

The next closest candidate is Ariana A. Martinez with 302 votes (27.61%), followed by Ali Mansouri with 162 votes (14.81%), the Elections Office reported.

Source: Local attorney holds big lead in Benicia Unified special election

Amy Hirsh Holds Sizable Lead In Tuesday’s Special School Board Election – SF Gate

Attorney Amy Hirsh appears to be headed to a new seat on the board of the Benicia Unified School District (BUSD) after gaining a sizable lead in a special election held Tuesday.

The special election was held after no one ran for the seat to represent the Area 5 region of Benicia on the board in November’s general election.

Normally when this happens, the school district’s governing board interviews possible trustees and appoints someone to fill the seat, which they did on Nov. 3.

Source: Amy Hirsh Holds Sizable Lead In Tuesday’s Special School Board Election

Benicia to hold special election for vacant school board seat – Vallejo Sun

By Ryan Geller

A special election will be held in April to fill a vacant seat on the Benicia Unified School District Governing Board after community members who applied for the seat petitioned to overturn the board’s special appointment process, alleging nepotism.

Three candidates are now running for the seat, although no candidates registered to run in November’s general election, which triggered the board’s appointment process.

Source: Benicia to hold special election for vacant school board seat

Solano to run special election for Benicia Trustee Area 5 – Daily Republic

By Todd R. Hansen

Solano County supervisors on Tuesday set April 11 for a special election to fill the vacant Trustee Area 5 seat on the Benicia School District board.

The action allows the county Registrar of Voters to conduct the election.

The district board had appointed Ariana Martinez to fill the vacancy after no one ran for the post in the November election. The three others considered for the appointed, however, filed a petition arguing there was a conflict of interest and contended the board intentionally kept active parents from serving on the board, nepotism, collusion and failure to disclose that Martinez, who holds a master’s degree in social work, is the daughter of the executive assistant to the superintendent.

Source: Solano to run special election for Benicia Trustee Area 5

Sheri Zada announces candidacy for re-election to the BUSD Board of Trustees – Times-Herald

Benicia School Board President Sheri Zada has announced her candidacy for re-election to the Benicia Unified School District Board of Trustees for District 1.

Zada has thus far has received the endorsement from the Benicia Teachers Association, Benicia Mayor Steve Young, Benicia Vice-Mayor Tom Campbell, Solano County Supervisor Monica Brown, City Council Candidates Terry Scott and Keri Birdseye, Solano County Board of Education Trustee for Area 3 Dana Dean, as well as the endorsement from her School Board colleagues, Mark Maselli, Dr. Gethsemane Moss and CeCe Grubs.

Source: Sheri Zada announces candidacy for re-election to the BUSD Board of Trustees – Times-Herald

State Sen. Bill Dodd gathers a Moss – The Vacaville Reporter

By Richard Freedman

A Benicia school board trustee is about to get an education — into politics. And she’s thrilled about it.

Dr. Gethsemane Moss is State Sen. Bill Dodd’s newly-appointed field representative covering parts of Contra Costa and Solano counties.

With a 24-career in education as an elementary and middle school teacher, high school and Solano County Office of Education administrator, Moss said she “basically has done a lot of different roles in education and part of it that’s important is connected to advocacy and legislation.

“It got to the point,” says Moss, “where I wanted to do a little more. I really wanted to look into work where I feel I could make more of an impact and connect with folks.”

Source: State Sen. Bill Dodd gathers a Moss – The Vacaville Reporter

Voters fill plethora of Solano school, college board seats – Daily Republic

By Todd R. Hansen

School and college boards governed over the end of one school year and the beginning of another in a very, very different world.

The Covid-19 pandemic added the term distance learning to the common educational lexicon.

And some of those boards got a new makeup of members in November.

Judi Honeychurch, for the second election cycle, faced no opposition and therefore did not appear on the ballot for her Trustee Area 3 seat on the Fairfield-Suisun School District. Bethany Smith similarly returns as the Trustee Area 1 representative.

Source: Voters fill plethora of Solano school, college board seats

Solano school, college district nomination period ends, mostly, for Nov. 3 election – Daily Republic

By Todd R. Hansen

Judi Honeychurch did not face a challenger in her last election and will have no need to campaign this fall, either.

Judi Honeychurch“I look forward to the challenges of the future and working with the superintendent and the teachers and staff,” said Honeychurch, who will enter her third term on the Fairfield-Suisun School District board of trustees.

She is the only incumbent who does not have a challenger.

Clifford Gordon, owner of Gordon’s Music & Sound in downtown Fairfield, pulled and filed candidacy papers Thursday for the Trustee Area 1 seat held by Bethany Smith. Trustee Area 2 incumbent Joan Gaut will run against Leslie Unverferth, and Area 6 incumbent John Silva faces Ana Petero.

Source: Solano school, college district nomination period ends, mostly, for Nov. 3 election

Last week for candidates to join Solano school district trustee races – Daily Republic

By Todd R. Hansen

The four incumbents and two challengers for seats on the Fairfield-Suisun School District board of trustees have filed candidacy papers, the county Elections Office reported Monday evening.

This is the last week to file for anyone interested in running for a position on 10 school or two college district boards.

Fairfield-Suisun school incumbents Joan Gaut, in Trustee Area 2, and John Silva, in Trustee Area 6, each faces a challenger. Leslie Unverferth, a real estate agent, looks to unseat Gaut, while Ana Petero, a teacher, wants to replace Silva.

Incumbents Bethany Smith, in Trustee Area 1, and Judi Honeychurch, in Trustee Area 3, are thus far unchallenged.

Source: Last week for candidates to join Solano school district trustee races

Benicia eyes moving to district elections for councilmembers – Times-Herald

By John Glidden

Benicia may soon join other Solano County cities by making the switch from at-large elections to district-based races for its City Council.

During its meeting this Tuesday, the Benicia City Council will consider adopting a resolution of intention to start the process of changing the method of how its members are elected.

Multiple municipalities, local and statewide, have faced demand letters stating that the the at-large election method they use violates the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) because it “impairs the ability of a protected class to elect candidates of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an election.”

Source: Benicia eyes moving to district elections for councilmembers – Times-Herald

Five school board candidates speak at LWV forum – Benicia Herald

By Nick Sestanovich

School safety, mental health and district budgeting were among the topics addressed by prospective school board trustees at Wednesday’s candidate’s forum at the Benicia Public Library.

As part of its efforts to ensure a more informed voting populace, Benicia’s League of Women Voters hosted a forum with the five candidates in the Dona Benicia Room. With board President Diane Ferrucci the only incumbent seeking re-election in 2018, this leaves four candidates vying to fill the seats being vacated by trustees Celeste Monnette and Peter Morgan: realtor Adrean Hayashi, Pittsburg middle school teacher Mark Maselli, Arts & Culture Commissioner Gethsemane Moss and retired school librarian Sheri Zada. Moderator and LWV member Jane Keene asked questions of the candidates crafted by the LWV and audience.

Source: Five school board candidates speak at LWV forum

BUSD Board candidates at Tuesday’s Progressive Dems Democrats meeting – Times Herald

By Times Herald Staff

The Progressive Democrats of Benicia will host a panel discussion with candidates for the Benicia Unified School District Governing Board at 7 p.m., Tuesday.

All five candidates have been invited to the Progressive Dems General Membership meeting which will be held in the Dona Benicia Room at the Benicia Library, located at 150 E L St.

The candidates are vying for three seats on the board this fall. They are Diane Ferrucci, Adrean Hayashi, Mark Maselli, Gethsemane Moss and Sheri Zada.

Each candidate will give a five-minute presentation, and following the presentations the candidates will answer questions from the audience, according to a news release from the Progressive Democrats.

Retired librarian becomes first candidate in school board race – Benicia Herald

By Nick Sestanovich

The Benicia school board election is well underway. This year, three seats are up for grabs but of those three, only President Diane Ferrucci has made an attempt to run for re-election. This will essentially guarantee new faces on the board, and according to the Solano County Registrar of Voters’ website, at least four challengers are going through the process of filing papers to establish candidacies. Of these, one is now an established candidate as of press time.

Sheri Zada, a retired elementary school librarian and local volunteer, is the first candidate in the race. She cites a lifelong love for education and children that she hopes to bring to the board.

“I’ve been heavily involved in volunteering for children and education, which is my passion,” she said.

Source: Retired librarian becomes first candidate in school board race

Potential candidate comes forward; incumbent trustee will not seek re-election – Benicia Herald

By Nick Sestanovich

The filing period for Benicia’s school board election is not until tomorrow, but if a panel at Thursday’s Progressive Democrats of Benicia (PDB) meeting was any indication, the race has already begun. Among other things, the panel saw the emergence of a potential challenger and the announcement by an incumbent that she would not seek re-election.

What remains to be seen is if the election will be a repeat of 2016, in which no election was held since only three candidates ran when three seats were available. One thing is for certain though: No matter the outcome, there will be new faces on the school board.

This year, three seats are up for grabs: those belonging to President Diane Ferrucci and trustees Celeste Monnette and Peter Morgan. Morgan announced at a previous school board meeting that he does not intend to seek re-election, and Monnette— a social worker who has served on the board since 2016—made the same announcement at Thursday’s PDB meeting.

Source: Potential school board candidate comes forward; incumbent trustee will not seek re-election

School board OKs 18-19 budget – Benicia Herald

By Nick Sestanovich

The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District approved the budget for the 2018-19 school year at the final school board meeting of the 2017-18 year on Wednesday.

Chief Business Official Tim Rahill noted there were no changes to the budget from the May 31 meeting when a public hearing was held. Rahill said the district would be operating at a small one-time surplus of $88,000, which includes the costs of employee negotiations from the tentative agreements with the classified employees union and confidential/management group, which were unanimously ratified at Wednesday’s meeting.

Trustee Peter Morgan asked if costs associated with the Benicia Teachers Association were included in the budget, considering negotiations were ongoing and the tentative agreement was voted down. Rahill said he contacted both auditors and school services.

Source: School board OKs 18-19 budget

School board to vote on LCAP Wednesday – Benicia Herald

By Nick Sestanovich

Following a public hearing at the May 31 school board meeting, a discussion on the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) is up for the trustees’ approval for the last meeting of the 2017-18 school year Wednesday— a day earlier than when school board meetings are usually held.

The LCAP is a tool for all school districts in California to receive funds through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). According to a report by Dr. Leslie Beatson, the assistant superintendent of educational services, the LCAP has three main goals: supporting academic and social-emotional success for all students, modernizing and improving infrastructure to promote 21st-century learning, and increasing parental and community partnerships so that all students graduate college and career ready. Beatson highlighted a number of programs that contributed to academic and social-emotional success, including Odyssey of the Mind, Visual and Performing Arts programs and Outdoor Education.

Source: School board to vote on LCAP Wednesday

School board to vote on LCAP Wednesday – Benicia Herald

By Nick Sestanovich

Following a public hearing at the May 31 school board meeting, a discussion on the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) is up for the trustees’ approval for the last meeting of the 2017-18 school year Wednesday— a day earlier than when school board meetings are usually held.

The LCAP is a tool for all school districts in California to receive funds through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). According to a report by Dr. Leslie Beatson, the assistant superintendent of educational services, the LCAP has three main goals: supporting academic and social-emotional success for all students, modernizing and improving infrastructure to promote 21st-century learning, and increasing parental and community partnerships so that all students graduate college and career ready. Beatson highlighted a number of programs that contributed to academic and social-emotional success, including Odyssey of the Mind, Visual and Performing Arts programs and Outdoor Education.

Source: School board to vote on LCAP Wednesday

Teachers union votes down tentative agreement with district – Benicia Herald

By Nick Sestanovich

The Benicia Teachers Association voted to reject the tentative agreement Wednesday that had been reached with the Benicia Unified School District, Governing Board President Diane Ferrucci announced as Thursday’s school board meeting.

In January, BUSD had proposed a one-time bonus of 1 percent off the salary schedule for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years. BTA countered with a 5 percent increase for 2017-18 and a 4.25 percent increase for 2018-19 school year. After being unable to reach an agreement, BTA requested to file for impasse. Teachers, students and parents voiced their disapproval at subsequent school board meetings, with some educators even providing lists of free services they would no longer offer to students outside of their contract hours unless an agreement was reached.

On May 17, a fact-finding hearing was held in which both parties presented their case to a neutral three-person panel so that a contract agreement could be reached. The meeting spilled over into the early morning hours of May 18 when a tentative agreement was reached. However, when the time came for the BTA to vote to accept the agreement on Wednesday, it was voted down.

Source: Teachers union votes down tentative agreement with district